Labour gets tough on estate management firms

THOUSANDS of homeowners are being ripped off by the private companies which manage their housing estates, Labour said yesterday.

Party finance spokeswoman Joan Burton said that while some management companies charged modest annual fees of circa €250, others were demanding sums of more than €2,000 from every homeowner.

“Some managing agents carry out their duties quite diligently. Many, however, are making a very fast big buck on the back of new homeowners already struggling to meet mortgage repayments,” she said. “These companies and the managing agents are unregulated and it’s the luck of the draw whether you get a fair service or get ripped off.”

Ms Burton was speaking at the launch of a Labour guide to management companies, entitled Know Your Rights. The document will be distributed in the coming weeks to homes in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and other parts of the country which have estates run by management companies.

Local authorities usually request the establishment of such companies before they grant planning permission for a major development.

Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said homeowners were contractually wedded to the companies for a menu of services that was “often illusory”.

Shortly after Labour’s launch, Environment Minister Dick Roche announced he had ordered local authorities to limit their reliance on management companies.

“(My) circular tells planning authorities that under no circumstances should they require the establishment of a management company for a ‘traditional’ housing estate other than in very limited specific circumstances, eg, for the maintenance of a private shared facility,” Mr Roche said.

His department will establish a working group to examine the issues, while the Law Reform Commission is also studying the matter.