Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 September 2017
339. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if an owners' management company for a multi-unit development and the management agent are allowed to have the same directors and effectively be the same company; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39733/17]
View answerThe Deputy will appreciate that I am not in a position in my capacity as Minister for Justice and Equality to provide legal advice on such a matter in response to a parliamentary question. By way of general information, I can, however, state that an Owners' Management Company (OMC) in a multi-unit development is a company registered under the Companies Acts and that general rules relating to directors of such companies are set out in those Acts and the Articles of Association of the OMC concerned.
Under section 43 of the Property Services (Regulation) Act 2011, a person providing a property service, such as a managing agent, must enter into a letter of engagement with a client such as an OMC. The letter of engagement outlines the service to be provided by the managing agent and must be signed, where the managing agent is a company, by two directors of the managing agent and two directors of the OMC. Section 17 of the Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011 provides that, as part of the annual report of the OMC, details of contracts entered into by the company must be given to members and the OMC must hold a meeting at least once a year to consider the report. It is, of course, open to any member of the company to raise any concerns they may have regarding any contract with the OMC or at the annual meeting.
One further aspect to note is that section 32 of the Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011 places restrictions on OMCs entering into long term contracts with providers of goods and services. An OMC is not permitted to enter into contracts for a period in excess of 3 years.
