EXPERTS EXPLAIN:Ask our experts for advice on your property problems
Q MY MANAGING AGENT has written to say we all have to pay €500 extra this year on top of our service charge because our roof needs to be repaired. I know that there is damp and water coming into the top-floor apartments and I can understand that they would want to fix the roof but as I live on the ground floor I get no use out of the roof so why do I have to pay?
A ASSUMING the levy has been approved at an owners meeting and legitimately charged, you will have to pay this levy towards the roof repair. While you may feel that your ground floor position does not get any direct benefit from the roof, the roof’s existence is an integral part of the value of the building, including your apartment. If the roof was allowed to continuously deteriorate without repair its effects would eventually be felt in all apartments and in the meantime apartment values would be negatively affected and difficult to sell.
When you bought your apartment you became a member of your development’s Owners’ Management Company (OMC). This membership brings with it both legal rights and obligations; a right to services such as building insurance, maintenance, and upkeep of the development, and a legal obligation to pay for these services.
The OMC and the services it operates exist for the estate as a whole and generally do not allow one owner or one type of owner to withdraw or opt out. Your lease will dictate the percentage or proportion of the levy payable which normally would be in line with your service charge apportionment. It is the duty of the OMC to ensure that these charges are billed, collected and utilised properly.
Generally, leases provide for the OMC to collect small sums annually in addition to the standard service charge in order to build up a reserve or “sinking fund”. The purpose of such funds is to build up a sum of money to cover the cost of irregular and expensive works such as external repainting works, lift replacement or roof repairs. One of the main benefits of building up a sinking fund is to even out the annual charges and to avoid large one-off bills such as the one you have just received.
Many OMCs have spent the past number of years focussed on keeping service charges low and have not built up any sinking funds, which will lead to many owners being asked to pay substantial levies over the coming years.
The Multi-Unit Developments (MUD) Act 2011 recognised this problem and has imposed some consumer protections with regard to sinking funds. It stipulates that, if they have not already done so, all existing developments have to establish a sinking fund by September 2012.
The Act acknowledges the essential requirement of such funds and is a step towards more sustainable apartment development in the future.
Siobhán O’Dwyer is a chartered surveyor and Chair of the Property and Facilities Management Professional Group of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland. See scsi.ie
Q I MOVED OUT of a rented property after a one-year lease two weeks ago. I was told by the landlord that I would receive my deposit “in due course”. However, I have not yet received it and I cannot contact the landlord at present. What is the usual length of time required to return a deposit and what are my options if I cannot contact him?
A IN THE majority of cases a tenant will have a fixed-term lease under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 (RTA 2004). The landlord is obliged under this Act to register this tenancy with the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB). In regards to deposit retention a landlord may not keep a deposit (or portion thereof) unless there is evidence of excessive wear and on the property. Also, unless there are any outstanding issues with regards to this or any other part of the lease agreement such as non-payment of rent, the landlord should indeed return the deposit in “good time”. The time frame for return of deposit would usually be within seven-10 days.
Taking into account all the above and again if there are no outstanding issues and all rent has been paid during the course of your tenancy the next move is to get a form from the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) website prtb.ie and ask for an adjudication to be heard in regards to your deposit retention. This will cost you €25.00. The PRTB will then process your application and notify the landlord and yourself of a hearing date for the adjudication. Once the case is heard the adjudicator will make a report and a determination order will be issued outlining what has to be done. Before you do seek an adjudication you might check that it has not been a simple case that your landlord was away on holiday or if there is a letting/managing agent confirm whether your new forwarding address has been given to the landlord to send on the deposit.
The golden rule here is that all “Tenants’ Obligations” should have been adhered to during your term in the property by yourself or any under tenants that were named on the lease. If this is the case and there has not been any excessive “wear and tear” on the property you have a good chance in getting all your deposit back in full. If the landlord feels that you did not abide by the lease terms then he/she needs to provide evidence of such to the PRTB.
This evidence should entail things such as photos of original condition of house if he/she is claiming excessive wear and tear. You should also ensure that you have a copy of the lease agreement and inventory as signed with the landlord.
Marcus O’Connor is a chartered surveyor and member of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland and is a former adjudicator of the Private Residential Tenancies Board.
Q HOUSE OWNERS are being encouraged to insulate their homes, including the attic, to avoid heat loss. I have seen TV programmes where the whole house has been wrapped to ensure that no heat escapes from the house, even into the attic. But nobody mentions what will happen in the event of extremely cold weather, especially in relation to the water tank and water pipes. How are we meant to prevent the tank and pipes from freezing if there is no heat entering the attic and should this not at least be mentioned by those promoting insulation?
A THE MAIN issue to consider is that heat loss in uninsulated buildings is significant and extremely wasteful of energy. It is estimated that 30-35 per cent of heat will escape through an uninsulated roof. Apart from the obvious sensible solution to also insulate the attic, this is now controlled by building regulations which require a minimum of 300mm of fibre glass insulation (or other approved insulation). To be effective, this must cover the whole of the attic.
The next part of your query concerns the risk of the cold water storage tank and associated pipework freezing within the attic. In the old days, prior to insulation or even poor insulation, there was a certain amount of heat escaping into the attic which provided some heat to the tank and pipework, thereby minimizing the risk of freezing and resultant damage.
So now the solution must be to treat the tank and pipework in such a way as to minimise the risk of freezing. This can be done by ensuring that the tank and all associated pipework is insulated to a high standard. The tank should be lagged and insulated on all sides and the bottom and all of the pipework should be wrapped with an armaflex insulation.
While this should be suitable in most circumstances, given the extreme winter conditions over the last few years, you need to consider some additional measures such as installing an infrared light within the attic or a small heater with a frost stat which would allow the roof space to be heated when the temperature drops below a certain level, thereby minimizing the risk of freezing and greatly reducing the risk of a burst tank.
Val O'Brien is a chartered building surveyor and member of the Building Surveying Professional Group of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland, scsi.ie
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This column is a readers’ service. Advice given is general and individual advice should always be sought
