Complaint from Management Co about Party

[jenolan]

Hi,

A friend of mine got a letter from the Management Co who look after her estate saying that they'd received a complaint from a neighbour about the noise from a party she had.

The party was on a Sat night and there were no extraordinary goings on. Also this is not something that happens regularly I'd say there's been 2 parties in the year she's lived there. Her direct neighbours were at the party but someone 2 doors down called in on the night to ask us to keep it down so it was obviously him who did the dirty deed and complained

Other than it being an unreasonable thing to do what is the situation with something like this where a management co are involved. She owns the house so she's not a lodger or anything. What rights do the management co have and can people not have parties in their house anymore on a Sat night - I would completely understand his point if it was a weeknight or something.

 

[ClubMan]

Her direct neighbours were at the party but someone 2 doors down called in on the night to ask us to keep it down so it was obviously him who did the dirty deed and complained

You can't really know that for sure without corroboration.

what is the situation with something like this where a management co are involved.

She should check the terms & conditions of the management agreement which she presumably signed on purchase of the property. There is often a clause covering the management company involvement in day to day matters such as this. I would be very surprised if the management company wrote such a letter without having the authority to do so. What else did it say? Did they say what might happen if there were further similar incidents?

 

[contemporary]

Ignore them, I have no time for my management company. Mine pi$$ed and moaned about my sky dish but its still there. People take management companies far too seriously IMO.

 

[ClubMan]

Ignore them, I have no time for my management company.

If you are a householder then YOU are (at least in part) the management company as a shareholder!

 

[contemporary]

correct clubman, and as shareholder I can ignore them, management companies arent real companies IMHO, they are not there to make the shareholders money hence why I dont take them seriously. I find it some cheek for a management company to tell you that you cant have a sky dish on your building or that you cant have a party for a property you own and pay for and request an annual service charge for the previllage.

I find it a good idea to ask the management company for a draft budget at the start of thr year and pick them up on their faults when they dont comply with same

 

[ClubMan]

correct clubman, and as shareholder I can ignore them, management companies arent real companies IMHO, they are not there to make the shareholders money hence why I dont take them seriously.

Well they are incorporated as real companies anyway and have well defined responsibilities. Lots of organisations are set up as not for profit companies but it doesn't mean that they are any less a company than a profit making one.

I find it some cheek for a management company to tell you that you cant have a sky dish on your building or that you cant have a party for a property you own and pay for and request an annual service charge for the previllage.

How is it "some cheek" when these powers were clearly divulged to you at the time of the property purchase in the form of a management company agreement which you signed?

I find it a good idea to ask the management company for a draft budget at the start of thr year and pick them up on their faults when they dont comply with same

I agree - it's a good idea for owner/shareholders to keep tabs on the operation of the management company and ideally to get involved in their operation by running for election to the board where possible.

 

[contemporary]

How is it "some cheek" when these powers were clearly divulged to you at the time of the property purchase in the form of a management company agreement which you signed?

Insofar as if you want to buy here you have to sign the management company agreement, there is no opt out. I have heard plenty of horror stories about management companies increasing fees after a few years of occuption etc. I suppose they are just a pet peeve.

 

[tiger]

She owns the house so she's not a lodger or anything

Leasehold or Freehold?

If it's a lease, and she's in breach of the terms, then the mgmt company would be involved and she may not want to totaly ignore it.
If it's freehold, then I would have thought it's more an issue for corporation/gardai/public nusiance etc.

 

[ClubMan]

Isn't it possible for a freehold property to be part of a private development which is not taken in charge by the local authority and overseen by a management company instead? I can't remember whether our house is freehold or leasehold but I think it's the former and it is on private property (not gated in or anything and with a pedestrian right of way through - but still technically private) and we have a management company which is responsible for the maintenance of the development.

 

[Gabriel]

correct clubman, and as shareholder I can ignore them, management companies arent real companies IMHO, they are not there to make the shareholders money hence why I dont take them seriously. I find it some cheek for a management company to tell you that you cant have a sky dish on your building or that you cant have a party for a property you own and pay for and request an annual service charge for the previllage.

I find it a good idea to ask the management company for a draft budget at the start of thr year and pick them up on their faults when they dont comply with same

I'd have to agree with a large part of this, at least in theory.

I've had a lot of dealings with my management company since I bought my house and have found them to be utterly useless in nearly all regards. While I'm not at the point where I'd consider ousting them and forming some neighbourly management co myself just yet...were they to send me a letter like that, in those particular circumstance it would quickly get filed under 'to be ignored' in the kitchen bin.

 

[Havana]

As someone who gets up at 6am on a Saturday and sunday morning to go to work, people need to remember that its not only mid- week that people need to be up early. In saying this however I would not run straight to the management committee or gardai for a once off occurance. But I have done (along with others in our block) for a persistant 'offender'.

 

[RainyDay]

but someone 2 doors down called in on the night to ask us to keep it down

And what response did they get on the night?

 

[Sherman]

More likely than not your friend only has a long lease in her apartment e.g. 500 or 999 years. The management company probably 'owns' the freehold, and is therefore technically the landlord.

Assuming the above is the case, when your friend bought she would have signed a lease - this lease document without a doubt has covenants on the part of the tenant. Usually there is a tenant's covenant to the effect that noise etc. after say 10pm must not interefere with the other occupants.

If your friend persisted in this behaviour, a long way down the line (e.g. well after complaints, letters, legal threats etc.) the management company, as landlord, could theoretically take steps to have your friend ejected for breach of the covenants in the lease.

Anyone who, like previous posters, consistently ignore legitmate requests/threats from management companies re breaches of covenants, is playing a dangerous game that could theoretically end up costing them a lot of money through the courts.

 

[Purple]

If the person two doors down has very small children then asking for the noise to be kept down doesn't seem unreasonable. Without knowing what the full circumstances were it's impossible to comment on the specifics. My personal experience of management companies where I lived was that they were c**p.

 

[zag]

From what I can see, the management company only sent a letter saying they had received a complaint.

They didn't request or order a ban on noise from 2200, or they didn't seek compensation from the tenant.

They sent a letter. What's the big deal.

Maybe the party was extra noisy, maybe the people in the party didn't realise it, maybe it wasn't that noisy at all. The company just sent a letter saying they had received a complaint.

You might think that the management company is being a pain in the behind - feel free to ignore them. Then when some neighbour decides park their juggernaut outside your house and insist on starting it at 0600 every morning your friend will know who not to complain to.

z

 

[contemporary]

You might think that the management company is being a pain in the behind - feel free to ignore them. Then when some neighbour decides park their juggernaut outside your house and insist on starting it at 0600 every morning your friend will know who not to complain to.

z

I dont know about you, but if I have a problem with one of my neighbours I talk to them, and dont get into a hissy and complain to the management company. Complaining via the management company antagonises the other party IMO, while a reasonable word with them works much better

 

[zag]

I don't have a management company to complain to, so I don't know what I would do.

From reading the original mail it seems the neighbours did complain directly on the night.

What would you do if you complained to the juggernaut driver, he said "points noted" and then continued to park outside your house ?

z

 

[contemporary]

Have another word and then a complaint to the gardai..... I assume thats what most people would do if they didnt have a management company to complain to

 

[Gabriel]

More likely than not your friend only has a long lease in her apartment e.g. 500 or 999 years. The management company probably 'owns' the freehold, and is therefore technically the landlord.

Assuming the above is the case, when your friend bought she would have signed a lease - this lease document without a doubt has covenants on the part of the tenant. Usually there is a tenant's covenant to the effect that noise etc. after say 10pm must not interefere with the other occupants.

If your friend persisted in this behaviour, a long way down the line (e.g. well after complaints, letters, legal threats etc.) the management company, as landlord, could theoretically take steps to have your friend ejected for breach of the covenants in the lease.

Anyone who, like previous posters, consistently ignore legitmate requests/threats from management companies re breaches of covenants, is playing a dangerous game that could theoretically end up costing them a lot of money through the courts.

I'd be very surprised if the above was theoretically true. What you're describing is a rent situation. Where you have a mortgage on a property, you don't, strictly speaking, own the land, but you DO own the property. The agreement you sign is an agreement with the management company. I would say there would need to be severe anti-social behaviour going on, and the gardai/courts involved for any sort of eviction to take place and even then it would be a court order (not a management company) that would make that call.

 

[Round Tuit]

The management company are hired by all owners via their elected Board. It's worth bearing in mind that if you are not happy with them, you can fire them and hire someone else. We did this recently in my development. I do know that on the lease I signed when I purchased my property there were rules regarding parking of commercial vehicles, satellite dishes and noise between midnight and 8am - and I for 1 am quite happy they were there.