Is 'no satellite dish clause' unfair/illegal?

John Rambo said:
Yes, but it depends on how militant the residents are and if the management agent is proactive. Let's be honest, SKY is a hell of a lot better than NTL but satellite dishes are unsightly strewn across a complex. There is a balance to be struck. It's a pity developers don't explore the installation of a communal roof dish more often. I'm sure SKY would subsidise this in the same way cable and broadband companies do to get exclusivity.
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I used to live in an apartment complex and did broach the subject of a communal dish with the management company. After assuring me that they would look into it nothing happened and I ended up NTL digital.

I know for a fact that in the estate I live in now the developer had a deal with a cable company and that is where the no satellite dishes for antennae for aesthetic reasons rule came about. Frankly I chose to ignore it and so did the vast majority of the other residents.
 
EU is quite clear on this. It's a fundamental right, and any rule that restricts this is in breach of the EU Convention on Human Rights and free flow of goods and services in the internal market..

Many Man COs do not even attempt to look into communal dish installation, nor are willing to negotoate in terms of safety of individual satellite dish installation. Thus, they show an utter disregard for the aforementioned articles of the EU conventions.

How many security alarms have been removed since they are placed on the external walls?
 
I don't think too many man Cos give 2 hoots about the EU. As said once you own the freehold the Man Company can take a long walk off a short pier.
 
shesells said:
Our development has a certain style and dishes negatively impact the "look" and potentially the value of the properties in the development. .
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Could you explain this please??
I have dealing with various properties & have never heard of a dish decreasing the value of any property.
 
I would love to see a management company try to enforce their rules here:
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colm said:
Could you explain this please??
I have dealing with various properties & have never heard of a dish decreasing the value of any property.
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Not everyone wants a flock on dishes on their wall. We bought specifically in a dish-free zone. Any property is only worth what people will pay for it and if a development is stylishly designed, you pay for that look. Dishes take away the look therefore erasing the premium paid for the style of the development.

As for communal dishes, they are ugly too, my sister's complex have them, one on each block and they put me right off the development. Seriously lowers the tone.

Mick - if you're so convinced that your management company is in breach of your Human rights, sue them! In the meantime YOU still CHOSE to buy in a development where dishes were not allowed. By having a dish you're in breech of the legal conditions of sale, so at the moment the only person with a clear case to answer is you. It still hasn't been established if the EU convention applies to residential developments where there is an alternative ie cable (irrespective of the speculated reason for the ban!)
 
What can the developer do? He can't trespass if you have the freehold. I doubt they would get very far in a court. Just because it is in a contract don't make it legal.
 
shesells said:
Not everyone wants a flock on dishes on their wall. We bought specifically in a dish-free zone. Any property is only worth what people will pay for it and if a development is stylishly designed, you pay for that look. Dishes take away the look therefore erasing the premium paid for the style of the development.

As for communal dishes, they are ugly too, my sister's complex have them, one on each block and they put me right off the development. Seriously lowers the tone.

Mick - if you're so convinced that your management company is in breach of your Human rights, sue them! In the meantime YOU still CHOSE to buy in a development where dishes were not allowed. By having a dish you're in breech of the legal conditions of sale, so at the moment the only person with a clear case to answer is you. It still hasn't been established if the EU convention applies to residential developments where there is an alternative ie cable (irrespective of the speculated reason for the ban!)
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I totally agree. I live on a privately managed estate and a large number of us are getting fed up with the minority who ignore the rules and do what they like regardless of how much they're inconveniencing or annoying their neighbours. This includes satellite dishes, parking commercial vehicles outside houses and installing wooden floors in upstairs apartments. Nobody forced these people to buy in this particular estate or held a gun to their heads while they signed up to the rules and agreements.
 
shesells said:
Not everyone wants a flock on dishes on their wall.
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Surley everyone would only have 1 dish on their wall not a flock of them..
shesells said:
We bought specifically in a dish-free zone.
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Are you saying your property was marketted as a dish free zone?
shesells said:
Any property is only worth what people will pay for it and if a development is stylishly designed, you pay for that look. Dishes take away the look therefore erasing the premium paid for the style of the development.
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I agree 100% but I have never seen evidence of dishes affecting what people will pay for a property


shesells said:
if you're so convinced that your management company is in breach of your Human rights, sue them! In the meantime YOU still CHOSE to buy in a development where dishes were not allowed. By having a dish you're in breech of the legal conditions of sale, so at the moment the only person with a clear case to answer is you. It still hasn't been established if the EU convention applies to residential developments where there is an alternative ie cable (irrespective of the speculated reason for the ban!)
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I doubt there is any breach of human rights, but I am sure this will be successfully challanged in the near future on fair trade & competition grounds. If I for example being in the security industry were to do a deal with a devoloper that only we could install the alarms on that property there would be uproar, and rightly so.
 
colm said:
Surley everyone would only have 1 dish on their wall not a flock of them..
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As already mentioned, in an apartment complex you do not own the exterior walls of your unit - it is common property. meaning an L shaped block with 30 apartments like mine could ahve 30 dishes if it was permitted.


colm said:
Are you saying your property was marketted as a dish free zone?
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Not in the brochures but yes when we met the agent.

colm said:
I agree 100% but I have never seen evidence of dishes affecting what people will pay for a property
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We paid more for a property without dishes. We could have bought in a neighbouring development with dishes for 20k less. The actual dishes were about 50% of the reason, the general disregard for the rules that the erection of dishes suggested was the other 50%.

colm said:
I doubt there is any breach of human rights, but I am sure this will be successfully challanged in the near future on fair trade & competition grounds. If I for example being in the security industry were to do a deal with a devoloper that only we could install the alarms on that property there would be uproar, and rightly so.
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The OP was claiming his being asked to remove his dish was in breach of EU human rights legislation even though he bought in a development where dishes were SPECIFICALLY banned.


Liaconn - great to meet a likeminded person on this issue. It amazes me how many people would prefer an ugly dish on the outside of their apartment to get expensive tv, where almost the same service is available through cable for a lot less.
 
shesells said:
As already mentioned, in an apartment complex you do not own the exterior walls of your unit - it is common property. meaning an L shaped block with 30 apartments like mine could ahve 30 dishes if it was permitted.
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Yes - but not all privately managed developments are apartments. Some are developments of individual freehold properties/houses on a leasehold privately managed site. I know - I live in one.
It amazes me how many people would prefer an ugly dish on the outside of their apartment to get expensive tv, where almost the same service is available through cable for a lot less.
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FTA satellite is free other than the once off payment for installation of the equipment (a few hundred € at most in most cases). Less than a year of monthly subscriptions for many providers' basic cable TV packages would easily pay for an FTA satellite installation.
 
Still doesn't get away from people buying in a development with rules and then specifically deciding that they had the right to break them. There are plenty of houses out there not in managed developments.
 
The whole point of the thread is whether or not there are more fundamental rules/rights that supersede those in a management company lease agreement in specific cases (i.e. in this case in regard to satellite dishes etc.). There doesn't seem to be a clear answer to this.
 
Thanks Clubman, that's exactly what I asked.

I wrote to the EU Commision's internal market department and they sent me an official letter in which they quote all relevant provisions from the various EU documents, as well as the rulings of the European Court on Human Rights in Strasbourg.

I did not get to go to solicitor yet as I only received the letter two days ago. Basically, it puts pressure on the management company to specify requirements on use of satellite dishes rather than ban them.

As I said I did not get to see my solicitor yet; hopefully next week
 
Thinking about this in a bit more detail, our agreement basically bans the attachment of any aerials, antennae, dishes or any external fittings to the exterior walls apart from light fittings where the outlet is pre-wired.

I know the management company used it to take down hanging basket brackets randomly erected by someone protesting at the removal of their dish!

Not sure how this would work with townhouses.

Back to you Mick, are you using the same solicitor who told you to buy anyway and then try to get the rule changed?
 
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