Published on: Dec 15, 2010
After three years of work, constant lobbying and countless meetings and emails between us, the Law Reform Committee, the Department of Justice, the IPFMA, the RIAI and numerous TDs and Senators, today is the day. At 7pm this evening, the Multi-Unit Development Bill will be debated in front of the Dail. Several changes suggested during the summer will be discussed and decided on. If all goes well, there will be a vote of the Dail and the bill will be passed to President Mary McAleese to become law.
Within a few months, as parts are enacted and other parts become active, apartment owners will soon be empowered with the legal rights they need to take control of their homes. We will be protected from developers who refuse to hand over common areas and who keep golden shares to stop owners voting against us. We will have more power at AGMs, budgets will become more transparent and sinking funds (which are vital to the ongoing success of our apartments) will become mandatory. We will be able to take legal action in the Circuit Court instead of the more expensive High Court which means disputes can be resolved faster and cheaper. The bill isn’t perfect but it hits an awful lot of our high points and it’s a great start.
All in all, today holds the potential to be a very, very good day for apartment owners. Several of us will be in the Dail tonight so we’ll keep you updated as soon as we can. If you want to watch it at home, you can use the live online feed.
Edit: The debate has been delayed until 10pm tonight.