My neighbours are not paying their service charges

Q I own a ground floor apartment in a small town in Co Mayo. I have lived here for nearly nine years and have paid the service charge every year. The fee has reduced in the last few years but it is still an expense that I have to budget for.

What is on my mind at the moment is that I know a lot of my neighbours have not paid their fees in the last few years. Also, I don’t know what I am paying for. . . I get an invoice at the end of the year with just the fee that has to be paid.

When I contacted them last year about why the charge had increased, I was told the insurance had gone up. I don’t know how to go about dealing with this, and what information I am entitled to as a home owner.

A Your neighbours are contractually obliged to pay their service charges in the same way you are by way of their binding lease agreement that they entered into with the owners’ management company (OMC) when they purchased their property. Provided the common areas are transferred, that is to say the freehold or reversionary interest is passed from the development company to the property owners, the beneficial and legal interests stand merged.

In the event that a member of your OMC is in arrears of payment Section 22 of the Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011(MUDs Act 2011) provides that subject to service charges levied in accordance with either Sections 18, 19 or 20, the due service charge or debt may be recoverable as a simple contract debt in court. Recovery of service charge debt in court is onerous and expensive.

You say you do not know what you are paying for. The OMC is required to levy charges in accordance with the MUDs Act 2011 and, should it have failed to do so, one could argue that the charge is not recoverable in court however morally vacuous such a stance would be. The proposed budget for the coming financial year should be sent to each member in advance of the OMC general meeting in the prescribed format as stated in Section 18 Sub Section 3 of the MUDs Act 2011.

Section 17 Sub Section 2 (G) of the MUDs Act 2011 pertains to insurance particulars, which must be provided to each member at the end of each year as stated in the year-end report. Specifically; “a statement of the insured value of the multi-unit development, the amount of the premium charged, the name of the insurance company with which the policy of insurance is held and a summary of the principal risks covered”. You could then benchmark each year’s data to identify changes in premiums and sums insured.

I would strongly recommend that you seek the counsel of a property service provider holding a category D licence as issued by the Property Services Regulatory Authority.

Paul Huberman is a a member of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) property and facilities management surveying professional group.

My landlord won’t accept my notice

Q I lived in a house for the last nine months and gave my landlord one month's notice by email. My landlord will not return my deposit because I did not send him notice by letter. The contract states "in writing" but it doesn't specify by post. Is he right to keep my deposit? I've tried contacting him by phone but he never answers my calls.

A I feel that if this went to the PRTB, adjudication/mediation notice served via email would be deemed an acceptable form of notice and would be found to be valid, indeed arguably email is probably more reliable then post.

Also please note the 2004 tenancies act supersedes any agreement you may have signed with the owner.

However I would point out that notice can only be served if you are in Part 4 tenancy as per the 2004 tenancies act.

In other words that you are not in a fixed term tenancy, if you are, then you are liable for rent for the full period of the fixed term which is normally 12 months.

I am encountering a lot of confusion on this point.

Finally if you are confident that you have served the correct notice then bring this matter to the PRTBs attention.

You can download all the relevant information from their website. There are severe penalties for landlords who incorrectly withhold deposits.

Kersten Mehl is a a member of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland

Our bay windows are leaking water

Q I am writing regarding an ongoing issue we have with our bay windows.

We live in a Victorian two-storey over basement house, however our three bay windows were put back on only 20 years ago by the previous owner.

We have a consistent problem with water getting in through the bays. We are sure it’s not coming from the roof and have had two damp companies look at them but they were unable to identify what is causing the issue and advised that neither of them deal with bay windows.

We have also had a builder and an architect look at it but no one can identify the issue.

What we need is the name / contact details of a company or individual who is an expert in bay windows.

A While we are precluded from providing the name of a specific company we can provide the following advice.

It is not unusual for Victorian bay windows to display signs that might be interpreted as water ingress following the installation of new windows. The construction methods employed at a time when houses were highly ventilated and poorly heated meant that condensation was less likely to form internally.

The new windows, even if they were fitted to a high standard, will reduce ventilation and coupled with modern heating levels this could lead to condensation forming internally and could be the cause of your problem.

When replacing traditional sliding sash box windows with modern replacements it is important to understand where potential leakage or condensation points might arise. Often modern sealants or expanding foam will block any previously available water exit routes and plastic replacement windows are impermeable hence water that might enter via the construction above each window becomes trapped making it almost impossible to detect where the fault lies.

It is likely that the problem you are describing results from a combination of factors. You don’t say what type of windows were fitted and although you will have no contractual status with them your first port of call might be to the manufacturer of the windows installed for your predecessor. This might eliminate the windows or the installation method that is at fault.

The weather conditions and the timing of water ingress can provide a clue as to where the problem lies so you should record when water is seen.

Water ingress to any property in any form is a serious concern since it can quickly lead to major deterioration of the structure of a building and particularly older properties such as yours so it is important to resolve the issue quickly.

I suggest you contact your local Building Surveyor to investigate, they are specifically trained in ‘building pathology’ which is the investigation of such problems and the provision of economic solutions for them.

Fergus Merriman a member of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Building Surveying Professional Group