I live in a ground-floor apartment that I own. I moved here in 2010 but five years later my doctor told me I have osteoporosis in my back. I already suffer from epilepsy.
I decided my apartment needed an upgrade, so I ordered new windows and a front door but I’ve no back door. If I ever needed to escape, for example if a fire were to happen, I have only a window that only opens as far as you can stick your fingers through, and no more. And even if it did open, I couldn’t climb out because of my back.
I emailed property management explaining my disability and my need for a back door but got no reply. So I rang them and explained my disability and she said, “Well why are you living there then?” and the answer was a no. Her comment made my blood boil. Two days later my mother rang and again the answer was no. So, if there were a fire and I were to die in it, surely that would be management’s fault?
It is prudent of you to be planning your emergency escape arrangements from your apartment, and the management company certainly has a role to play in this as the building is owned by the management company. In circumstances where the windows and doors form part of the common areas vested in the management company, it is important to clarify what authorisation, approval or guidance was obtained from the management company prior to the undertaking of these upgrade works replacing the door and windows.
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The management company would generally be expected to have input into any such works affecting the common areas to ensure compliance with applicable building regulations, fire safety requirements, and the overall integrity and appearance of the development. It is unlikely to be as simple as “if there was a fire and you died, management would automatically be at fault.” But your concerns are legitimate and should not be dismissed.
Ordinarily a management company would not become involved in carrying out alterations or modifications to an individual apartment for the benefit of a particular owner. To do so would create an unsustainable precedent whereby similar requests could reasonably be expected from other owners, potentially resulting in inconsistent alterations throughout the development and possible implications for compliance with the original planning permission, building design standards, and overall uniformity of the scheme.
The management company must act in the interests of the development as a whole and cannot make structural or design changes to an individual apartment solely on the basis of a resident’s personal circumstances. Apartments, by their nature, are fixed structures designed and constructed in accordance with approved plans and regulatory requirements.
As such, certain layouts and configurations may be more suitable for some individuals than others, and this is an inherent feature of apartment living generally all across the world.
While individual owners may choose to undertake adaptations or internal modifications to their own property, any such works are necessarily subject to the physical, structural, regulatory, and legal limitations applicable to the development.
In this instance, the requested alteration would fall outside the scope of works that the management company can reasonably undertake or approve. This position applies equally across all apartments within the development.
Aisling Keenan is a property managing agent and consultant and an associate member of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland
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