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Eight months after purchasing a new apartment, owners face unaddressed window deterioration, water damage and questionable responsibility from their owners' management company, prompting discussions about legal recourse and collective action.
My wife and I bought our apartment roughly eight months ago, and since then we have encountered a series of problems that have made living in the building increasingly stressful.
The issues range from ongoing neglect of building services to neglectful property management. The worst of it is the external windows. We first reported the deteriorating windows several months after moving in, but have received no concrete plan to fix them. After the initial complaint, the owners' management company (OMC) told us the matter would be handled at a later date.
We have sent more than ten emails to the OMC and the directors of the development, but our attempts to get clarification or a time‑frame for the work have been ignored. Throughout this time the window frames have continued to decay. An independent inspection revealed rotten timber, a broken bathroom window and, more recently, water leakage when it rains heavily. The building is no longer weather‑tight and there is a risk of further damage.
The apartment's septic tank is also outdated and has begun to fail. The OMC has stated that a fault in the fire alarm system inside the unit is not their responsibility, raising doubts about what incidents fall under the lease or the collective maintenance obligations. If the external windows are not restored soon, the ultimate solution may be a full replacement of the frames, a job that the OMC has repeatedly denied will be undertaken.
The situation is complicated by the fact that the OMC is a voluntary, collective‑responsibility arrangement. Each owner is a member of the OMC, giving them both the privilege and the duty to participate in the upkeep of the building. If a clear pattern of neglect emerges, legal remedies are theoretically available, but litigation against the OMC is often costly and can create divisions between house‑owners.
A less fraught approach is to engage directly with the directors, present a formal complaint, and attend general meetings to learn of any practical or financial obstacles that may be delaying repairs. In many cases, the OMC's failure can be traced back to difficulties in mobilisation, lack of technical expertise or inadequate funding. Actively participating in the OMC's governance and offering to contribute to the management of the property will place owners in a stronger position to influence decisions.
The success of an OMC largely depends on owners working together rather than detaching themselves from the issues. These stories serve to illustrate the importance of clear lines of responsibility and effective communication. Property owners should keep diligent records of all communications with the management company and, where necessary, seek professional advice before taking legal action.
We hope that landlords and developers will respond promptly to their tenants' concerns and partner with owners to create a safer, more functional living environment. The Irish Times, its contributors and the wider media will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from reliance on this content. Anyone who is uncertain about the law regarding this topic should consult qualified professionals before making any decisions.
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Window Repair Owners' Management Company Legal Action Property Maintenance Collective Responsibility
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