When you purchase an apartment you normally share a number of responsibilities with your neighbours such as maintenance of the common areas, cleaning, insuring the common areas and the building, providing public lighting and generally keeping the complex to a high standard to ensure that the value of the properties in that complex retain and indeed increase in value. Therefore, to ensure that these items are looked after, a management company or agent is required to ensure the responsibilities are carried out in a fair and professional manner.
Insurance is obligatory to cover all the buildings and the common areas as well as engineering insurance for the lifts and any other plant that may be in the complex as well as directors and officers’ liability insurance to protect the Directors of the Owners Management Company (OMC).
The Directors have the responsibility to arrange and carry out these management functions and they in turn appoint a management agent such as Absolute Property Management Ltd. The management agent is directed by and takes their instructions from the Directors appointed by the owners. These are known as an Owner Management Company (OMC).

The management charges are decided at the beginning of each year based on previous years’ expenditure experience and the budget for the following year. This function is carried out by Absolute Property Management who prepare the estimates in accordance with the lease and in agreement with the Directors. The lease which you signed at the purchase of your property will clearly set out what you must do and what your responsibilities are in relation to owning a property in the complex. At the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the complex, the audited accounts and the budget for the year are presented and each owner can at that stage have input into costs and control of costs. These estimates will previously have been approved by the Directors. The amount of money that owners are asked to pay is based on the estimates for the year divided among each owner in accordance with the terms of the lease.

Costs of running each complex differ depending on the nature and size of each complex and whether it has lifts and the amount that is allocated to the sinking fund.

Absolute Property Management set up a dedicated bank account for income and expenditure for each complex and all costs for providing services are met from this account. The account cannot go into an overdrawn position and, therefore, items like insurance, electricity and other necessary works cannot be undertaken unless there are sufficient funds in the account to meet the cost of the works. It is, therefore, imperative that each owner pays their service charges promptly as not to do will result in insufficient money to provide the services to the complex and may result in services being withdrawn.

Absolute Property Management accepts payment of service charges by way of credit transfer, Standing Order, cash or by cheque. Credit card payments are not possible at this time.

Failure to pay your service charge is unfair to other owners and you have a legal obligation to pay these charges in a timely fashion; failure to do so will result in the debt being handed to a debt collection agency or to a solicitor for legal action. Absolute Property Management, as the appointed agent, has a responsibility and a legal obligation to ensure that we carry out our functions as management agents in accordance with the Directors’ instructions and that we have the funds necessary to run the complex.

To avoid the accumulation of arrears and the debt being handed to a debt collection agency or to a solicitor, it is important that you contact us as soon as you are aware that a problem has occurred or is about to occur. We can help by working out a payment plan with you and thereby avoid incurring legal or administration charges.

Please refer to your lease which should set out what you are responsible for. However, the management company through their agent, Absolute Property Management, is responsible for the buildings, all the common areas and all the services to the common areas but it is important to note that the management company or its agent, Absolute Property Management, do not have a responsibility for individual units or the contents of individual units and this is solely the responsibility of the owner. In some complexes, Absolute Property Management manage units for owners. In these cases, please contact our office. We have a 24 / 7 answering service.

As an owner, you are responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of your unit and your financial contribution to the upkeep and maintenance of the common areas.

Yes and this can be done in a number of ways. The most appropriate way would be to become a Director of the Owner Management Company and this is done by putting your name forward at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). This is done through Absolute Property Management as it is necessary to put your name forward in a timely fashion, normally 21 days prior to the AGM. Another way is to be co-opted as a Director and this can be done by the existing Directors, co-opting you at any time and this is then ratified at the next AGM. Ultimately, the decision as to whether you can become a Director lies with the members and the current Directors who decide whether you can become a Director. In reality, it is never an issue and normally anyone who puts their name forward wishing to become a Director is more than welcome. Your responsibilities as a Director are to work for the common good of the complex and to liaise with Absolute Property Management on policy decisions and the day to day management of the complex. If your complex or development doesn’t have a management company it is still possible for you to become involved by organising a residents association and Absolute Property Management can advise on how management associations can be set up and properly constituted. They do differ slightly from your responsibilities as a Director in that directorships carry with them the responsibility of statutory duties in the same way as any other company Director. The responsibilities of a Director should be taken seriously and a Director should be in a position to work with Absolute Property Management through regular contact with your appointed coordinator so that you can review progress and monitor quotations and invoicing and attend meetings. Absolute Property Management insists on a minimum of 4 meetings per annum.