End to Estate Management Companies

Labour's Cllr Keith Martin has called for an end to the establishment and operation of management companies for private housing estates in Mayo.

 

Cllr Martin who is a seeking re-election to Westport Town Council and election to Mayo County Council says these Management Companies are now imposing "often penal charges on householders for a range of services that would normally have been provided by a local authority."

 

According to Cllr Martin It is now time for Mayo's local authorities to act to stop this practice which is costing home owners over €500 and up to €1,000 per year.

"This is, in effect, yet another stealth tax being imposed on householders. Only last week I was in Louisburgh and there is a new estate "Ard Cahir" where the council is insisting on a management company purely and simply to ensure they don't have to cut the grass and manage the estate.  It's a stealth tax on home owners who are finding it very hard to make ends meet without being subjected to a privatisation of council services."

"The imposition of these charges is an insidious development that adds hugely to the burden of thousands of young householders who are already struggling to meet crippling mortgage payments.

"What has been happening is that when local authority managers are granting permission for housing developments, they are including a condition that key public services, such as roads, open spaces, lighting, water and sewage services be provided for a specified period by private management companies, rather than the local authority itself as would traditionally have been the case.

 

"When signing contracts for the purchase of a house in these areas, couples are effectively being given an ultimatum to sign up to the management companies and to accept the charges they impose. There may be a role for private management companies, run on co-operative basis by residents, in regard to apartment blocks, but there is none in regard to traditional housing developments.

 

"When elected I will make it council policy to prohibit this practise and to wind up existing companies where there services can and should be performed by the council."

 

 

Cllr Keith Martin

086 0691182