Today, 5th of March 2024 during Questions on Promised Legislation, Francis raised the need for regulations and proper guidance for Owner Management Companies, particularly in light of the interim fire safety remediation scheme. The Programme for Government does commit to a review of the MUD Act with a view of regulating OMCs.
Transcript:
For thousands of households and organisations like Construction Defects Alliance and the Apartment Owners Network who campaigned for years, the announcement in January for a new interim fire safety redress scheme brought immense relief. And like many households who are facing water ingress issues and structural damage, we await the legislation and full redress scheme, which I would appreciate an update on.
Under the new interim scheme, Owner Management Companies (OMCs) will receive funding to carry out the necessary remedial works. Thus, only applications from authorised representatives of OMCs will be considered.
Many OMCs around the country face enormous problems, particularly when it comes to management and financing - as we know, OMC board directions are volunteers living within the development doing their best but have little to no background or expertise in management, and have no guidance or manuals to help with their governance.
The Programme for Government commits to reviewing the MUD act to regulate OMCs. Could we have an update on this commitment?