It is important that all owners appreciate the necessity for a Management Company as part of the legal and day to day structure in multiple unit developments, such as apartment blocks, townhouses, office and commercial complexes. All the common parts and services within any complex, not belonging to, or the responsibility of a specific person, must be vested in a Company. These common areas can be internal and/or external and/or structural.

Each owner is a member (shareholder) in this Company. The Company has a responsibility to all the Members to ensure that the Common Parts are maintained to a high standard for the enjoyment of all concerned. The Company, which is in effect your own Company, has responsibilities for the maintenance and upkeep of all the open spaces and services relating thereto. ( If it is an apartment block, the Company is also responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the buildings ). The full responsibilities of the Company are outlined in the Company’s Memorandum of Association and in the Management Agreements attaching to the Title Documents.

Similarly, all the owners individually have a responsibility to the Company to perform certain obligations, set out in the Management Agreements, including payment of service charges, etc. So you have a clearly defined situation where the Management Company has definite responsibilities to all its Members and the Members likewise, have definite responsibilities to their Management Company.

The Company, like all limited companies, is managed by a Board of Directors or a Board of Management. At the very beginning, until all the units are sold in a Development, the Board of Management normally comprises the Developers and/or their Solicitor or Solicitor’s staff. When all the units are sold, the control of the Company is handed over to the Owners themselves, who elect their own Board.