Management company threatening ESB shut-off

Diom

Hi,

I am renting an apartment from a private landlord in a building run by a property company. They have recently decided that nothing except patio furniture and potted plants are to be kept on the balcony. Failure to comply with this will result in the "withdrawal of services", including (specifically stated) the disconnection of our electricity.

The only offending item that I keep on the balcony is my very expensive bike, which I keep under a bike cover at all times. The reason I do this is because the bike lockup area that the company provides is also the place where the rubbish and recycling bins are.
While your bike is there it is under constant threat from being banged, knocked over, and generally damaged. Also the area is not secure (can be accessed easily by public), and is not monitored. My girlfriends crappy mountain bike was stolen from there despite being locked to the bike rack, and had been damaged slightly before that.

What I am wondering is if this is legal? They don't provide any alternative and when we moved in there was no restriction on the use of balcony in this way. Otherwise we would have found somewhere else to live.

Should we write to the management company? In the meantime I've moved some furniture to accommodate the bike indoors but it is no a possible long term solution.

Thanks.

daisling

Hi do you own or rent your apartment? If you own it you should have a lease between you and the management company which states what the rules are for the entire complex check this and see if it states what you can have on the balcony. Even if it does the management agent can not cut off the electricity to your apartment. I have worked for many years as an agent and this is one of the crazier things I have heard. Your electricity supply is never linked in the lease to punishment for anything including paying service charge. It would also leave the managemnet company open to legal action. If you got your electricty cut because of that and fell you would just sue them. I would be worried about the professionalism of any agent that backed this letter as it is just creating fear for a rather minor offence. PM me if I can help. I don't work in property any more so not trying to get business

Diom

Hi Daisling,

No I rent the apartment. If they shut off the electricity how would I get it turned back on?
Also do you think I should write a letter?

As far as the rules go. The letter states that at the recent AGM they drafted a new rule that states that this is the case. The AGM was for the management company not the building or the residents. The rule was not in place when we moved in.

daisling

ok on your lease with your landlord does it say that you can not put items on the balcony? Check it but I doubt it, inform your landlord of the situation and that your relationship is with him/her not the management company be polite and inform him that when you signed the lease bikes were allowed on the balcony but now they are not and that you are unhappy with this. Inform him that they have said they will cut off the electricity and that this is unacceptable. Is there a locked bicycle shed in the development or just racks in the car park? As you are just a resident do not communicate directly with the agent.

RentDayBlues

Diom - you need to talk to your LL, make it his issue to sort

Xiney

my suggestions are as follows:

- ask your landlord to ask for a more secure bike storage facility, something like a shed (unlikely to come to fruition, let's be honest)

- screen your bike from view using several potted plants

- keep your bike inside your apartment, possibly by storing it hanging from the ceiling.

Paulw

The management company has no requirement to provide bike storage facilities at all.

They may have rules that prohibit the storage of some items on the balcony.

There is nothing you can do about these issues.

But, the management company would have no ability to turn off electricity to your specific unit.

You really need to have a discussion with your landlord. But, you may need to store your bike inside your apt.

iMax

If the electricity is in your name, then they have no (pardon the pun) power to have it turned off, indeed I would think that this would be considered abusive or even threatning behaviour by the property management company.

I would go so far as to put in writing to them your thoughts on the matter explicitly branding the threat as bullying, (I would consider this to be the case).

I would also contact your landlord & state that if this does happen, you will be out of there before he can blink. If you're a decent tenant, he'll want to hold onto you & should be able to speak to the management company on your behalf .

Head The Wall

If you or the landlord has an account with ESB or who ever you get electricity from well then the management company has nothing to do with it.

Call the ESB and let them know about this as everything as far as the meter (including the meter) is the property of the ESB. I really can't figure out what grounds they have to turn off your electricity, probably none and they are just scaremongering.

Where is your ESB meter and Consumer unit, is it in a communal area or in the apartment?

How Strange

AFAIK, the management company are bluffing. I can't see any way that they could disconnect your electricity. In fact they would probably be breaking the law if they did.

With regards to the balconies you're obliged to obey the house rules. As someone else recommended store it in your apartment.

connundrum

I would presume that the MA would only be able to 'disconnect' the common area ESB i.e. that which serves common area lights, electic gates, electric doors etc.

In doing that they'd be opening themselves up to a whole load of potential insurance claims.. so you can safely assume that they are bluffing.

Them threatening to cut your unit's ESB is akin to vandalism in my opinion.

As an aside, I once managed a block of apartments who's owners were hugely behind in management fee payment. The ESB had threatened to cut the power to the block on several of occasions for late payment, and finally one day they did cut it. The block was without power to the common areas for 6 days. The majority of the owners paid their fees during the 6 days.. which was nice.

Treehouse72

It is TOTALLY unaccpetable that this kind of hollow threat is being made by the management company. They have no right to scare tenants like this and they almost certainly have no ability whatsoever to cut off your electricity. In fact, I'm pretty sure it would be illegal. Certainly landlords who pull these shenanigans with tenants can get in a hell of a lot of trouble so it must be the same with the Mgt. Co. I would make a complaint to the PRTB or Ombudsmun or somebody. Outrageous bullying.

However, very many blocks have rules about what can be kept on the balcony, so they probably do have the right to tell you not to leave your bike there. Can you not leave the bike lying down out of view, or is the balcony glass or something?

How Strange

Yes it is possible that the power to the common areas could be cut off but that would/could/should only be in very extreme cases where the mc has run out of money due to unpaid fees. I had a few examples of that myself. In my experience the esb were very accomodating so you would have to be months in arrears before they would do it.

Most def there would be all sorts of legal and health and safety implications so the mc would have to prove it had reasonably tried everything and this was a last resort.

Afaik the power to individual apartments is separate from the common areas and is the property and responsibility if the owner otherwise the power co could pursue the mc for overdue bills on apts.

grizzly

Write them a letter explaining that your bike has the aesthetic qualities necessary to be classified a work of art. Therefore more then suitable for patio display.

or

Put it back on your landlord, tell her you're thinking about looking elsewhere unless this is sorted.

r0qi4162fux9kg

Leave your bike where it is and state in a letter to the management company that you are dependant on electrical medical equipment. They don't need to know the details. And that would be that.