The developer’s responsibilities in a multi-unit handover.

When handing over a multi- unit development, the developer is responsible for the following:

– An owners’ management company must be established

– At the developer’s expense, they must transfer the common areas of the development to the owners’ management company

– A contract between the owners’ management company and the developer must be created to outline the responsibilities of each party. This contract should focus on issues such as compliance with statutory requirements, completion of the common areas (for which the developer remains responsible), retention money (to ensure that the developer completes the project, usually money is retained by the company) and dispute resolution. (The owners’ management company is required to have separate legal representation in the negotiation of the contract.).

– A certificate under the Building Control Acts should be supplied by a qualified person regarding compliance with fire safety in the development. The 
Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011 (Section 3) (Prescribed Persons) Regulations 2011 states that qualified people can be: architects, building surveyors or chartered engineers.