Case Study: Marianella Rathgar
Marianella Rathgar is one of Dublin’s premier residential developments and consists of 208 apartments, houses and town houses located in a mature setting on Orwell Road. Built by Cairn Homes between 2016 and 2019, Marianella has quickly established a reputation for luxury living and quality of build.
A key requirement of the Multi Unit Developments (MUDs) Act 2011 is that the developer of new multi unit apartment developments is obliged to set up an Owners Management Company (OMC) and to transfer the legal ownership of the common areas of the development to the OMC prior to the first unit being sold. This requirement ensures that a proper structure is put in place from the outset to facilitate the long-term maintenance of the development in accordance with legislative requirements, the legal agreements each owner enters into at the time of purchase and the wishes of the unit owners as expressed through the board of directors.
As part of the establishment of an OMC, the developer will appoint a management agent to conduct the day to day affairs of the OMC. Petra Management was successful in tendering for the management of Marianella and was appointed whilst the development was in its early stages of construction. This early appointment afforded us an opportunity to offer some practical advice regarding minor alterations and additions to the design of the buildings so as to enhance the living experience of residents and facilitate practical management of the common areas. Being able to watch the development “grow” provided us with invaluable information regarding the construction detailing of the buildings which will prove extremely useful when dealing with repair and maintenance issues into the future.
The early years of an OMC are quite challenging as the development evolves through the various phases of construction, phased occupancy and snagging. A good management agent will devote additional resources to the development in this early phase in order to put in place appropriate protocols and systems of work which will facilitate the smooth operation of the development over the long-term. Petra believes in going above and beyond our contractual obligations to owners during this key period in the OMC’s life. We are confident that the additional investment made by us at the outset will pay dividends to both owners and the agent in subsequent years.
At Marianella, in addition to setting up Service Level Agreements for the provision of the typical building maintenance services to be expected of a modern multi unit development, Petra is responsible for recruitment and daily management of concierge, gym management and the on-site caretaking and cleaning personnel. Marianella also benefits from a state of the art district heating system which provides centrally generated heating and hot water to each unit and this this requires a specialist management arrangement to be put in place.
Having successfully helped to guide the OMC through its’ establishment phase and the transfer of OMC directorships from the developer to a board of directors elected by their fellow owners, Petra was delighted to be rewarded for it’s investment in Marianella with the renewal by the board of it’s property management service agreement with the OMC for a further three year term. Our company ethos revolves around establishing long-term professional relationships with our clients which guarantees the client a high service level and provides Petra with a reasonable certainty of tenure. Our constant modest company growth through referrals and strong track record of client retention is a strong indicator of client satisfaction.