Written answer
Legislative Measures
Legislative amendments enabling the transfer of OMC regulation have been enacted; the Transfer of Functions Order is still being progressed with Housing.
354. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration when the formal transfer of responsibility for the regulation of Owner Management Companies and the Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011 to the Department of Housing, Home Affairs and Migration will be fully completed; the specific reason for the prolonged timeline given that the necessary legislative amendments have already been enacted to avoid a Mulcreevy conflict of ministerial responsibility; and the status of the required Transfer of Functions Order. [74996/26]
Comment on this
The Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011 provides the statutory framework for important aspects of the ownership and management of common areas in multi-unit developments and the operation of owners' management companies (OMCs). Among other matters, it contains provisions relating to annual service charges, sinking funds and house rules.
Under the Programme for Government, Securing Ireland's Future, responsibility for the Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011 and the regulation of owners' management companies is to transfer from my Department to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
The legislative amendments required to facilitate the transfer were progressed through the enactment of the Criminal Law, Civil Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026 on the 23 July 2026. These legislative amendments were necessary to avoid a conflict of ministerial responsibility as arose in the Mulcreevy case.
Following the commencement of the Act, the remaining arrangements required to complete the transfer of functions, including the making of a Transfer of Functions Order, are being progressed. My Department continues to engage with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to ensure that the transfer takes place in a coordinated and orderly manner. The Government remains committed to completing the transfer as soon as practicable.
The precise form of any future regulatory arrangements for owners' management companies will be a matter for the consideration of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage in the context of any future policy and regulatory framework.