Report on Multi-Unit Developments - Law Reform Commission

purchaser on the transfer or conveyance of the unit in the multi-unit
development where the parties to the conveyance will still be the developer 60
and the purchaser. but will (if the Commission‘s recommendation is
implemented) also include the OMC to convey the legal interest. The
Commission however recommends that, for the avoidance of doubt, section
30(5) of the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act be amended to include a further
paragraph (f) where the legal title only to a multi-unit development is transferred
to an owners‘ management company.
4.60 The Commission recommends that section 30(5) of the Stamp Duties
Consolidation Act 1999 be amended to include a further paragraph (f) where the
legal title only to a multi-unit development is transferred to an Owner‟s
Management Company.
(5) Phased Developments
4.61 The term ‗phased developments‘ refers to large developments which
are completed a block at a time. This incremental approach to the completion of
the development has important implications for the amount of time needed to
complete the development and, in turn, for the point at which the unit owners
take full control of the owners‘ management company. As noted elsewhere in
this <strong>Report</strong>, the Commission considers it imperative that developers complete
the development and cede any outstanding control in the owners‘ management
company at the earliest possible opportunity. 61 Accordingly, it is necessary to
make some observations aimed especially at phased developments.
4.62 First, the Commission takes the view where a development is going
to be completed on a block-by-block basis it should be open to the developer to
decide whether to incorporate a separate owners‘ management company for
each block or, alternatively, to incorporate a single company for the entire
development. If a single company is incorporated, it should be open to the
developer to incorporate an owners‘ management company initially and then
transfer the legal title for each block purchased on a phased basis to the
owners‘ management company as the units within each separate block become
available for sale.
4.63 Second, it is extremely important that all parties to the conveyance of
a unit in a phased development are completely clear as to of what the transfer
of the title comprises. For this reason, the Commission recommends that the
60
The Commission is aware of a current practice whereby a developer acquires
land on which a multi-unit development is to be built but does not take an actual
conveyance of the interest in these lands; the lands ‗rest in contract‘ until the
interest is transferred to the purchaser.
61
See Chapter 2 above.
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