Managing our estate on a voluntary basis keeps grounds maintenance costs to a minimum for all of us. The alternative – commercial factoring – would double our costs by adding a factoring fee, VAT on that, plus an additional level of VAT on all managed services. That option can and should be avoided. Your committee is simply a set of neighbours who have volunteered – or been persuaded – to manage the grounds on behalf of us all. It is open to you as an owner to participate directly or to influence the Association’s work at any time by sharing any concerns with an office-bearer or committee member. We are very grateful to the great majority of owners who understand and appreciate the work involved, particularly those who make their contributions promptly and without the need for reminders.
In order to be effective, the Association must keep accurate records of ownerships and grounds maintenance contributions on our estate. Those records are the minimum necessary for that legitimate purpose and will comply fully with GDPR principles. They are held only by the Chairman, in the form of a spreadsheet with one line for each property on the estate. For most owners, only the property address, the owner’s or owners’ name(s), the requested contact address and means (if other than letterbox delivery) and an updated note of payments are needed and recorded.
For the very few owners who – deliberately or otherwise – are difficult to contact, reluctant or slow to settle their contributions to shared costs, we will need to record additional information in order to trace them and, if necessary, take action to enforce legal obligations. This year, for the first time in living memory, the Association has received all due contributions, with three owners paying in addition for defaults in earlier years. That has only proved possible because of a clear willingness on NMPA’s part to refer the few most difficult cases to court. Your Committee regrets that this is necessary – but it is, in fairness to the great majority of our neighbours who pay their share without complaint.
All owners have the right under GDPR to see – and if necessary, correct – the information held on them. If you wish to check this, please contact the current Chairman in confidence on 0131 443 9946 or douglas.wynn@me.com. In return, we would ask all owners to:
- Ensure that, on any sale of a property, the name and contact details of the new purchaser is notified promptly to the Chairman so that dues can be apportioned;
- Let us know the preferred mode of contact (e-mail or post) and address details where the owner wishes to receive newsletters, notices or invoicing directly elsewhere;
- Wherever possible, pay contributions to NMPA within the due time by digital transfer, as this automatically creates an authoritative record of payments. (We do understand that a few owners still wish to pay by cheque and NMPA will keep that option available to them.)