Ireland

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FAQ

  1. What are the risks of vacant properties?
  2. What are the benefits of using Camelot's temporary occupation?
  3. How does Camelot protect the properties in its care?
  4. Why do I need to manage my vacant properties?
  5. What is the management area covered by Camelot?
  6. Who does Camelot Work for?
  7. What kind of properties does Camelot manage?
  8. What condition does a property need to be in to qualify for temporary protection?
  9. What are the costs of temporary protection?
  10. Will I remain boss of my own property?
  11. How quickly is my property available to me again?
  12. In what condition will Camelot return my property back to me?
  13. Do I need a change of use for my building?
  14. Are the agreements Camelot uses for Guardians legally binding?
  15. Does my building qualify for empty business rates?
  16. How about council tax?
  17. What about insurance?

1. What are the risks of vacant properties?
When your property is vacant for a longer period of time, the following risks may occur:

  •           Vandalism
  •      Theft of contents or fittings
  •      Cannabis farms
  •           Illegal parties
  •           Squatting or illegal occupation by travellers
  •      Dumping of abandoned vehicles or fly-tipping
  •      Dilapidation or natural events such as storm damage
  •            Public Liability claims resulting from injuries to visitors including intruders

In short: your property depreciates in value
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2. What are the benefits of using Camelot's temporary occupation?

Cost savings on expensive security systems

  •       For an occupied property your insurance premiums will be considerably lower than for a vacant property
  •       Your property is legally protected against squatting
  •             Your property will be heated and aired
  •       Flexible security periods (24 hours - several years)
  •       Inhabitation of the neighbourhood remains intact

In short: your property will not depreciate in value!
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3. How does Camelot protect the properties in its care?
Camelot Property Management protects your temporarily vacant property by giving it an ‘occupied' status - on an equally temporary basis. Camelot has a team of responsible Guardians who, through temporarily occupying your property, combat the risks and threats facing vacant buildings. Because we select these people so carefully we are able to identify the most appropriate Guardians for your property. That could be an empty office building or a church, a town hall or a school. Even for buildings that do not seem to offer the possibility for occupation such as cinemas or warehouses, Camelot offers a solution for the protection of any type of property.
While we take over all building management, you have more time to focus on the future usage of your property.
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4. Why do I need to manage my vacant properties?
Vacant properties attract vandalism and squatters who may smash the windows and vandalise the inside of the building. Often there is no structured supervision on the technical state of a property, so that frozen pipes and leaks are identified too late. This results in the impoverishment of a property and depreciation of a property's value.
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5. What is the management area covered by Camelot?
Camelot manages properties throughout the whole of Ireland with it office in Dublin. In major cities and villages, as well as remote forested districts. For every location Camelot offers a suitable solution. Additionally Camelot manages properties throughout the Netherlands, Belgium, England and France via our offices in Amsterdam, Den Bosch, Brussels, Antwerp, Manchester, London, Birmingham, Paris, and Lyon. Click here to see our International Network.
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6. Who does Camelot Work for?
Camelot works for a great variety of clients ranging from investors, developers, construction companies, property owners, estate agents, the health industry, banks, bailiffs and receivers, school governors, housing associations, to local-, county-, and state authorities.
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7. What kind of properties does Camelot manage?
Camelot manages all sorts of properties imaginable! Properties that do not appear suitable for the Camelot SolutionTM at first can be transformed to an occupiable condition by the simple installation of mobile utility units. Currently managed properties include:

  •       Offices
  •        Schools
  •        Shops
  •     Village halls
  •     Police stations
  •     Castles
  •        Hospitals
  •        Swimming pools
  •     Flats
  •     Town halls
  •     Fire stations
  •     Retirement homes
  •     Barracks
  •         Sports halls
  •     Theatres
  •        Cinemas
  •    Family homes
  •    Churches
  •        Farms
  •       Mansions
  •        Industrial sites
  •    Monasteries

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8. What condition does a property need to be in to qualify for temporary protection?
Camelot offers a suitable solution for most vacant properties. General property requirements are:

  •     The property is wind and water tight.
  •         The property is not vandalised or derelict
  •        Basic facilities are in place; electricity and water

If some of these requirements are lacking, Camelot can arrange for sanitary facilities such as mobile shower cabins and boilers to be installed - as well as key systems and fire protection equipment - and at the end of the temporary occupation period we also take care that these facilities are removed to your satisfaction.
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9. What are the costs of temporary protection?
The costs of temporary management from Camelot are kept as low as possible. In general we ask you to pay the utilities costs, costs to make the property habitable plus a modest monthly fee:

  •       All outgoings of the premises: (utilities as far as the site is occupied, empty business rates, insurance)
  •            Weekly management fee: €40 - €300 depending on the size of the property, not the number of Guardians
  •            Initial investments to make the property habitable: (repairs smashed windows, new locks, install/remove mobile shower cabinet and electric shower, sinks)

These costs are reasonably lower than the cost of security guards or the cost of repairing long-standing damages as a result of the building being vacant.

Indirect Savings:

  •       Time saving: the Camelot Guardians will enable access for your contractors, surveyors, plumbers, etc.
  •             No more searching for keys: Camelot's key management and storage system fulfill the BSI,  ISO9002 and I.S.999:2004 criteria
  •            You may qualify for lower insurance premiums

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10. Will I remain the boss of my own property?
The occupation agreement used by Camelot Property Management is legally watertight. A ‘Guardian' in their capacity as a temporary occupier cannot derive the right to remain in your property once you no longer require our services. Furthermore, the occupation agreement explains the rights and obligations of the Guardian in a crystal clear manner.
The contracts we use are constructed by Mason Hayes & Curran and approved by an independent barrister. We have strict rules governing the usage and maintenance of your property. This means that with one quick telephone call, you or your estate manager can come round to view the building with a potential buyer, architect or estate agent without worrying as to whether or not it is in a presentable state. In this way you can reap the advantages of having your property protected through occupation while maintaining the option of having it made freely available again at very short notice. In addition we will update you monthly about the status of your property and you can view all correspondence and incidents on our new online property information tool: My Castle.
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11. How quickly is my property available to me again?
When Camelot Property Management protects your property, it becomes fully available to you after a notice period of a maximum of five weeks. We prefer the transfer day to be on a Monday so our Guardians can move out over the weekend, keeping your property under our protection right up until the moment when we hand it back to you.
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12. In what condition will Camelot return my property to me?
When we receive a property from you we fill in an assessment form together and take a series of digital photographs to establish the exact state of the property on day one.
We keep you continuously updated of its status via the written monthly report sent to you after each of our property inspection visits. The property will be returned to you empty and clean and in exactly the same state it was originally delivered to us.
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13. Do I need a change of use for a building?
"If the Guardians reside at the property merely to ensure the security of the building, then the primary use of the building remains the same. Therefore, planning permission is not required." Jarlath Fitzsimons B.L, Mason Hayes & Curran, 14th June 2005.

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14. Are the agreements Camelot uses for Guardians legally binding?
Camelot uses temporary occupation licenses, rather than tenancy agreements, as contracts with Guardians. These licenses are constructed by Mason Hayes & Curran Solicitors (Dublin) and are regularly checked against current jurisdiction. The license is a special agreement, and not a tenancy with tenancy protection and termination periods, and is legally sound according to Irish law.

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15. Does my building qualify for empty business rates?
Yes, the Camelot SolutionTM is a vacant site protection service hence the empty business rates continue. According to senior counsel the change of usage of a property is not required, since neither Camelot nor the landlord wants to change the usage of a property into residential. Similarly Mason Hayes & Curran advise that by using the Camelot SolutionTM the Empty Business Rates do not change.

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16. How about council tax?
The owner does not need to pay for council tax. Camelot will take care of payment.
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17. What about insurance?
The Owner should pay insurance as they normally would.
Regular property insurance policies do not cover the many risks entailed with vacant properties. Insurance companies often raise the owners-costs due to higher risks. However, when choosing for the Camelot SolutionTM, insurance covers remain the same for a vacant building as for when the building would be in normal use. Most of the insurance companies are familiar with the service provided by Camelot and recognise it.
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