THE ROLE OF THE PROPERTY MANAGER AND ANALYSIS OF REPORTING TO FLAT OWNERS IN THE FIELD OF PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

The field of property management has been a very interesting and extremely important area in Slovenia since the previous Housing Act of 1991. The process of ownership transfer and privatisation of flats and residential buildings has also brought about the need for an increasing number of property managers. The analysis of information dissemination will be based on the results of a survey conducted. The management of multi-dwelling buildings encompasses such a broad field that it is difficult to assess and present all the current issues that have emerged following the implementation of new legislation in this area.

Problem

The field of property management has been a very interesting and extremely important area in Slovenia since the previous Housing Act of 1991. The process of ownership transfer and privatisation of flats and residential buildings has also brought about the need for an increasing number of property managers. The adoption of the new Housing Act in 2003 brought many innovations and systemic solutions in the housing sector.

The Act stipulates that flat owners of a multi-dwelling building that has more than two flat owners and more than eight individual units must appoint a property manager. With this provision of the Act, the growth in the field of property manager selection by flat owners has increased significantly, as the Act obliges them to appoint a property manager. In addition to the increased number of properties under management, the Housing Act has also brought many innovations and legal provisions in the field of reporting to flat owners.

Deadlines for reporting were established, the content and form of the Report on the Property Manager's Work were determined, and sanctions were also envisaged in case of non-compliance with legal provisions. Management has become a complex activity that cannot be undertaken by just anyone. All the changes brought about by the new Housing Act have significantly increased the workload of property managers and expanded their powers.

The interest of flat owners is no longer just ownership of property, but they demand from the property manager economical management of their property and the maintenance of current and quality records for reporting purposes. The author is employed in a company that deals with the management of multi-dwelling buildings. We deal daily with managing a large amount of data required for the preparation of required reports, both by legal provisions and by flat owners.

In the diploma thesis, we wish to present the importance and content of management, and in particular we wish to focus on reporting, the information system and the dissemination of information from the property manager to flat owners.

Results

The analysis of information dissemination will be based on the results of a survey conducted. The management of multi-dwelling buildings encompasses such a broad field that it is difficult to assess and present all the current issues that have emerged following the implementation of new legislation in this area. When writing the diploma thesis, the focus was on the role of the property manager and on the field of creating and disseminating information to flat owners.

Management as an activity was defined, the obligations and duties of the property manager were presented, as well as the obligations and duties of flat owners in managing their property. The property manager is bound in performing their work by the decisions made by the owners, and is also bound by all the provisions imposed by law. The dissemination of information is a field that requires constant adaptation and change from the property manager, both in terms of working methods and information systems.

The ever-increasing demand for information and the management of a large amount of data for the preparation of all required reports for the purposes of reporting to flat owners has led us to the intention of researching the field of reporting to flat owners. The Act determines the content, form and deadlines for submitting the Report on the Property Manager's Work. Property managers try to adapt our work in the field of information dissemination to the requirements of the Act, and we also adapt to the needs of flat owners.

How well we succeed in this was shown by the results of the survey. The results are a picture of how difficult it is to reconcile legal requirements with what flat owners want in their case. The purpose of the diploma thesis is to confirm the assertion that, in addition to regular management tasks of a multi-dwelling building, quality and timely information to flat owners is of decisive importance for management.

Nowadays, the desire for information on the part of flat owners is also increasingly growing. Through quantitative research, information was obtained from flat owners with which the quality of information disseminated can be further improved. In the first, theoretical part of the diploma thesis, the importance and role of the property manager and management were presented.

The powers of the property manager imposed by the Housing Act and the contracts that form the basis for concluding a management contract were presented. The powers define the tasks of the property manager, whilst the Property Management Services Agreement allows the property manager to perform all tasks imposed by law and by flat owners. Furthermore, the legal basis for the work of the property manager and the laws governing the management of multi-dwelling buildings and prescribing the basis for reporting to flat owners were presented.

In the next chapter, the field of information management, the basics of information systems and the technology that is essential for supporting modern information systems in business operations were presented. Using the example of the company Upravnik d.o.o., the recording and monitoring of accounting and technical data for the preparation of reports in the field of management were presented. The fifth chapter is dedicated to a comprehensive presentation of the reports that the property manager prepares for flat owners.

The Report on the Work of the Property Manager, the content and form of which is prescribed by the Housing Act, was presented, as well as other reports that the property manager creates based on many years of practice in the field of management. Property managers have had to adapt to all requirements in the preparation of reports, adapt the information system, additionally engage employees and change the way of working, which has also had an impact on company costs. In the final part of the diploma thesis, the results of the analysis carried out on the basis of a survey questionnaire were presented.

The analysis was conducted among flat owners. The obtained results of the analysis are statistically processed and graphically presented. From the graphs, it could be established that flat owners are poorly informed in the field of mutual relations.

Not even half of the surveyed flat owners are familiar with the Agreement on Mutual Relations, which is the basis for good management of multi-dwelling buildings, whilst a good half would like more information in this area. Even when determining the satisfaction of flat owners with the method of dissemination and sufficient quantity of information received, the survey results were not satisfactory. The increased interest of flat owners in the field of information is also reflected in the analysis of the survey conducted among flat owners.

It turned out that the field of monthly calculations for operating and maintenance costs is the only area where the survey results showed that over the years a report has been created that suits the majority of surveyed flat owners. The results of the analysis showed that the company will have to make certain changes in the field of informing flat owners, as well as in the dissemination of required reports. With the help of a new information system, the quality of information can be improved in all areas where the survey showed dissatisfaction among flat owners.