I do not think it is normal. It is really hard to fight this thing when it was there for a couple of years.
The only way to avoid it is to change the attitude:
“The attitude that agile developers have toward the design of the software is the same attitude that surgeons have toward sterile procedure. Sterile procedure is what makes surgery possible. Without it, the risk of infection would be far too high to tolerate. Agile developers feel the same way about their designs. The risk of letting even the tiniest bit of rot begin is too high to tolerate.”
Martin C. Robert
“Agile Principles, Patterns, and Practices in C#”
I highly recommend to look into this book for advices. It names all "design smells", the reasons of their existence and consequences of leaving them. May this will help you to persuade your management that current situation is not appropriate.
Good luck!
