Campaigners cautiously welcome new remediation scheme for apartment defects

Cabinet has approved new legislation which will establish a remediation scheme for residents in defective apartments.

The scheme will cost the Government up to €2.5 billion which will go towards fixing around 100,000 apartments built during the Celtic Tiger era – between 1991 and 2013.

Thousands of apartments owners in Dublin have been affected by recently found defects and many have been asked to foot the bill for the repair works.

This new legislation, which will cover the costs of the repairs, has received cross-party support.

The Government says a “whole building approach will be taken, ensuring common areas and shared spaces are also remediated where required to the relevant standard.

“It’s envisaged that the Housing Agency will play a central role in the administration of the scheme and that Owners’ Management Companies will be funded to carry out the necessary remediation works, with specific limitations or exemptions on certain commercial owners.”

Green Party Minister and Dublin West TD Roderic O’Gorman says that defects have become a common feature among apartment blocks built around the turn of the century.

“We know that several apartment blocks constructed in Dublin 15 and Dublin 7 during the Celtic Tiger era have significant defects, causing stress for the owners, putting them in financial difficulty and, most importantly, impacting on the safety of those who live there,” he says.

“Apartment owners have been raising concerns with me about these defects since I became a local Councillor in 2014, and I have continued to highlight these issues with Government colleagues since elected as TD for Dublin West.”

Fingal TD Joe O’Brien said he was “very happy to welcome the approval for legislation to create a remediation scheme for thousands of homeowners and renters who have been living in unsafe, uninhabitable conditions and have been faced with extortionate bills through no fault of their own.”

However, campaigners said that “the devil will be in the detail” and anything less than 100 percent redress for all affected home owners will not be accepted.

People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said the legislation was “welcome” but “anything less than a 100 percent redress scheme, which is fully retrospective and rapidly implemented would not be acceptable.”

The Construction Defects Alliance said the scheme marked a “major step forward.

“However, the details of who will be included in the scheme, the level of support being offered by Government – in terms of both the financing and the management of remediation works – will be crucial and we await that detail with considerable interest,” spokesperson Pat Montague said.

Last year, apartment owners in The Crescent Building, Park West were told that they had to pay €68,000 each to repair fire safety defects despite the fault lying with the developer.

A report also published last year by the Department of Housing found that there was around 11,000 apartments in Fingal affected by safety defects.

The report found that between 50 and 80 percent of the 14,000 apartments and duplexes built in the area between 1991 and 2013 are affected by one or more safety defects.

These defects relate to fire safety, structural safety, and water ingress.