THE Government has been urged to introduce a latent defects redress scheme to help those living in badly built properties constructed during the Celtic Tiger era.
A number of the affected properties are located on the Southside of the city.
Dublin Mid-West TD, Eoin Ó Broin (SF), said that owners and residents living in boom time apartment developments across the State are facing building repair costs and possible eviction due to defects uncovered. He noted that some of the defects include fire safety issues, a rotting roof and defective balconies.
“These people bought or rented their homes in good faith and the Government has all but ignored any calls to assist them,” Deputy Ó Broin said. “The Oireachtas Housing Committee published a report in January 2018 that offered solutions for latent defects. The ‘Safe as House’ report, which I authored, received cross party support.
“This report made 26 recommendations in total and to tackle the issue of latent defects, our report suggested that a redress scheme to assist home owners with latent defects should be established. This redress scheme would be funded via an industry levy matched by Government funding and low-cost loans to help homeowners pay for remedial works.”
Mr Ó Broin said there was a need for non-judicial resolution process for home owners to be established which, in the first instance, would seek to have the developer responsible cover the costs of remediation.
He added: “The redress scheme should also be accompanied by a programme of fire risk assessments based on a methodology designed to assess those boom time developments deemed potentially at risk of containing latent defects.
“In our alternative budget for 2019, Sinn Féin included a proposal for an initial €7.5m fund for remedial works for homeowners who purchased properties prior to 2014 with serious structural latent defects. This fund would be available in cases where the developer is no longer trading and there is no way to cover costs. This would be matched by €7.5m from industry.
“The cross-party recommendations in the ‘Safe as Houses’ report offer real solutions for homeowners and tenants living in defective properties.”
Mr Ó Broin said that properties referenced in a report in The Irish Times last week may just be the “tip of the iceberg” when it comes to the scale of this problem.