Final call to make building defects in Clare known for survey

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD, has issued a final call to people in Clare to share experiences of housing defects for a nationwide survey.

The call has been issued to homeowners, landlords, directors of Owners’ Management Companies and Property Management Agents throughout the county.

The experiences must pertain to housing defects relating to fire safety, structural safety and water ingress in purpose-built apartment and duplex buildings constructed in Clare between 1991 and 2013. The deadline for completing the surveys is Monday, March 14 2022.

These experiences are sought by the ‘Independent Working Group to Examine Defects in Housing’ which was established by Minister O’Brien in February 2021.

Views are sought from people across Clare regardless of whether such defects in those properties in Clare are currently known, unknown or where no such defects have arisen.

Encouraging as many people as possible to participate in the survey before the March 14 deadline, Minister O’Brien emphasised: “Since this consultation was launched in late January there has been a very positive public response.

“Now, I’m making a final call to homeowners, landlords, directors of Owners’ Management Companies and Property Management Agents across Clare , who own or manage purpose-built apartments or duplex buildings constructed in Ireland between 1991 and 2013, to complete these surveys. We want you to complete them whether the property in question has defects or not, or if the presence of defects is not known.

”I understand the working group wants to hear in particular from Owners’ Management Companies and Property Management Agents of these types of properties as we know there is a significant number who have not yet responded to the survey.

“If you live in a duplex or purpose-built apartment complex in Clare, built between 1991 and 2013, we ask you to contact your Owners’ Management Company to encourage them to participate.”

Acknowledging the Working Group’s work to date, the Minister added: “I look forward to receiving the Working Group’s report later this year and will give it my full consideration.”

The working group will use the survey information to inform its report to the Minister with particular regard to the following:

• the nature and scale of the issue of fire safety, structural safety and water ingress defects

• the difficulties that arise following the discovery of these defects

• the costs and levies associated with the remediation of the defects

Separate surveys for each stakeholder group are available at https://www.gov.ie/en/consultation/7e319-online-survey-in-relation-to-defects-in-apartment-and-duplex-buildings/