FAQs

The Apartment and Duplex Defects Remediation Scheme is a planned Government scheme to pay for repairs to defective apartments and duplexes in the Republic of Ireland. It will be created and run by the Housing Agency.

The scheme was set up in response to the findings of a Government working group. It estimated that between 50% and 80% of apartments and duplexes built between 1991 and 2013 may have fire safety, structural safety or water ingress defects.

The scheme is expected to cover purpose-built apartments and duplexes built between 1991 and 2013. It will fund the repair of:

• Fire safety defects, such as missing fire barriers or cladding that doesn’t perform as it should.

• Structural safety defects, such as problems with balconies.

• Water ingress, where water gets into the building through walls, roofs or balconies.

The defects must come from defective design, workmanship or materials that did not meet the Building Regulations applicable at the time of construction. Problems caused by poor maintenance, an underfunded sinking fund or later works are not expected to be covered. Houses and buildings in Northern Ireland are not included.

Not yet. The Bill has been through pre-legislative scrutiny by the Oireachtas Housing Committee and is being drafted. It still needs to be published and passed before applications can open. No opening date has been confirmed.

In the meantime, the Interim Remediation Scheme is up and running. It funds emergency fire safety measures, such as enhanced fire alarms and fire safety management, while buildings wait for full remediation.

Under the proposed scheme, the Owners’ Management Company (OMC) is expected to apply on behalf of the whole building, with funding paid to the OMC rather than to individual owners. The building is expected to be assessed as a whole, including common areas and individual apartments. The Interim Remediation Scheme already works this way.

The Government has previously said the scheme is intended to cover the full cost of remediation work that falls within it. Earlier proposals also included repaying some costs already incurred. However, the final terms, including any conditions or limits, will be set out in the legislation.

You don’t need to wait for the legislation to start preparing. Useful steps include:

• Gathering existing fire safety reports, surveys, fire safety certificates and as-built drawings.

• Confirming when the development was built, and who designed and built it (if known).

• Keeping records of any money already spent on defects, and any levies raised for it.

• Asking your managing agent whether an Interim Remediation Scheme application is appropriate.

• Briefing your board and planning how you’ll keep owners updated.

If your building has already been flagged for cladding defects, get in touch. We can help you understand where things stand and support your OMC as the legislation comes into place.

Remediation projects are long and technical, with many moving parts to keep on top of. As your Client Representative, we act for your OMC and manage the whole process on your behalf. That means appointing and coordinating the technical team, preparing funding applications, running procurement, monitoring the works and keeping owners updated.

Investigation, design and certification stay with competent professionals, and your managing agent continues to look after the development. We coordinate the remediation project around them, so your board has one point of contact from start to finish.

Archway FM has been supporting building owners through remediation in England for years. We know where projects slow down and how to keep them moving, and we’ll guide your board through each stage. In England, our fees are covered by Government remediation funding, so our clients don’t pay for our services. We expect this to work the same way in Ireland, subject to the scheme’s final funding rules.

If you have any other questions, we’d be happy to answer them.