A series of online surveys has been unveiled by the government's Working Group to Examine Defects in Housing. It is asking people – including homeowners and landlords – to provide information on their experiences of defects relating to fire safety, structural safety and water ingress in purpose-built apartment and duplex buildings constructed in Ireland between 1991 and 2013.
Information is sought from people regardless of whether such defects in those properties are currently known, unknown or where no such defects have arisen.
The working group will use the survey responses to inform its report on the nature, scale and difficulties arising from discovery of such defects. It will also provide information on the costs and levies associated with remediating defects.
Why is a public consultation being launched?
To date, the working group has been engaging with key stakeholders and stakeholder representative groups. Using an online survey, it is now seeking the experiences of:
- Homeowners (both current and former);
- Landlords (including private investor/owner, institutional/commercial, Approved Housing Body, Local Authority etc);
- Directors of owners’ management companies (OMCs);
- Property management agents.
The working group is asking people to provide information on their experiences of defects relating to fire safety, structural safety and water ingress in purpose-built apartment and duplex buildings constructed in Ireland between 1991 and 2013.
Information is sought from people regardless of whether such defects in those properties are currently known, unknown or where no such defects have arisen.
The surveys will run for six weeks, which began on Monday, January 31, 2022, to 5pm on Monday, March 14, 2022.
What will the working group use your response for?
The survey responses will be used by the working group to deliver on its terms of reference, in relation to the following issues:
- 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.
The survey responses will form the basis of fact-finding by the working group. This will inform future policy in this area and will not be used for the purpose of enforcement.
How to get involved
The Working Group has prepared a separate online survey for each group. It is expected that the surveys will take between 5 and 20 minutes to complete, depending on the survey. The homeowner survey is expected to take less time than the Property Management Agent survey.
The surveys will run for six weeks from Monday, January 31, 2022, to 5pm on Monday, March 14, 2022, and can be accessed at the following links:
The surveys are hosted on EUsurvey , a survey platform that is supported by the European Commission.