Why Priory Hall Matters

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Graham writes:

I’m one of the owners in Priory Hall. Like all apartment owners I only got to inspect my apartment after the construction was complete. While most of us did get surveys done engineers carry out what are called “visual inspections”. Any cosmetic issues were spotted and rectified however they do not knock in walls etc.

However many of the problems that have come to light since then were under the surface such as fire safety problems, wrong materials used on the roof, brickwork not properly attached to outer walls, structural problems in the underground car park, faulty electric & gas installation (the list goes on for 15 pages). Most of these problems are in the common areas which individual owners do not actually own. It took the council 2 years and cost them 40k to carry out the investigation that uncovered the defects.

My understanding is that the majority of developed nations have building controls where inspections are carried out during construction as obviously this is the best time to uncover any defects. Ireland does not. While I’m all for personal responsibility, I can’t see how any private owner could be expected to carry out a detailed inspection of an entire apartment complex after it was built. As with most European countries it really should be the role of Governmment. Our government & local councils abdicated that responsibility and Priory Hall and the apartment complexes that will come after it are the consequences of that.

 

Previously: STILL Out In The Cold

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