>It was 2019 that the council agreed to take the block in Herberton. In January of this year we were told the apartments were ready to be allocated and it was only a few snag-list items that needed to be dealt with. Now we are hearing there is a serious fire compliance issue. Why were these inspections not done before now?
This is Ireland.
Unreal
>A spokesman for Kennedy Wilson said that, at the time of the agreement in February 2019, it had already addressed fire-related issues and the apartments were “ready for occupation” and fully refurbished when offered to the council.
>“The fire-related work was signed off by [Kennedy Wilson’s] specialist fire consultants, and DCC as purchaser would have had sight of and the benefit of these certificates of compliance at the time of acquisition,” he said. The council had “the opportunity to conduct full due diligence on the units prior to acquisition” and the company had received “no correspondence with DCC on such matters since the transaction closed” in August, he said.
Sounds like at the time of sale there was some work to be done. The work was done and all documentation was forwarded to Dublin Council. Then everyone just assumed the job was done and finished.
As it’s a fire issue here, and this is Social housing (That has a MUCH higher standard applied to it than any private housing) I’d imagine the problem is that certain checks and replacements have to be done within X time of people moving in. Sprinkler system checks every 18 months, smoke alarm checks every 6 months, fire extinguisher replacements every 24 months etc..
And that may have all lapsed since 2019 when it was done by the contractor prior to handover.
All just sounds like an oversight. A stupid one… But an oversight. Someone in DCC should have been responsible for checking items like this were up to date.
I’m guessing as the building wasn’t inhabited yet, it fell between two desks.
Honestly, I know the companies that built these are all defunct now, but this should be criminal. Find who was responsible and make an example with some jail time or make them pay.
Such extreme regulation for this stuff is another reason why housing is cheaper elsewhere.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing obviously esp when it comes to fire but it is a reality that’s often overlooked.
5 comments
>It was 2019 that the council agreed to take the block in Herberton. In January of this year we were told the apartments were ready to be allocated and it was only a few snag-list items that needed to be dealt with. Now we are hearing there is a serious fire compliance issue. Why were these inspections not done before now?
This is Ireland.
Unreal
>A spokesman for Kennedy Wilson said that, at the time of the agreement in February 2019, it had already addressed fire-related issues and the apartments were “ready for occupation” and fully refurbished when offered to the council.
>“The fire-related work was signed off by [Kennedy Wilson’s] specialist fire consultants, and DCC as purchaser would have had sight of and the benefit of these certificates of compliance at the time of acquisition,” he said. The council had “the opportunity to conduct full due diligence on the units prior to acquisition” and the company had received “no correspondence with DCC on such matters since the transaction closed” in August, he said.
Sounds like at the time of sale there was some work to be done. The work was done and all documentation was forwarded to Dublin Council. Then everyone just assumed the job was done and finished.
As it’s a fire issue here, and this is Social housing (That has a MUCH higher standard applied to it than any private housing) I’d imagine the problem is that certain checks and replacements have to be done within X time of people moving in. Sprinkler system checks every 18 months, smoke alarm checks every 6 months, fire extinguisher replacements every 24 months etc..
And that may have all lapsed since 2019 when it was done by the contractor prior to handover.
All just sounds like an oversight. A stupid one… But an oversight. Someone in DCC should have been responsible for checking items like this were up to date.
I’m guessing as the building wasn’t inhabited yet, it fell between two desks.
Honestly, I know the companies that built these are all defunct now, but this should be criminal. Find who was responsible and make an example with some jail time or make them pay.
Such extreme regulation for this stuff is another reason why housing is cheaper elsewhere.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing obviously esp when it comes to fire but it is a reality that’s often overlooked.