Residents of 68 apartments in Dundrum in Dublin will be forced to move out of their homes for up to three months after the building was found to be in breach of building and fire regulations.
The 80 apartments at The Laurels, near Dundrum Town Centre, are in receivership and 68 are occupied by renting tenants. They are under control of the receiver to Tuskar Asset Management, Kieran Wallace of KPMG.
Dublin City Council and Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council were notified by the receiver through Dublin Fire Brigade, of construction defects in the development.
In a statement, Dublin City Council said the receiver, “acting responsibly” and in consultation with his fire consultants, contacted the fire authority immediately and following discussions has decided to relocate the existing tenants.
“This will be completed within one week,” the council said.
“In the interim additional preventative measures have been put in place including the provision of fire wardens to watch over the complex to allay the possible fears of residents.”
A list of works to be carried out has been submitted by the receiver. The Chief Fire Officer is engaged in “detailed discussions” with other parties involved in the process, namely Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council as building control authority, the receiver and their consultants.
The council said the objective was to agree the remedial action required to resolve the fire safety issues in the complex, in the shortest timeframe possible.
Bennett Property Ltd, the managing agent, said it would continue to liaise closely with tenants and with the authorities to ensure that the safety of tenants continued to be prioritised.
It would also communicate on a regular basis with tenants over the coming months and said they had been issued with contact details to deal with questions or issues that arise.
Fine Gael TD for Dublin South Peter Mathews said residents had received a letter from their management company last week to notify them of the problems.
“The shabby standard of construction in this country during the boom period is disgraceful. People residing in apartment blocks need to feel safe in their homes and they cannot do so if basic fire and building regulations are ignored,” he said.
Mr Mathews said that if the “property bubble hadn’t come to a grinding halt” the apartments would have been sold on the open market.
“After spending hundreds of thousands of euro on a new home, purchasers would have been forced to find alternative accommodation.”
He said it was a “clear example” of the need for proper regulation and inspection of apartments during their construction.
“Self-certification and self-regulation simply is not working.”
Priory Hall, an apartment complex in north Dublin, was evacuated last year due to safety issues.