HOMEOWNERS caught up in the ongoing Menolly Homes-Irish Asphalt case, who are being asked to vote on the establishment of a trust fund to fix structural defects in their houses, say they are being forced into an agreement which provides no guarantee that all the houses will be fixed.
A settlement was reached by the two companies through mediation in November without admission of liability, resulting in a proposed €25.5 million trust fund to carry out repairs to the affected properties.
However, this is dependent on the agreement of 85 per cent of the 550 householders.
By January 11th, when the case was last before the Commercial Court, 165 householders had not yet voted.
Some residents say that the offer is unfair as it does not provide a guarantee that all the houses will be repaired.
Some see a letter sent by Byrne Wallace, solicitor for Menolly Homes which is now a client of the National Asset Management Agency (Nama), stating that it would find it difficult to continue funding the case if the proposed trust fund was not approved, as a bullying tactic.
Will Morgan who lives in the Drynam Hall estate, said he had “reluctantly” voted in favour of the trust fund, but added that even if 85 per cent of residents agreed to it, they still faced “continued uncertainty” over the future of their homes.
“If the trust fund collapses . . . the offer will cease to exist or if the trust fund is deemed to be insufficient for whatever reason, not all houses may get repaired.”
He added that this would leave residents with no further legal recourse.
“The fact that neither the courts nor Menolly will offer those guarantees is a real frustration because essentially if you sign up, you’re taking a blind leap of faith,” Mr Morgan said. He said he was also frustrated that the courts had failed to resolve the issue of liability between the two companies.
“There are more cracks in the agreement than in their current properties,” Helen Manning, who lives in Drynam Crescent, said of the trust fund.
“There are no gold diggers here. There are 550 mortgage payers who are finding it increasingly difficult to meet their financial obligations and whose hands are tied . . . as the party to the original agreement of purchase has failed to keep his part of that agreement by providing a structurally sound property.”
There are various reports of residents in the estates not being able to close interior doors, cracks in the walls and burglar alarms going off due to movements in the houses tripping the sensors as a result of structural problems.
Siobhán Purcell, who also lives in the Drynam Hall estate, said her house was “literally coming apart at the seams”, adding that she is paying a 30-year mortgage on a property that she no longer wanted to live in.
A spokesman for Byrne Wallace said yesterday that it would not be appropriate to comment on the case at this time while there was a process under way.
The decision on a proposal to set up a trust fund for the 550 Dublin homeowners has been adjourned until today to allow the residents who had not voted by last Tuesday, more time to consider the proposal.
Under the settlement, homeowners would get up to €3,000 for new floor coverings, €3,000 for legal costs, €2,000 for alternative accommodation while work was being carried out and €2,000 compensation for inconvenience caused.
The case, which is one of the longest-running cases to come before the Commercial Court, arose out of a dispute between housing firm Menolly Homes and Irish Asphalt, part of the Lagan group.
Menolly Homes has blamed structural defects in houses in four Dublin housing estates on the presence of the mineral pyrite – which swells when it comes into contact with water – in the houses’ foundations.
However, Irish Asphalt, which supplied the infill, denies this, blaming faulty construction for the defects.