Buying an apartment- no fire certification

L

lorcurran@gmail

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We were sale agreed on a lovely apartment in a 1981 block.

However, the Surveyor's report stated that there is no fire panel, fire doors or fire certificate. Is there any got grant to retrofit fire safety measures for a 1981 block or should we walk away. There are 5 appointments in the block, €8,700 in the sinking fund.

Should we just walk away?
 
There won't be a fire certificate for 1981 apartment block iirc, they only started to be issued from 1990s on.

There are no grants that I'm aware of.

If you are planning to live in the apartment as an owner occupier, then it does not matter re: the above as long as it met the 1980s standards of the day.
I personally would be concerned by lack of fire doors.
In such a small development, if you have your own fire alarms that would provide some security. I presume by fine panel you meet a common area fire alarm system.

The property should not be rented out though as it does not meet rental accommodation standards for a multi-unit development.
This may also affect resale value, something to bear in mind if you are buying this to get onto the property ladder.
 
The black and white answer is that the building was constructed prior to building regulations and requirement for a fire safety cert so they are not required.

However the grey area is that under the Fire Services Act, the responsible person has a duty of care to ensure fire safety of the building, so basically the OMC can't escape their responsibilities just because the building was constructed prior to regulations.

Can the surveyor provide you with advice as part of their report? maybe the building layout would make certain fire safety measures fairly straightforward.

Whether you should walk away depends on your purpose of buying, if its your home residence then you'd take a more forgiving attitude than if it was an investment
 
odyssey06 said:
There won't be a fire certificate for 1981 apartment block iirc, they only started to be issued from 1990s on.

There are no grants that I'm aware of.

If you are planning to live in the apartment as an owner occupier, then it does not matter re: the above as long as it met the 1980s standards of the day.
I personally would be concerned by lack of fire doors.
In such a small development, if you have your own fire alarms that would provide some security. I presume by fine panel you meet a common area fire alarm system.

The property should not be rented out though as it does not meet rental accommodation standards for a multi-unit development.
This may also affect resale value, something to bear in mind if you are buying this to get onto the property ladder.
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Many thanks for the advice. It's all such a grey area, we will probably walk away.
 
bish123 said:
The other issue may be securing home insurance.
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Buildings / block insurance could be a bigger challenge. Dublin Fire Brigade have been getting more particular on fire safety details in recent years, and in cases like the Metropolitan Complex, the have faced closures of car parks and the threat of forced closures of entire developments pending resolution of issues they previously passed certification on.
 
Leo said:
Buildings / block insurance could be a bigger challenge. Dublin Fire Brigade have been getting more particular on fire safety details in recent years, and in cases like the Metropolitan Complex, the have faced closures of car parks and the threat of forced closures of entire developments pending resolution of issues they previously passed certification on.
Click to expand...
Spot on Leo. In our small apartment development we had a technical difficulty that delayed getting our fire safety certification. Our insurance broker warned us that in the event of a fire, the insurance company would probably not cover claims.
 
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