HAP Inspectors demanding vents in apartment

D.Mull

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Have an apartment let out in Swords. HAP TOOK OVER RENT PAYMENTS LAST YEARIt was inspected last year and there were about five or six jobs to do. All were straightforward apart from one. Regulation 7 states that you have to have a VENT TO THE EXTERNAL AIR. It is a top floor apartment and the only way to do this is to knock a hole in the roof or the side of the building. The management company have given me a letter stating that they will not allow any work which would alter the exterior appearance of the building. As I do not own the external walls or roof, if I put in a vent I would be committing a criminal offence. If I don’t, I will be in breach of housing regulations. Fingal County Council have insisted that I negotiate something with the management company but they are adamant that they will not allow any such work to be carried out. They say if the facade is changed in any way it will give carte Blanche to anyone who wants to do something to the exterior of the building. Tried explaining this to F.C.C. but they keep quoting the regulations and saying the vent has to be installed. Have to say inspection company were very helpful
 
Regulation 7 states that you have to have a VENT TO THE EXTERNAL AIR.

That's the greatest joke with the HAP inspections. Fingal Council, and all LAs are fully aware what they are asking is simply not possible in apartments. Tell them you are not in a position to comply as your management company are exercising their rights. If they say they will stop payments, tell them you will be forced to respond with an eviction notice for unpaid rent.
 
would it be possible to install window vents ,as far as i know if your windows are pvc ,it should be possible to retro fit window vents might cost €100 per window

Windows are also the property of the management company. On top of that, the forms I've seen require a minimum of 6500sqmm effective free area, that's a circlular hole of greater than 9cm, stick a vent grill in front of that and you need to increase the diameter to maintain the free area.
 
Windows are also the property of the management company.
Are you sure. I know they have the right to make sure you replace it with the same 'Look and Feel' but I bought new ones and the management company only made sure the spec was the same. I have vents across the top (timber/pvc part) that can be switched open and closed.
 
What sort of roof is it? Could you get a roof vent with a tile vent to cover it? They're very discreet. Although anyone on the lower floors would have the same issue still.
 
Have an apartment let out in Swords. HAP TOOK OVER RENT PAYMENTS LAST YEARIt was inspected last year and there were about five or six jobs to do. All were straightforward apart from one. Regulation 7 states that you have to have a VENT TO THE EXTERNAL AIR. It is a top floor apartment and the only way to do this is to knock a hole in the roof or the side of the building. The management company have given me a letter stating that they will not allow any work which would alter the exterior appearance of the building. As I do not own the external walls or roof, if I put in a vent I would be committing a criminal offence. If I don’t, I will be in breach of housing regulations. Fingal County Council have insisted that I negotiate something with the management company but they are adamant that they will not allow any such work to be carried out. They say if the facade is changed in any way it will give carte Blanche to anyone who wants to do something to the exterior of the building. Tried explaining this to F.C.C. but they keep quoting the regulations and saying the vent has to be installed. Have to say inspection company were very helpful

The local authorities have no common sense whatsoever when it comes to issues like this
 
Are you sure. I know they have the right to make sure you replace it with the same 'Look and Feel' but I bought new ones and the management company only made sure the spec was the same. I have vents across the top (timber/pvc part) that can be switched open and closed.

Good point, not all management companies are created equal. I've limited experience but know of cases where replacement windows and installation of trickle vents was refused.
 
It’s in the lease agreement. They won’t budge as they are afraid of the slippery slope. One mans vent is another mans satellite dish. The outside walls are painted and any work could easily knock out a piece of the wall covering which is uniform over three floors. The entire wall would have to be re plastered and painted. Even then it won’t match the other apartments. I’ve told HAP that I can’t do it without the Management Companies permission and my only option is to evict the tenant who has been there 11 years. The property was built in 2004 and is very well maintained. HAP say they have to follow the regulations.. Crazy
 
Have HAP already taken on the tenancy?

When did these regulations come into effect.

If the regulations changed before HAP took on the tenancy, then obviously HAP is at fault for taking on a property which does not meet regulations.

HAP are in my experience full of hot air, when they made what I considered unreasonable demands of me I sent them a strongly worded letter and have heard no more about it, that was 15 months ago.

While different councils have different attitudes, they all work to the same legislation. Some councils issue letters asking for things they have no right to demand. None of them can stand behind demands that are not firmly grounded in legislation.

Have you seen a legal reference to regulation 7.
 
Had same experience. I asked the Council inspector if he had vents in his house. He said that he wouldn't tell me that private info. I said that I didn't and that I simply open windows to ventilate bathroom! No problems since
 
The one residential property i own ( apart from my PPR) in Limerick city, i fitted trickle vents ( kitchen - dining room and bathroom were more modern extension so wall vents not a problem there) as i wasn't going to drill through stone, i have a ten year lease with the council so inspection was in advance of my handing possession over.

Engineer from the council told me the rooms were too small for trickle vents to work so i fitted two vented slates on the roof and fitted Duct pipes through attic and vents in bedroom ceiling

Wasn't possible to do the same with downstairs rooms so engineer let it go

That was almost two years ago, hopefully I've no dampness in the attic as a result of this alteration, reckon if I put it back the way it was, the council would never notice, they've management of the house outsourced to a housing charity
 
When did these regulations come into effect.

Regs came in with the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019 legislation. The problem as I see it with that legislation is that it makes no allowance for older properties, and terms like 'adequate ventilation' are being interpreted by the LAs as meaning adequate as defined by current building regs, and not those in effect at the time the property was built. But then, the purpose of this legislation was to force landlords to upgrade properties to modern standards regardless of age.

The HAP forms I've seen demand vents with a minimum of 6500 sq mm effective open area in each room.
 
The cynic in me wonders whether some management companies are quite happy to have no HAP tenants permitted in their development!
 
HAP took over rent from a sitting tenant. The property was later inspected and all issues were dealt wither. Fire blanket in kitchen but not attached to wall.
The legislation is a one size fits all. Regulation 7 clearly states that there must be a vent to the external air. Cannot do this without permission from Mgt. Company which is not forthcoming. Rang inspection unit in Fingal Co. Council who just quoted the regulation. I told them I was going to evict the tenant, who has been there for11years, as I was facing fines for non-compliance which is out of my hands. They said they would get a senior person from HAP to contact me. Got no call. I rang and was told that HAP were given the message and they can’t do anymore. I asked for the phone number for this senior HAP person and he told me he would try and transfer the call . He said that this senior HAP official was on the floor below him. Still can’t get anything from HAP.
 
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