Legal action against Property Developer - Solicitor needed (Dublin)

J

jokireland

Guest
Hi

I hope you can help us.

We bought a new apartment in Dublin 18 months ago.

Over the last 12 months we have had persistent issues with mould and damp in one of the rooms of the apartment, which has spread across the walls and ceiling. The Developer tried to resolve it a number of times but it keeps returning.

To make a long story short we had a meeting at the apartment with an independent expert (we contracted), the Directors of the development company, and their Architect.

The Developer confirmed that the likelihood is that there was a leak(s) from the apartment balcony above which was causing the issue. We have given them an ultimatum to have repairs done within the next 2 weeks as we are completely tired of the situation over the last 12 months, and in particular the attitude of the Development company. However, since the meeting (over 10 days) we have heard little from them and no progress has been made.

We have threatened legal action, seeking a refund of what we paid for the apartment, and expenditure incurred such as stamp duty, legal fees etc.

We are now at the point where we feel we have to take action.

Do any of you know of a Solicitor who has experience of such a case and has been successful? We would prefer the Solicitor to be in the Dublin region.

Thanks in advance for your help. (Please feel free to send a private message to me if you prefer).
 
Why don't you save yourself all this frustration and make an Insurance claim off the Block Policy. This is what you are paying your annual service charge for.
 
I would agree, the block insurance should cover this (or possibly homebondif there are major defects). The legal route would be very costly and take years to resolve, you could also lose and face paying the other sides legal costs.
 
Is this a case of a Property Owner who feels peeved at paying 2006 prices ??? Regardless if the matter and damage continues and they do nothing to Mitigate the damage and loss the Insurance Company will take a view of a spurious claim.
 
Thanks Mercman and FKH for the advice. Is the block insurance purely to get the damage and original leak issue repaired? What is the right channel - the service company or insurer directly?

The Developer has tried to fix the issue a number of times over the last 12 months with no joy. It looked like we were making some progress a couple of weeks ago when they got some of the key people involved (a Director and Architect). We have to continually follow-up with them to get this resolved and I suppose we're at the end of our tether with them at this point. We have good tenants in the apartment who have been very understanding but are now completely fed up with the situation, like us, and are threatening to break the lease.

Hence, the threat of legal action to either recoup what we paid for the apartment, based on poor construction, or at the very least make sure they know they're not dealing with a couple of mugs!
 
jok, you need to check out the terms of the Insurance Policy with your Management Company. It probably provides for loss of rent and therefore you might be able to appease your tenants by allowing some time off with the rent. I am no legal expert, but I cannot see a court reimbursing you the full amount for the property. It is a small leak not a persistent flood. The MC really needs to fight your battle for you but get on to make the Insurance Claim ASAP.
 
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