Skip to main content

Costly Pyrite Damaged Homes...

Insurer refuses to pay for pyrite damage in buildings...

HomeBond leaves owners facing bills of €70,000.

Thousands face bills of up to €70,000 to repair pyrite damage to their homes after a leading building insurer refused to meet claims.

HomeBond, the building insurance agent, has contacted the owners of affected properties to tell them they will not accept liability or pay out on claims.

Some homeowners who had already been offered compensation have now been told that these offers no longer stand. Junior Minister and Meath East TD Shane McEntee, who has represented many of the affected families, described the move as "shameful".

It follows a High Court case in which it was ruled that a quarry from which pyrite-infected material was sourced was culpable for the condition of the buildings it supplied.

Last year it was estimated that around 20,000 claims had been made to HomeBond in relation to pyrite -- a mineral that expands in the presence of moisture and oxygen, leading to severe cracking and structural problems.

Disputed

The company has disputed that figure, but last night declined to comment on how many people it had contacted or on the number of homeowners who had received settlement offers only to have them withdrawn at the 11th hour.

The cost of repairing affected buildings is estimated at between €50,000 and €70,000.

HomeBond referenced the High Court case between James Elliott Construction Ltd and Irish Asphalt Ltd last May as a factor in reaching its decision to refuse claims.

In that case, Mr Justice Charleton ruled that the supplier of the material was responsible for damage caused and not the developer.

"It is the view of HomeBond that the quarry suppliers of the defective hardcore infill in question acted negligently in supplying material that was not of merchantable quality and fit for purpose, and supplied a defective product," it said in a statement last night.

"Under the terms and conditions of the HomeBond agreement, HomeBond's liability for major defects is specifically excluded and accordingly, HomeBond does not propose to take any further action."

Before writing to customers, the company contacted the Department of the Environment to brief them on their position.

A departmental spokesman said that while Environment Minister Phil Hogan was aware of the problem facing homeowners it was essentially a civil matter between private parties.

Reacting angrily to the news last night, Mr McEntee said: "To go in and just hand it over (to the Government) and walk away, no they have not done the right thing.

"It's a shameful thing for them to do, shameful. The pressure this (issue) puts on marriages and then you take negative equity and mortgages."

The news will come as a blow to those who had been relying on the agency -- which provides bonds for new homes in case of structural defects -- to help meet the financial cost of righting defective homes.

It is understood that about 20 building firms had sourced materials containing pyrite from at least four quarries in Dublin and Meath.

HomeBond, which was established in 1978, describes itself as the leading provider of structural defect cover for new homes, with more than 600,000 on its books.

Report by Mark Hilliard - Irish Independent

Popular posts from this blog

Ireland's Celtic Tiger Excesses...

'Bang twins' may never get to run a business again... POST-boom Ireland is awash with cautionary tales of Celtic Tiger excesses, as a rattle around the carcasses of fallen property developers and entrepreneurs will show. Few can compete with the so-called Bang twins for youth, glamour and tasteful extravagance. Simon and Christian Stokes, the 35-year-old identical twins behind Bang Cafe and exclusive private members club, Residence, saw their entire business go bust with debts of €9m, €3m of which is owed to the tax man. The debt may be in the ha'penny place compared with the eye-watering billions owed by some of their former customers. But their fall has been arguably steeper and more damning than some of the country's richest tycoons. Last week, further humiliation was heaped on them with revelations that even as their businesses were going under, the twins spent €146,000 of company money in 18 months on designer shopping sprees, five star holidays and sumptu

I fear a very different kind of property crash

While 80% of people over 40 own their own home just a third of adults under 40 do. This is disastrous for social solidarity and cohesion Changing this system of policymaking requires a government to act in a way that may be uncomfortable for some. Governments have a horizon of no more than five years, and the housing issue requires long-term planning. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform was intended to tackle some of these problems. According to its website its remit is to “drive the delivery of better public services, living standards and infrastructure for the people of Ireland by enhancing governance, building capacity and delivering effectively”. So how is the challenge of delivering homes for people in 2024 and beyond going to be met? The extent of the problem is visible in the move by companies, including Ryanair, to buy properties to house staff. Ryanair has, justifiably, defended its right to do so. IPAV has long articulated its views on how to improve supply an

Property Tycoon's Dolce Vita Ends...

Tycoon's dolce vita ends as art seized... THE Dublin city sheriff has seized an art collection and other valuables from the Ailesbury Road home of fallen property developer Bernard McNamara. The collection will be sold to help pay his debts. The sheriff, Brendan Walsh, is believed to have moved against the property developer within the past fortnight, calling to his salubrious Dublin 4 home acting on a court order to seize anything of value from his home to reimburse his creditors. The sheriff is believed to have taken paintings from the family home along with a small number of other items. The development marks a new low for Mr McNamara, once one of Ireland's richest men but who now owes €1.5bn . The property developer and former county councillor from Clare turned the building firm founded by his father Michael into one of the biggest in Ireland. He is the highest-profile former tycoon to date to be targeted by bailiffs, signalling just how far some of Ireland's billionai