News Articles & Videos
The Compulsory Registration of Properties in Ireland
The Multi Unit Development Bill is now Law!
Safety Health & Welfare (Construction) Regulations 2006
Small Works – Are You Complying?
Saving Global Environement Vs Local Environement
Pyrite: What is it, and should I worry?
Energy Audits and their value
The Land Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009: Impact on Homeowners, Developers & Their Design Teams
Adjudication in Construction Bill 2010
Elephant in the Room (or in your attic?)
The Compulsory Registration of Properties in Ireland!
1st June 2011
Author: Gordon White, Fahy Fitzpatrick Ltd
Introduction
The scope of the Compulsory Registration of Properties legislation has, as of 1st June, been extended to cover counties Dublin and Cork. These two counties contain the bulk of all unregistered properties in the country. Fahy Fitzpatrick Consulting Engineers, with 20 years experience in matters relating to the registration of property, fully support this move towards a unified registration procedure and will be recommending to the Minister that further moves towards a single property register be made.
If you are considering buying or selling a property in Dublin or Cork that is not registered with the Property Registration Authority then you need to know that the Compulsory Registration of Titles legislation now applies to you. To avoid any un-necessary delays, and possible deal-breaking uncertainties, Fahy Fitzpatrick recommend that anyone considering the sale of such a property prepare all the necessary maps and documents and deal with any uncertainties in advance of putting the property on the market. Similarly, Fahy Fitzpatrick recommend that anyone buying an unregistered property should ensure that the vendor has attended to this.
If you are unsure as to whether a property has a Registered Title this can be found out either directly from the PRA Land Direct web-site www.LandDirect.ie or through your mapping professional. Fahy Fitzpatrick. provide a comprehensive mapping services to clients.
Background
Ownership of land within Ireland is recorded by two distinct bodies, the Property Registration Authority (the PRA, formerly The Land Registry)) and the Registry of Deeds. Whilst the former retains mapping records (folio maps) of land holdings the latter does not, or at least not necessarily. From the point of view of the Compulsory Registration legislation, a title recorded in the Registry of Deeds is considered “unregistered” and a title registered with the PRA is considered “registered”
Under the Registration of Titles Act (Compulsory Registration of Ownership) 1964, and subject to ministerial order, all properties conveyed must be registered with the Property Registration Authority (The PRA). That is to say if a property (either freehold or leasehold) whose title is currently unregistered or registered with the registry of deeds is sold the title must then be registered with the PRA. This can be extended to cover other transfers such as succession, gifts etc. but for the moment compulsory registration is triggered only by a transfer.
The application of the act is on a county-by-county basis by Ministerial Order and has been brought into effect in 4 tranches to date. The act now applies to all counties of Ireland with the addition on 1 June of Dublin and Cork, where c. 40% of the population live.
In short if you own a property with a Registry of Deeds Title and you wish to sell it the sale and the new title will need to be registered with the Property Registration Authority.
Impact on the main urban areas.
In County Dublin there are thousands of unregistered properties. In particular there are thousands of unregistered leasehold properties within unregistered freehold properties. Historically many housing developments were carried out within large freehold estates, with the houses being sold as leasehold and paying ground rent to the freeholder. In some cases the lease is extremely long (999-year leases are common) and the ground rent is of a nominal (or ‘peppercorn’) value.
Some freeholders are the heirs and successors of the original landowner on whose freehold the housing was developed and some are registered companies that have acquired freeholdings and collect ground rents. Under the current legislation as it stands these freeholdings will only be required to be registered with the PRA if they are sold, however there is freedom within the legislation to allow for it to be extended to succession, that is to say if the freeholding is passed on, rather than sold, it would also require registration. The registration of a freeholding created many decades, and possibly centuries, previously will be an extremely complex matter for the successor.
Where problems may occur in the short term is with the sale of unregistered leasehold properties after 1 June 2011 when it comes to defining the exact extents of that property. There will be issues with the matching of the current understanding of the extent of properties on the ground with the original intention of the transfer. This will particularly be the case where either the original maps incorporated into the deeds were poor or where there is no map in existence and the property is simple defined as “The Property Known as Number 8 Paper Street” or whatever. Whilst in many cases this will not present a problem, there will undoubtedly be problems when it comes to defining something that has, to date, been ill defined or undefined. Where an “understanding” of the extent of abutting properties may exist between neighbours each neighbour’s “understanding” may differ when it comes to formally mapping these.
Differences may occur when one party to a boundary may have constructed a wall or planted a hedge on their own side of the original boundary marker fence and the other party may then have removed the fence (or it may simply have disintegrated with time). With changes in ownership of one or both properties the understanding of the original boundary may be lost and the boundary on the ground will be different from the original intention of the deed.
Historically many plots were demarcated with wrought iron “estate fencing” which were replaced over time with hedges, walls etc. Where all or part of this original fence is extant it can be very useful in defining the boundaries.
Where a plot was part of a row of plots then the parties generally shared the boundary walls with the exception of the plot at the end of a row where the party would own the entire wall. Where this row was later extended the party at the end of the original row should retain entire title to the wall but the neighbour may not share that view!
Recommendations
1. In order to ensure that a sale is not delayed or a buyer is not lost due to a lack of surety in the title of an unregistered (Registry of Deeds) property Fahy Fitzpatrick would recommend that before a property is even put on the market all necessary maps are prepared for the First Registration of the property by an experienced mapping professional and that these maps be checked against the Registry of Deeds title and agreed with all neighbouring properties. If there is any likelihood of a boundary dispute it would be better that this is resolved before the property goes on the market rather than potentially putting off a purchaser. It is not necessary to actually register the property at this time, however if there are ill-defined boundaries that can be agreed with neighbours at this stage it would be worth registering the property in advance of a sale as this will give a potential purchasers’ solicitors a much clearer title to check.
2. Where an ill-defined or undefined boundary is agreed with a neighbouring property holder this agreement should be formally drawn up by for inclusion with the First Registration documents to avoid any future conflict. Whilst the PRA operates a non-conclusive boundary system there is a little-used mechanism for the registration of a conclusive boundary. This should be considered where a boundary definition is agreed between two neighbouring partiers. There may be a benefit in terms of a quick sale if this registration is completed before the property is put on the market rather than waiting for the compulsory first registration on transfer. Your Solicitor and Mapping Professional will do this for you.
3. Even where a property is not to be transferred, triggering its compulsory registration, there are advantages to having the title registered.
• It provides a State Guarantee of title
• If the boundaries are registered as conclusive it provides a State Guarantee of boundaries
• It allows unmapped titles to be mapped
• A recent Supreme Court judgement has stated that the courts cannot force the sale of jointly owned registered lands where there has been a judgement against one of the owners.
Gordon White is a director of Fahy Fitzpatrick Consulting Engineers with 15 years experience in legal mapping issues and is chair of the Media Group of the Inter-Professional Task Force on Property Boundaries
The Multi Unit Development Bill is now Law!
1st June 2011
Author: Barry McGann, Fahy Fitzpatrick Ltd
The MUD Bill is Law
Anyone involved in Apartment developments with common areas, have been waiting a long time for improved legislation and regulation.
The Multi-Unit Development Act 2011, which was enacted on 1st April 2011.
According to the governments own memorandum on the Act the reason it was brought forward was to eradicate problems in relation to:
• When the management company must be established.
• The timing of the transfer of ownership of the common areas to the management company.
• The establishment of a sinking fund.
• The calculation and payment of service charges by unit owners.
• The enforcement of house rules and covenants.
• The strike off of companies for non-compliance with statutory reporting requirements.
• The resolution of disputes between parties.
Although the act has been in existence since 1st April 2011 the main changes will occur shortly with a number of legal transfers needing to take place by 1st September 2011 and 1st September 2012.
Numerous summaries of the Act are already available including
The government memorandum:
http://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/bills/2009/3209/b3209s-memo.pdf
and
The full text from the apartment network owners: http://www.apartmentowners.ie/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/MUDsBillFINAL.pdf
One of the technical aspects of the Act is the need to establish a sinking fund. Fahy Fitzpatrick have been assisting owner management companies and their property agents in minimising sinking fund costs while ensuring that the funds are the correct value to cover the actual replacement costs over an agreed period. This is typically 20 years for residential and 50 years for commercial developments.
The Act requires the developer to contribute to the service charges where he is still in ownership of unsold units to make up for the shortfall that previously caused so much difficulty in setting up management companies. The developer also has to contribute to the sinking fundwhere he is still in ownership of unsold units.
New developments need to have sinking funds in place within three years of the transfer of the first unit being sold. Existing developments need to have a sinking fund in place by 1st September 2012. This allows for sufficient time for management companies to have the existing building fabric and mechanical and electrical installations assessed to calculate their actual replacement cost. A replacement schedule to be provided by a qualified Chartered Engineer thereby allowing total fund value and contribution & spend for each of the years to be calculated. Further information on the production of sinking funds is available at the end of this article.
The act also reaffirms the need for certificates of compliance to be in place prior to the transfer of ownership of the common areas to management companies. For completed developments this transfer must take place by 1st September 2011 i.e. 3 months time. The act also requires confirmation that the development is in compliance with the fire safety certificate for the development.
Fahy Fitzpatrick have been enabling apartment and housing estate owners to close out these difficult loopholes by providing post construction certificates to allow title transfers and insurances to be put in place.
In a development of 5 units or more for, the developer to transfer the ownership of the common areas to an owner’s management company (of which the unit owners are the members) the following needs to be in place:
1. A certificate of compliance with the building regulations.
2. A certificate of compliance with the planning permission.
3. The act separately notes the requirement for compliance with the fire safety certificate.
It is expected that the developer will have obtained a fire safety certificate and planning permission from the local authority prior to commencing the development but this is not always the case. Although not mentioned in the act a building built from 1st January 2010 would also require a Disability Access Certificate to be granted by the local authority.
Preparation of Sinking Funds for Property Managers and Multi Unit Property Management Companies
Fahy Fitzpatrick assist management companies/property managers by calculating a sinking fund for major repairs and replacements of building elements and services. We provide an independent service by Chartered Building Professionals to accurately determine the remaining lifespan of a building’s elements and prepare a sinking fund to serve the actual needs for the building over the next 20 years (or 50 years).
OUR TYPICAL SERVICES TO PROPERTY MANAGEMENT AGENCIES & APARTMENT MANAGEMENT COMPANIES INCLUDE:
An Inspection to ascertain the condition of the building. The survey report will give an expert opinion on the condition of the structural, architectural, fire safety, mechanical and electrical elements and will identify areas requiring upgrading over the next 20 years. This will ensure that health and safety, running costs / energy efficiency, aesthetics and property value are all maximised. Where defects are found, budget costs to repair the damage are given, and a list in order of priority is drawn up.
Calculation of a “Sinking Fund” to replace building elements over a 20-year period.
The assessment of the remaining lifespan of each element of the building informs as to when existing elements need to be repaired or replaced. Our report outlines when the various items such as escalators & lifts, roofing, electrical distribution boards / wiring, cladding, etc. need to be replaced and calculates the funding needed to cover these costs over the 20 year period. The total fund is then presented as an annual payment that will be needed to fund future major repairs / replacements in a planned and transparent manner.
Our Service offers the following benefits:
Maintaining Value of Property
A structured, detailed report and budget for the coming years will demonstrate how this can be effectively achieved in the best interests of property owners.
Transparency
Full budget costs for replacement items provides property managers with greater clarity. This facilitates presentation of future costs.
Avoidance Large Emergency Payments
A planned, concise schedule of required funding of major building elements prevents owners being asked for lump-sum payments to fix emergency issues such as roof leaks, lift replacements, etc.
Independence
Independent fully insured professional consultants providing unbiased advice and best value for money.
Potential for Reducing Costs
By incorporating an energy study as part of the report process, key operating cost savings can be identified, resulting in lower running costs for the building.
Safety Health & Welfare (Construction) Regulations 2006
Small Works – Are You Complying?
1st June 2011
Author: Brian Cleere, Fahy Fitzpatrick Ltd
The 2006 regulations essentially set out the parameters for providing H&S cover for the entirety of a construction project. Even prior to work commencing on site some consideration must now be given with regard to design, specification, logistics and methods of construction. The Regulations are designed to strengthen the general duties of all parties but particularly designers and specifiers, as regards securing occupational safety, health and welfare in construction work.
The Regulations also include for construction projects such as refurbishment, maintenance and the repair of buildings. They place obligations on Clients and Designers to ensure that safety and health is considered before any construction work begins. The onus is also put on Contractors to ensure that the work on site is properly coordinated and carried out in a safe manner.
In relation to small works the question commonly asked by both Client and Contractor is; When do I need (or not) to comply with the regulations? Although there are guidelines provided by the HSA in the main relating to time and cost of construction, these are quite broad in scope and do not reflect on a situation which may arise when certain types of small works are undertaken.
These projects would include works where there is immediate danger to the public no matter how insignificant the work. The issue is that in the case of works on a pavement or roadway the likelihood of contact with the public is very high. Therefore there is substantial risk of injury.
Minor works where more than one contractor is employed tend also to be overlooked. It is often the view that if a single contractor is on site then this precludes the need for preliminary H&S plans and safety statements due to the fact that a single source of administration is present. However it is common place not to consider a supplier of materials, such as concrete, as another party to the construction works. Once this happens there is now a chain of command leading to coordination issues on the site. This in turn leads to the requirement for a preliminary health and safety plan to be furnished and a suitably qualified construction H&S person employed on site together with safety statements from all parties.
The above highlights two common examples which tend to be overlooked when it comes to health and safety legislation. The value and time frame put on a project bear little reflection on the need for full compliance with the regulations. Even the most minor of works may require a preliminary H&S Plan, safety statements and a PSCS to be employed. Remember it is up to all construction professionals to advise their clients of their full responsibilities under these circumstances.
Saving Global Environement Vs Local Environement
1st March 2011
Author: Michael J Fitzpatrick, Eco Smart / Fahy Fitzpatrick Ltd
Quality of life and our own health is important to us, but is it more important to us than our need to, as the saying goes, “save the planet”. Eco building and energy efficiency is a very important item on anyone’s agenda today, especially with the advent of carbon taxing, and the ever increasing costs of energy.
There is a new technological advancement in the area almost every week, and there is no end of people in the marketplace trying to sell the next best thing. There is certainly a massive economy in eco efficiency and home energy savings. There is however a real lack of understanding the impact of the various different technologies on your quality of life in the long term, and very few sales people out there will be alerting you to the potential pitfalls of the various technologies.
That said, there are not many people offering a holistic service offering advice on what solution suits your situation best, as this costs money, and most people who are selling a product will claim to give you this advice for free. No doubt, even the least astute amongst us would find it hard to believe that someone selling a product would not have a slight bias towards the solution they are trying to sell.
What people don’t realise is that this area is highly specialised, and the technology required for a holistic solution requires a professional opinion, or even professional design. If you’re going to build a building you get the engineer to design the structure, because if you got the builder to do it, he wouldn’t know how to design it for its lifetime and there’s a good chance he would only want to tell you that you need the most expensive and largest building possible.
This is all very well for me to say, I hear you say, but give me an example of what you are talking about. How is my quality of life going to be dramatically affected by energy efficient upgrades?
Well, as some may know there are a number of principles upon which an eco efficient house operates and these are as follows:
• Use the most efficient source of energy (solar, wind, cheapest supplier etc)
• Make sure the means of servicing the house are the most efficient (low Watt lights, A rated appliances, most efficient heating systems etc)
• Make sure the control of the systems are as specific and measurable as possible (7 day programmable timers, multiple thermostats etc)
• Make sure the building fabric is best for retaining heat (insulated, windows, MVHR)
The last item is where the problems arise, and it comes from a combination of three things:
1. The use of MVHR (Mechanically Ventilated Heat Recovery System)
2. Poor workmanship in construction
3. Super insulation of houses
What is MVHR? Well this is basically a system that provides us with fresh air, but manages to keep the heat from the stale air, and use it to heat the fresh air, to prevent us from having to heat a constant stream of warm air.
Using these systems in conjunction with an airtight house, can make a massive difference to the cost of heating, as they mean that the environment internally is maintained with fresh air, and there is no loss of heat through ventilation, or at least very little. These systems are generally a large box about a sq metre in size, which are mounted in the attic void, and have ducts piping the air to each of the habitable rooms in the house. These systems are reasonably priced and very efficient.
So how does this cause a problem? Well the problem arises from the combination of the three items. The houses are insulated to a much higher level than previously possible, and this includes very well insulated windows and ceiling in the attic.
There is an area that is not so well insulated or in general it’s not so well finished, and this is because never before has there been any reason to do so, and this is the party wall with adjacent properties in the attic above. This is generally seen as simply as a requirement of fire regulations, and so the workmanship on these areas wouldn’t be subject to much scrutiny.
So what does this all mean, and how do these all combine to create a problem? Well the answer is acoustics. The super insulation of the house now means that where as previously we had background/ambient noise which would average at around 30-35 dB, this can now be much lower at around 20-25 dB. This means that any additional noise becomes much more noticeable. The attic space has not been properly acoustically treated at the party wall with an adjacent property, as this has never been an issue before, so there is acoustic transfer through the roof structure across the party wall.
The MVHR unit is mounted to the roof structure, and has ducts going to all habitable rooms in the house. This combination means that you essentially have noise transfer from your neighbour’s house, into your attic and then the MVHR unit acts as an amp, piping the noise from next door to every room in your house through the system of ducts. The after effect is that you may as well be living with your neighbours, as you end up hearing everything they do, when they turn on a light switch, when they are watching TV, when they are taking a shower, when they are doing the laundry, and of course when they are having heated discussions.
No doubt of course, your neighbours can also hear you, so they also have to endure the noise of everything you might be doing on a daily basis, and because we would never assume that this is because of a combination of technologies being used to achieve an “A-rated” home, we simply assume that we must have the most noisy obnoxious neighbours in the country. Slowly a resentment for each other builds based on practically living together, uninvited, and it results in a lot of stress in both homes, and a somewhat frayed relationship between neighbours, with growing resentment for each other.
Of course, you will be saving on your energy bills, and your carbon footprint will be much lower, but this may start to lose its appeal after a few sessions of therapy, and a few letters from the Gardai over noise pollution and disruption.
So, what’s the solution? Well there are many such pitfalls in the quest to becoming more energy efficient, but luckily there are people out there who are professionally qualified, and very experienced at the installation of all the various systems etc. My advice would be to spend the few hundred before starting your venture into eco efficiency to get some to do an energy audit, and to advise on the best and most appropriate solution for your home. That way they can address all these potential long term items and concerns, which are much less likely to be addressed by a supplier of a product.
Some companies, who offer an Energy Audit now, also provide a BER Certificate as part of the service also, as you will require this to apply for the grants available from SEAI. They will also, for a small fee, manage the entire process, getting competitive tenders from reliable and trustworthy providers of each solution and make sure it’s all installed on time and to the budget required. The better of these companies, will also provide a thermal imaging report, before and after work has been done, so that the performance of the upgrades is verified and checked from day one, and you won’t suffer from poor workmanship issues down the line.
My advice is take a little bit of time to find a good reliable consultant with Professional Indemnity to advise you on the best solution, and pay their small fee for outline advice, as it could save you a lot of time and money rectifying problems that you don’t even know could exist, and which are only really known by professionals in the field.
Pyrite: What is it, and should I worry?
1st March 2011
Author: Brian Cleere, Fahy Fitzpatrick Ltd
Pyrite is an issue that is causing increasing concern to Northside householders. But what exactly is it and what should you do if you suspect your home is experiencing pyrite related defects? Chartered structural engineer BRIAN CLEERE offers his expert advice on the issue.
PYRITE is a naturally occurring and common mineral. Traces of it can be found in sedimentary rock deposits all around Ireland.
These rock deposits have their uses, primarily within the construction industry and can be used to make crushed stone. Crushed stone is used as a hard backfill under slabs, roads and other building structures. It can also be used in stone to produce concrete products such as blocks, cladding panels and lintels.
By itself, pyrite in stone is not normally a problem. However, when it comes into contact with moisture and oxygen in a confined space – and in significant quantities – it can become a problem.
In the presence of moisture and oxygen, pyrite oxidizes and produces sulphuric acid. The acid reacts with the calcium carbonates found in the crushed stone and swells.
This swelling can lift the floor slab of a house or indeed any building and cause cracking in the floor. This in turn may also have an effect on the interior structural supports which are resting on the floor.
The amount of swelling is usually greater if there is a higher concentration of pyrite in the backfill. The amount of swelling is also determined by the thickness of the backfill. Construction material containing relatively large amounts of pyrite are likely to expand and crack and/or crumble over time.
Generally the swelling is a slow process and may not manifest itself for up to four years after construction is finished. It is also difficult to determine when the swelling will cease.
Homes that are most susceptible to structural damage caused by pyrite are standard terraced and semi-detached houses and apartment blocks of timber frame construction. Most or all of the internal walls will be supported on the ground floor slab, hence they will tend to be lifted by the swelling of the slab causing structural damage at first floor level and beyond.
Traditional block houses will tend to be less affected above the first floor level, although the lateral shifting of external walls may occur.
If a building is suspected of having a pyrite problem, some of the noticeable effects are as follows:
*Lifting of a ground floor concrete slab producing cross shaped cracks spreading across concrete slabs. These may be visible on tiled floors.
*Horizontal cracks in partition (timber stud) walls at mid and ceiling levels.
*Cracks around the chimney breast at ceiling level.
*Cracks over internal doors.
*Ceiling cracks and slight bulging of the ceiling next to the walls
*Doors not opening or closing properly (jamming) and requiring ongoing adjustment.
*External cracks in walls at a low level with possible lateral shift.
If you suspect your home may be affected by pyrite swelling you should contact both your home insurance and structural guarantee providers. You should also contact a suitably experienced Chartered Structural Engineer.
It is important that your home insurer is informed of the presence of pyrite and structural damage, even if a claim for loss is likely to be rejected on the grounds of bad workmanship and unsuitable construction materials.
However, provided the house is less than 10 years old, a structural guarantee scheme such as that provided by Premier Guarantee and Homebond should be in place. In general, these policies provide a level of cover for structural damage arising from defective materials.
It is, however, the responsibility of the home owner to prove a case of pyrite damage.
Although pyrite may be confirmed as present under the floor or within a material such as blockwork, it must be shown that the pyrite has expanded and is causing heave or expansion, resulting in the structural damage.
Other common structural issues such as subsidence need to be considered as a possible cause of the damage. It is therefore important that any initial structural survey identifies these as possible underlying problems in order to reach a definitive conclusion.
When the structural engineer has completed this survey and identified the problem as likely to be pyrite heave/expansion, testing of the fill under the ground floors will be required to accurately determine the level of pyrite in the fill.
If the levels of pyrite are deemed to be significant, the stone will need to be removed from underneath the floors resulting in the complete excavation of all the ground floors. Clean stone fill will need to be imported and all of the ground floors reinstated. If the original developer/builder is carrying out the work, it is advisable to engage an independent structural engineer to oversee and certify the works.
Recently a long running court case involving a builder (Menolly Homes) and supplier of stone (Lagan Group), relating to hundreds of homes alleged to have been affected by pyrite in north Dublin, was settled out of court. A fund has now been set up to help with the repairs of the homes. It’s understood that homeowners have also been granted fees for legal and other expert services and alternative accommodation.
Brian Cleere is a Chartered Structural Engineer with Fahy Fitzpatrick Consulting Engineers. If you are concerned about the possible presence of pyrite in your home, visit www.fahyfitz.ie, phone 4660566 or email mailroom@fahyfitz.com
Energy Audits and their value.
28th Sept 2010
Author: Michael J Fitzpatrick, Eco Smart/FahyFitzpatrickLtd
Finding cost savings has become the new national pastime over the past few years. We are constantly finding new ways to save on our costs, whether it’s through negotiating or shopping around, we all love the thrill of being able to find the deal deal on the market.
The one area which is coming more and more into the spotlight these days with the advent of Carbon Taxing is the cost of energy. Whether a family home, or a commercial premises, the energy bills can account for a large portion of the annual costs. The average family home spends close to €2,000 per year on energy bills alone, and some commercial premises can cost up to €500,000 on energy bills.
This is an area where many are now looking to try and make savings through various means and take advantage of the grant aid available. Many people trawl through the internet and read the latest magazines trying to find the latest research and best options available to them. They often tend to form conclusive ideas about what they need to do to save energy without even talking to a professional in the area, and rather get convinced by someone selling a product that they would have you believe will solve all your problems and save you a massive portion of your bill.
An Energy Audit on the other hand, can actually save you a money. The difference with an Energy Audit is that an experienced professional is taking a holistic view of your property, identifying all areas where savings can be made: whether it’s by switching suppliers; upgrading you heating system; installing solar hot water boilers; getting new windows; or simply blocking up drafts. The advantage to having a professional looking at the building is that you don’t always have to spend a lot of money to make substantial savings. Some properties can save up to 40% on annual running costs, and the money spent upgrading them, can be paid back in savings in under a year.
The savings are even more dramatic when it comes to a commercial premises. Most commercial buildings built in the last 50 years have not been built with a view to keeping energy costs as low as possible, so the likelihood is that a professional could find 30% savings as soon as he walks through the door. Again the value here in using a professional, is that they can accurately quantify savings down to the euro, and compare that to real costs for upgrades (if necessary).
In many cases, commercial properties are paying more than they should to their energy supplier to retain a maximum import capacity available to them, based on an Electrical Engineers design for the building, when in reality the building will never require that capacity.
In conclusion, your first port of call in attempting to find energy savings should be to talk to an experienced professional who can educate you on the complexities involved, as opposed to a sales man with the latest invention.
For more information on Commercial & Residential Energy Audits, please contact Michael J Fitzpatrick of Eco Smart Ireland at info@eco-smart.ie, or visit their website at www.eco-smart.ie
Eco Smart are a subsidiary of Fahy Fitzpatrick Ltd.
The Land & Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009 Impact on Homeowners, Developers & Their Design Teams
15th Sept. 2010
Author: Gordon White, Fahy Fitzpatrick Ltd
Introduction
The Land & Conveyancing and Law Reform Act 2009 came into effect in stages between December 2009 and January 2010. Whilst the section prohibiting ‘upwards-only’ rent reviews has received most publicity, other provisions of the act will have an impact on property owners and building professionals & practitioners.
General Description of the Act and pertinent excerpts
The Act formalises, modernises, combines and repeals numerous statures, acts, common law and practices dating back many centuries (including feudal systems dating back to the Norman period!) and provides a comprehensive statutory basis for Land & Conveyancing Law.
The definition of “land” has been amended to include airspace “Above the surface of the land … which is capable of being or was previously occupied by a building … and any part of such airspace…”. This allows for the transfer of, for example, as yet un-built apartments.
Of particular interest to property owners and building professionals and practitioners is Part 8, which deals with “appurtenant” (or incidental) rights such as easements (e.g. rights-of-way) or usage rights. The easements referred to are generally those established by usage (or extinguished by non-usage) rather than those established by way of legal agreements.
Ownership and Easements
The Act clarifies the concepts of ‘legal’ ownership and ‘equitable’ or ‘beneficial’ ownership and abolishes the creation of certain anachronistic and obsolete ownership types. The Act also sets the periods of use required to create an easement by prescription, or of non-use required to extinguish an easement created by prescription, to 12 years (excluding foreshores) and requires that a court order be obtained to this effect and registered with the Land Registry.
Matters relating to Party Structures
One of these ‘appurtenant’ rights is a right of access to repair and maintain or carry our works on party structures or on structures so close to a property boundary that such works are impractical without access to the adjacent property. This replaces the Boundaries Act, which dates back to 1721.
Effectively this part of the Act prevents one property owner from unreasonably refusing permission to an abutting property owner to enter their lands in order to carry out work on a party structure. This is subject to the lands being made good on completion and payment of reasonable costs (to cover professional fees and compensate for inconvenience), indemnifications etc. to the affected party. This can be applied equally to the maintenance of a hedgerow, the construction of a domestic extension up to a property boundary, the construction of a dividing wall between two areas of development land under different ownership or the construction of a structure so close to a property boundary as to make it impractical without access to adjacent lands. All of the preceding examples being, of course, subject to planning permission or exemption from same.
The act also allows for the benefit (if any) of the new structure to the adjacent land-owner to be set against the costs to the adjacent land-owner of facilitating the works.
The Act reflects current property divisions by defining ‘Party Structures’ as being either vertical or horizontal, i.e. they include horizontal divisions between properties above and below each other.
Comment
The Act in its entirety has been generally welcomed as it replaces with a single Act some 150 pieces of legislation dating back nearly 400 years.
The section relating to works on party structures reviewed above is particularly welcome as it provides a legislative remedy to the unreasonable or mischievous prevention of permitted works by parties that find themselves in a disproportionate position of control over a development or a building. It achieves this whilst also protecting an affected land-owner through ensuring that adequate property restoration and compensation is made available.
It also allows new party structures between folios to be created on a property line, rather than entirely within one property, and to be worked on from both sides. This removes a siduation whereby a landowner could be effectively be forced to cede a strip of land to an adjacent owner through a requirement that a boundary be built entirely within their property. It is worth noting that the Property Registration Authority (formerly the Land Registry), under the land registry rules for mapping and in the absence of specific information to the contrary, tends to map properties to the nearest feature mapped on the Ordnance Survey and shows them this way on Folio Maps. Party Structures build to one side of a boundary may become the “de facto” boundary with time and the remaining lands subject to ‘adverse possession’ by the owner on the other side.
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Adjudication in Construction Bill 2010
15th Sept. 2010
Author: Michael J Fitzpatrick, Providence ADR/FahyFitzpatrick Ltd
As most in the Construction Industry, or associated professions would know, there is a large quantum of confrontational disputes in the area of construction contracts and development agreements. The majority of these are currently being settled with long laborious legal battles which take a long time to reach a conclusion and bear a considerable cost to those undertaking the litigation.
The Construction Bill 2010, which is broadly modelled on the UK model, seeks to address outstanding payment issues by introducing adjudication to construction contracts to resolve disputes arising between employers and contractors or contractors and sub- contractors through adjudication by an independent third party.
The Construction Bill will apply to any oral or written construction contracts, with the exception of a number of specific contracts, namely those with a residential occupier or those excluded by statutory order. The definition of a construction contract is broad and includes any agreement to carry out or procure construction operations, do architectural, design or surveying work as well as provide advice on building, engineering, interior or exterior decoration or the laying out of landscape in relation to construction operations. This essentially means that anyone who currently works in the area of construction for commercial clients is covered under this Bill, which is a very large catchment.
Types of construction operations included under the bill would be:
Construction, alteration, repair, maintentance, demolition or dismantling of:
-buildings or a non-exhaustive list of structures and works
-installations of heating, lighting, ventilation, drainage, power, water, internal and external cleaning of buildings.
As you may note from the last line, this means that all building maintenance and upgrades are also covered under the Bill, including regular cleaning of buildings.
The advent of this Bill will mark a dramatic shift in how people go about disputing payments on projects and construction contracts, as it has in the UK. Mediation will be a regular first port of call and a pre-requisite for all construction contracts.
The Bill states that a party to such a contract cannot withhold payment or part payment of money due unless they have given effective notice of the intention to do so, and this notice must identify the sum, the calculation and the grounds for withholding. There are also certain time periods identified for the issue of the notice.
The adjudication process as part of the bill, advises that the referring party must give 7 days notice of the intention to adjudicate, with a decision to be reached by the adjudicator within 28 days of the referral. The adjudicator can extend this a further 14 days only with consent of the referring party.
The bill is due to be revisited again in five months by the Seanad.
Providence ADR are a subsidiary of Fahy Fitzpatrick Ltd. www.providenceadr.com
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Elephant in the Room (or your attic?)
14th Sept. 2010
Author: Barry McGann, Fahy Fitzpatrick Ltd
Recent experience has identified attic conversions may present significant consequences for home owners whose goal is to maximise available space for a growing family. Ironically growing families with young children seem to be the main market for attic conversion. This means that young children very often get the dubious honour of occupying the potentially hazardous attic space.
On a number of occasions in the recent past my company Fahy Fitzpatrick Consulting Engineers have been ask to inspect houses where unexplained cracks have been identified by unwitting homeowners who entrusted their most valuable asset into the hands of a self designated “fully qualified attic converter”. Structural problems where inadequate support had been provided for the new accommodation were commonplace. In some very worrying instances roof trusses, which are designed with very little additional capacity, were cut apart by the builder, who showed no understanding of how they worked and most significantly how to adequately replace those members cut out to allow space in the attic. This caused cracking in the walls of the partitions underneath and doors to jam. It also raised the potential for complete collapse or sagging of the roof leading to water leaks when the roofing felt is torn from too much movement.
It is worth noting that unless a builder has a Structural Engineering qualification, preferably Chartered Engineer, they do not under any circumstances have the necessary skills to carry out any alterations to any form of roof trusses. Although roof trusses are very common they are a very tightly engineered structural element. The cause for concern is the complete ignorance of fire safety
regulations and the risk to occupants using the attic.
Any parent with children sleeping in the attic would naturally go up to the room on hearing the fire alarm. The additional time to wake, assess that there is a fire, then go up to the attic and only then begin to escape down through two storeys on fire. This means a family escaping from an attic converted home takes far longer than the designer of the original house allowed for (and a fire fighter needs to travel much further to save a child in the attic).
Building regulations provide some very basic requirements to give protection to those occupants of an attic space, who are at greater risk since they need to travel from a third storey to the front door.
It is clear that a large portion of attic conversions are not installed with these basic safety features. Rogue builders are taking advantage of the fact that the only type of building the fire service can’t automatically inspect by law is a single family dwelling house.
It is particularly common for attic conversions not to provide adequate head room in accordance with habitable space requirements of the building regulations. This has the knock on effect that when a property is to be sold or rented out the space cannot be advertised as an additional bedroom. Usually with the contractor paid and gone the owners find they cannot obtain a certificate of compliance with the building regulations and have to forgo the additional value of a 4 bed versus a 3 bed house for
example. Yet increasing the value of the house is often one of the reasons people convert attics.
I would urge home owners to look out for following major warnings:
• Did your builder cut into a roof truss removing the middle members and leaving the top and bottom?
• Did your builder install fire doors?
• Are your first floor doors jamming?
• Are any of your ceilings cracking at first or ground floor?
• Is your new stairs narrower than 800mm?
• Is your external roof line sagging?
• Have any of your partitions cracked?
These are some of the signs that the attic was incorrectly converted.
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