The Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 (the Act) commenced on 22 June 2023, and it underpins the current grant scheme and the related Regulations which were adopted on 29 June 2023.
The Grant Scheme confirms that an individual who purchased a relevant dwelling on or after 31 January 2020, other than a dwelling in respect of which a letter of assurance has been issued (in which case remediation works have already been carried out), shall not be a relevant owner where he or she knew or ought to have known that defective concrete blocks were used in the construction.
The 2022 Act deals with the transfer of eligibility by allowing a change of relevant owner in limited circumstances related to the death of a relevant owner who has been approved for grant assistance. No provision is made for a change of relevant owner in any other circumstance.
There are currently no plans to amend this further.
It should be noted that in order to assist homeowners, particularly those that are vulnerable, facilitators are available in four local authorities with information on the scheme. They use a combination of outreach efforts on an ongoing basis to create awareness about the programme and supports available, continuously researching and signposting homeowners to other resources in relation to mental health, financial support, energy grant applications (through the SEAI) etc.
