Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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56. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will report on his engagement with the Minister for Justice in respect of the need to update the Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011; and if he is satisfied that the redress scheme for construction defects is practicable in view of the lack of a review so far. [24572/24]

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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The question is to ask the Minister for housing if he will report on his engagement with the Minister for Justice in respect of the need to update the Multi-Unit Developments, MUDs, Act 2011 and if he is satisfied that the redress scheme for construction defects is practicable in view of the lack of a review so far.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The programme for Government contains a commitment to conduct a review of the Multi-Unit Developments, MUDs, Act 2011 to ensure that it is fit for purpose and that it acts in the best interests of residents. Housing for All - a New Housing Plan for Ireland, provides for regulations to be made under the MUDs Act relating to the management by owner management companies, OMCs, of annual service charges and expenditure of a non-recurring nature incurred by OMCs.

My Department continues to engage constructively with the Department of Justice in relation to the review of the MUDs Act and the making of new regulations. Draft regulations are being finalised and a policy paper is being prepared to guide the review and finalisation of the draft regulations for approval and signature by the Minister for Justice. Engagement between our Departments is ongoing to ensure full and shared appreciation of the key problems and issues requiring to be addressed in this sector, and the relevant overall policy responses by the Government.

The way in which the current interim and future statutory redress schemes for construction defects in apartments and duplexes have been and are being designed takes account of the evolving nature of the MUD sector and of the challenges being faced by OMCs. For that reason I am satisfied that the schemes are and will continue to be practicable within the provisions of the MUDs Act 2011.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State. I am somewhat disappointed the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, did not respond directly on this question given the importance of this issue and the fact that I have engaged directly with him on the issue of the redress schemes.

I am glad to hear that the regulations are being prepared. Can the Minister of State provide a timeline for their approval and can he clarify whether there will be any primary legislation used to make amendment or is this to be done through regulation?

I should say in respect of the redress scheme there are key issues that the Construction Defects Alliance has raised on retrospection around when the reimbursement process will commence as there are tens of thousands of people who expect to be paid back in the coming months. Will the moneys go to the owner management companies for distribution or will they go directly to owners themselves? There are a number of questions that need to be answered on the retrospection side.

On insurance, many insurers are currently insisting that OMCs commit to getting all fire safety works completed within a year or they will withdraw cover. This is untenable. A Minister - I not sure which - has met the insurance sector but has the sector signed up to supporting the Government's approach rather than undermining it?

I will come back on the issue of OMC regulation further in the follow-up.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy. As I said in my opening statement, the Minister for Justice has responsibility for the MUDs Act. While our Department is the policy holder, we continue to work in relation to the remediation of structural defects in MUDs.

The Department is currently engaging with the Department of Justice in respect of the review. As regards the draft regulations, my Department received draft regulations proposed by the Housing Agency, which is the State body under the aegis of our Department. A policy paper, as I said, is being advanced by the Department to guide the review and finalisation of the draft regulations.

Also, there are five pathfinder projects currently in process. There will be, in answer to the Deputy's question, a retrospective position in relation to this. We are working with the Construction Defects Alliance in that regard. The apartment and defect scheme has been designed and will proceed separate to the application for the MUDs Act. I would also say while the role of the OMC is in applying for the apartment and duplex defects scheme, the discharging of the grant is important in the overall evolvement of the process to contain due to the multistage nature of this scheme.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State for the greater clarity on timelines.

To return to the point around regulation of owner management companies, we are all conscious that these companies are taking on immense roles. Many of them are volunteer-led and they are simply lacking, in many cases, in the necessary supports and guidance. They are lacking a regulator. That is why we have seen the Construction Defects Alliance, the Apartment Owners Network, the Not Our Fault campaign and others coming together to seek reform of the MUD Act to ensure better regulation and better supports are provided for owner management companies. I am looking at Ms Odette Doran's quote from the Not Our Fault campaign where, around the owner management companies, she states:

We are ... looking for the introduction of a regulator ... as there is no manual or guide for directors to turn to. These are ordinary people stepping up trying to do the best they can for the development they live in and being asked to make big decisions ... [and] We need a regulator ... as heading into this remediation project there are up to 100,000 homeowners, at an estimated cost of 2.5 billion.

It has long been acknowledged that there is a need for greater support, greater guidance and a regulator to cover owner management companies which are doing the best they can in many cases but are faced with a huge task.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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As I said in my earlier contribution, the MUDs Act is the responsibility of the Minister for Justice. While I accept the points the Deputy has raised, there are proposed updates to ensure that the annual service charges set by OMCs meet the cost of ongoing maintenance, around the provision of transparency in relation to the setting and payment of annual service charges and around assisting owner management companies to receive timely payment of annual service charges.

While our Department is the policy developer in this regard, the Housing Agency provides information and guidance relevant to residents and OMCs in dealing with their obligations and rights under the MUDs Act. Our Department is working extensively around the information and resources, including publications on guidance and answers to frequently-asked questions in this regard. They will continue to do that and update the Housing Agency's website on an ongoing basis in this regard.