Trapped in a Pyrite ridden Affordable Home

D

Dinkey

Guest
Agghhhhhh....I'm so frustrated lads. I bought an affordable home in Glasnevin i 2005. There has always been problems with the house but since I signed the snag list off there was little we could do. This time last year it was discovered that the 35 homes in the development are riddled with pyrite to varying degrees. My own experience of this problem so far has been the plasterboard ceiling in the front room collapsed, the flash on the front of the house leaked into the same front room, the radiators in the front room burst because the floor is moving because of this pyrite problem. There are huge cracks all over the house that my 4 year old daughter can fit her thumb in. The house has actually moved 2 foot to the right since we moved in because of this pyrite. We had a meeting with DCC in August of last year to try and determine who was going to fix everything, the builder or the quarry who supplied the infill for the foundations. The most recent update is that the builders are not accepting liability and have entered into mediation talks with the DCC to try to establish an outcome for the estate. My problem is that I want to move out because I'm not prepared to live in a house where the windows have a half inch gap the whole way around the wood and the curtains and blinds sway in the breeze. The house is falling down around me and there's nothing I can do. I contacted DCC to see if I could get out of the agreement but they said I can sell it like a normal home....yeh...a normal PYRITE ridden home!!!! Nobody is going to buy it and to be honest I wouldn't dream of selling it to anybody in the condition its in and is likely to be in for the forseeable future. I feel trapped. Is there anything I can do?
 
I have an awful lot of sympathy for you Dinkey, it is an appalling situation, There are other threads on AAM re Pyrite, there maybe some info here

http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=101735

We cant sell our house in its current state either. The gaps in pieces of adjoining wooden flooring in our kitchen is a sight to behold as our floor is totally off level & makes sitting down for dinner a pain.
 
Hello Dinkey. I am in the same situation as you at the moment. I bought my house on the affordable housing scheme with Fingal CC and the whole estate has a pyrite problem. At the moment I am trying to find out what the legal difference is between my house and some other houses in the estate which were bought privately. Basically, premier (the homebond company) are being very difficult about accepting the presence of pyrite in the estate, they continually change the rules onthe tests to prove the problems. The doors are sticking in the hosue as the floors are rising.... this is a potential fire hazard as far as I'm concerned and it's getting to the stage where the house is becoming unlivable. In other cases I have heard that owners are now chasing the builder where the homebond will not pay out, but in my case, I bought the house from Fingal CC, not a builder, so I feel that they should be doing something about it. The house after all still belongs to them until the mortgage is paid. I'll be seeking legal advice on this so will keep you posted as to how it pans out.... i don't expect quick results given that the menolly homes case is ongoing and will take another year or two to sort out (see other posts on pyrite on AAM).
Chin up
 
Any update on the Pyrite situation - is anyone taking responsibility for this APPALLING situation???
 
The other thread is closed now due to comments from some posters. However, one idea mentioned was the joining of voices into some form of group. As with others, patience has now run out, the house is deteriorating rapidly and in front of our eyes. We can't engage with the builders for even basic remedial work to at least make things more comfortable and with a baby on the way and heading into winter, the huge gaps at the back of the house mean it is extremely difficult and expensive to maintain heat.

We've no interest in selling, just making the home we bought habitable for us and new family. We only asked for remedial work and were refused, essentially forced to begin legal proceedings. However, there is no interest in this politically even though there are serious issues presented by this problem.

I'm not sure this forum is the right way to go about this, but perhaps it is time to organise ourselves a bit more formally. The legal route has effectively meant everyone is pitted individually and isn't allowed to openly discuss their situation or even those lucky enough to have been provided remedial work. That said, I'd be happy to assist organising and lobbying as part of a group effort.

Probably best if those interested state so via PM I guess.
 
Pity that the main Pyrite post is closed, also court has ruled not to name 25 developments affected by pyrite. I can see that best effort is on way to supress the voice of affected people which is any where b/w 20-60K (guess we will never know the exact figure as too much politics around property market).
Court ordered not to name any of developments involved as if this is done builder might not be able to sell remaining units due to bad press! unbelievable, as if they haven't caused much problem for 000's of Joe's already.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/courts/location-of-25-estates-in-pyrite-probes-to-stay-secret-2230728.html
 
Having trouble with my "home" too - Hasn't been confirmed if pyrite or not at this stage but everybody is ignoring my questions. Saying they will monitor this and then that. At this point i have decided to withhold payments (DCC - AFFORDABLE HOUSING SCHEME) - I have given them notice 2 weeks ago that i will cease payments from Jan 2011 and still nothing back. I dont know what trouble it will cause me but it cant be worse than now (or can it) and at least i will be holding onto my money and not throwing it down the drain.
 
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