Construction Law Blog

Plain-English guides to Irish building disputes: the contracts, the defects, the payment law and the schemes — written by a practising solicitor for the people the big firms don’t write for.

Homeowners

Builder Dispute in Ireland: What to Do First

The first-week playbook: evidence, communication, and the mistakes that convert strong claims into weak ones.

Homeowners

Suing a Builder for Defective Work in Ireland

The claim, the court, the expert report and the honest arithmetic - how defective-work cases actually run.

Homeowners

Builder Left the Job Unfinished: Your Options

Abandonment versus delay, terminating without becoming the party in breach, and completing with someone else - lawfully.

New Homes

New Build Snag Lists: Your Legal Rights

What snagging actually entitles you to, when your leverage peaks, and what happens to snags missed before closing.

Defects

Latent Defects & Time Limits in Ireland

Six years from when? Brandley v Deane, manifest damage, and why waiting to see if the crack gets worse kills claims.

Homeowners

The Consumer Rights Act 2022 and Building Work

The modern statutory rights every homeowner has against a trader builder - and the remedies ladder they carry.

Payment

Adjudication Under the Construction Contracts Act 2013: The Guide

Notice, referral, 28 days, binding decision, High Court enforcement - the full statutory process end to end.

Payment

Payment Claim Notices in Construction Contracts

The paperwork that converts money owed into money enforceable - and the response regime payers ignore at their peril.

Payment

Subcontractor Not Paid: Remedies That Work

The escalation ladder from account audit to adjudication - including the statutory right to suspend, used correctly.

Payment

Retention Money: How to Recover It

Release triggers, aged retention across multiple jobs, and turning silence into a referable payment dispute.

Contracts

RIAI Contract Disputes Explained

Architect administration, certificates, conciliation and arbitration - how disputes run under the standard forms.

New Homes

The Law Society Building Agreement for New Homes

The document your new-home rights live in: completion mechanics, long-stops, snagging and defects provisions.

New Homes

Structural Warranty Claims on New Homes

What warranty schemes actually cover, the notification deadlines that bite, and where the warranty fits among your claims.

Insolvency

Builder Gone Bust Mid-Build: Your Options

The first 72 hours, the recovery map around the dead company, and the honest arithmetic of what comes back.

Professionals

Professional Negligence Claims: Architects & Engineers

Duty, breach, causation, loss - and the same-discipline expert evidence and PI insurance that shape these cases.

Regulation

BCAR and the Assigned Certifier Explained

SI 9 of 2014: design and assigned certifiers, completion certificates, the one-off house opt-out and its consequences.

Schemes

The Defective Concrete Blocks Scheme: 2026 Changes

The 2025 Amendment Act commenced: increased grants, the €462,000 cap, 130-week works periods - what changed and for whom.

Schemes

The Apartment Defects Remediation Scheme Explained

The interim fire-safety scheme now, the statutory scheme in progress, the OMC’s central role and owners’ next moves.

Disputes

Construction Arbitration vs Court in Ireland

Privacy, speed, cost, appeal rights - choosing between the arbitrator your contract names and the courtroom.

Contracts

Extension & Renovation Contracts: The Checklist

Price, stages, variations, retention, insurance - the one-page discipline that prevents most disputes on this site.