A defect is a promise broken in masonry: the contract said sound work and materials, and the building says otherwise. Irish law gives the owner real remedies — in contract, under consumer legislation, in negligence against professionals — but the remedies obey two masters: expert evidence and the limitation clock. Every strong defects claim we run is organised around both from day one.
Mary Molloy Solicitors are solicitors, not engineers, architects or building surveyors. Nothing on this page is a technical assessment of any property or works. Defects claims stand or fall on independent expert evidence — a chartered engineer’s or building surveyor’s report — obtained early. Scheme rules, grant rates and legislation in this area change frequently; confirm the current position before making any decision.
The Claims Landscape
- Contract: breach of express terms and of the implied obligations of proper skill, care and sound materials — the primary claim against the builder you paid;
- Consumer Rights Act 2022: for consumers dealing with traders, statutory rights that building services be performed with reasonable skill and care, with remedies including re-performance and price reduction — see the 2022 Act and building work;
- Negligence: against professionals whose certification, design or supervision failed — architects, engineers, surveyors and certifiers;
- Warranty schemes: structural guarantee claims on new homes — how warranty claims work;
- Special regimes: defective blocks and Celtic Tiger apartment defects have their own scheme frameworks — DCB claims and apartment defects.
The Method: Report, Letter, Route
First, the independent expert report — a chartered engineer or building surveyor documenting what is wrong, why it breaches the standard, and what repair costs. Second, the solicitor’s letter built on that report: precise, costed, and difficult to ignore, because the other side’s insurer now sees the case they would meet. Third, the route: negotiation or mediation where the relationship or economics favour it; arbitration where the contract requires it; Circuit or High Court proceedings by value where they do not. Most defects disputes settle once the expert evidence is undeniable — the report does the persuading.
The Limitation Trap
Limitation in defects cases is genuinely dangerous ground: six years in contract typically from practical completion; six years in negligence from when damage becomes manifest under Brandley v Deane — and Irish law has no general discoverability rule to rescue the owner who reasonably never knew. A crack noticed in year three and “monitored” until year seven is a textbook dead claim. The rule we give every caller: the day a defect appears is the day the limitation analysis should happen. Full treatment: latent defects and time limits.
A Defect You Can See - or Suspect?
Photograph it, don't repair it yet, and call. We will map the claim, the experts and the clock in one conversation.
Call 01 5827148