With his wedding day fast approaching, David Allen e-mailed Apartment Living because he was worried that he and Fiona, his bride-to-be, might have to "face the prospect that we will have no home to live in".

He put down a 10 per cent deposit on a two-bed apartment in Adelaide Square, on Peter Street, Dublin 8 in November 1999. The apartment cost £174,000 (€221,440) and he was given an estimated completion date of August 2000.

"The apartment is still not ready. I never received any correspondence as to why the apartment has been so delayed. I did receive correspondence to advise that, despite previous assurances to the contract, I would not now be allowed a parking space.

"For the first year after purchase, I rang the estate agent a number of times to check that the parking spot was okay. Each time I was assured it was. I offered to put down a deposit but was told it was not necessary. Then a few months ago I got a letter saying that all the spots were gone."

A parking space at the development costs £25,000 (€31,740) extra.

Allen says "the last straw" occurred when, after much complaining, the builder finally agreed to let him see the apartment.

"My fiancee and I had organised a day off work for this but they cancelled at the last moment, saying I wouldn't be allowed to see it until August ... It's a big complex so there must be others like me." When asked if the car space was in his contract he said that the contract was with his solicitor. "I suspect that it is not in it even though I'd requested one - as I did not pay a deposit for it in November 1999. Nevertheless, on enquiry, the word was always that this would not be a problem."

Adelaide Square is a three-block, 175-apartment development on the site of the old Adelaide Hospital. The project's website, www.adelaidesquare.com, says the developers are restoring and retaining the original Georgian facade.

Apartment Living asked Ken MacDonald of Hooke & MacDonald, the selling agents, and Sean Kelly of Benton Developments to comment on Mr. Allen's e-mail.

Ken MacDonald says that two of his colleagues were dealing with the matter throughout and while one was away at the time Hooke & MacDonald were contacted by Apartment Living regarding the e-mail, the other, Enda Burke, is "emphatic that the purchaser did not book a car space when he was booking the apartment".

"There were parking spaces available at that stage but he declined to ask us to hold one for him. He may have discussed the parking situation with us but he did not make any commitment on the matter whatever.

"I understand there is no mention of the car space on the contract, purely because he did not book one - and therefore solicitors would not have had to allow for it. If he or his solicitors had wanted a car space included in the purchase, it should have been raised at that point and I am sure it would have been satisfactorily dealt with."

MacDonald in part blames the lateness of the apartment's completion on outside factors. "There has been an overrun in the completion date of this apartment due to the fact that certain delays were encountered in the whole project for various reasons, including the fact that certain materials that were specified by the developer and architect were very late in arriving - and it set back the whole project quite considerably.

"Also, the developer decided to upgrade the whole communal area and entrance lobby of the development to an exceptionally high standard and while this did cause completion delays, it is a decided advantage and bonus for all the purchasers in the development".

Regarding the purchaser's statement that he had little or no communication from the estate agents, MacDonald says; "My understanding from speaking to Enda," he says, "is that we spoke to him on several occasions on the phone and this obviated the necessity to put anything in writing on the matter. In the event we were unable to get an exact closing date from the developer for the reasons stated above, so we were not in a position to provide an exact closing date."

He says his company was not in a position to take a booking on any car-parking spaces over the past year because the developer "had already apportioned spaces for the first phase, based on the car spaces booked at the actual launch".

He adds that the developer had been unsure how many spaces would be needed for the unbuilt part of the development and for the commercial element, for which old buildings are being restored and converted into offices.

"It did appear at one stage that there would be no further spaces available. I understand my colleague Enda has some contact with the purchaser's solicitor earlier this week and followed that up with a discussion with the developer about completion dates and car space availability. Following on from this the developer agreed, subject to contract, to sell a car space to the purchaser for £25,000 (€31,740).

"The particular car space that is being sold to him will not be ready until nearly the end of the year but he will be given the temporary use of another space in the development in the intervening period," MacDonald says. "I understand that the purchaser should then be in a position to close the sale and take up occupation in August."

Sean Kelly, Director of Benton Properties, says that when Allen put the deposit on the apartment, he did not take a parking spot.

"That he took a day off work to see the apartment is extremely unfortunate," Kelly added. "He was given notice at 4 p.m. prior to that day by my colleague, Gwen Terry. It was felt it wasn't going to provide any constructive progress. There was a substantial amount of building materials in his apartment and it was felt he wouldn't be too happy about that.

"The estimated completion date for Adelaide Square was Autumn 2000. What happened in the interim was the atrocious weather and the inability to get contractors to perform on time. The date was pushed back and pushed back."

Kelly points out that some people have been living in the development since early March and says moves are being made to get David Allen into his apartment in time for the impending nuptials. "It is top priority, since we appreciate he is getting married."

The couple will celebrate their wedding tomorrow. They have signed for their apartment and say the developers have been making "frantic progress trying to get the place ready".

emorgan@irish-times.ie