Damp in Dublin council flats blamed on structural defects

Structural defects in a Dublin City Council flats complex are causing persistent damp and mould problems that are damaging tenants' health, according to a housing rights group.

Community Action Network is asking the council and the State to accept that damp and condensation problems at Tyrone Place, a 1950s complex in Inchicore, and other old local authority flats are outside the control of tenants.

The group said scientific analysis by Bill Scott and Joseph Little, architects specialising in environmental and health issues of construction, showed that a lack of insulation, a lack of "thermal breaks" – resulting in elements such as floor slabs running continuously from the outside to the inside of the building – were greater contributors to damp than the way the building was used by residents.

Additions and alterations to the buildings over the decades were contributing to the problem, Mr Scott said.

“Local authorities have installed PVC windows with draft sealing to replace old timber or steel frame windows, they have blocked off fireplaces to install central heating. All this was done with the best of intentions, but the result is increased moisture in the air.”

Lifestyle changes, such as people heating their flats more, washing more and doing laundry more often, did contribute to condensation, he said, but mitigating measures such as opening windows would not solve the problem where there were defects in the building.

“Local authorities need to accept that it’s a shared problem arising from building defects and occupancy practices, and not put all the responsibilty on the tenants,” he said.

Almost 1,500 complaints of damp and mould were made to Dublin City Council by tenants in 2014 and 2015. In almost all cases – 97 per cent – the council said the problem was due to condensation which was “solely the responsibility of the tenant”.

A survey of 80 flats at Tyrone Place found 62 per cent have an issue with damp and condensation and over half had mould. In 75 per cent family members have respiratory problems.

Edel Jordan, who moved into Tyrone Place in 2014, shortly before her second child Dre was born, said the mould has been impossible to remove.

“We have done everything the council said, left the windows open, washed the walls with bleach, the council even put in a ventilation system but it hasn’t worked. I feel like I’ve hit a brick wall with them.”

A complaint against the State is currently before the European Committee on Social Rights in relation to the living conditions of local authority tenants. Damp and mould in flats is central to the complaint. A ruling is expected in 2017.