Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022

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Application for remediation option grant

13. (1) An individual or, subject to section 9 (7), more than one individual jointly, (referred to in this section and sections 15 and 16 , as the “applicant”) may apply to a designated local authority for a remediation option grant to enable him or her, or them, to complete a remediation option in respect of a relevant dwelling located in a designated local authority area of the designated local authority.

(2) An application under subsection (1)—

(a) shall include—

(i) proof of the applicant’s identity,

(ii) proof that the dwelling complies with subsection (1) of section 8 (other than paragraph (c) of that subsection),

(iii) subject to subparagraph (ii), proof that the applicant is a relevant owner of the dwelling, and details of any other person who has a legal or beneficial interest in the dwelling,

(iv) where a person other than the applicant has a legal or beneficial interest in the dwelling, a statement that the person consents to the making of the application under this section,

(v) a building condition assessment report in relation to the dwelling,

(vi) details of any payment which the applicant, or any other person who has a legal or beneficial interest in the dwelling, has received other than under this Act, in respect of damage to the dwelling caused by the use of defective concrete blocks in its construction,

(vii) details of every claim which the applicant, or any other person who has a legal or beneficial interest in the dwelling, has made against a person arising from damage to the dwelling caused by the use of defective concrete blocks in its construction,

(viii) such information and documents as may be required by the designated local authority concerning the builder, developer, or other person involved in the design, inspection, supervision or certification, of the construction of the dwelling, or part of the dwelling, or the previous owner of the dwelling,

(ix) proof that there are no outstanding amounts of local property tax, within the meaning of section 16 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 , payable in respect of the dwelling,

(x) such information or documents as may be required by the designated local authority for the purposes of determining whether the dwelling is an unauthorised structure,

(xi) a statement that the applicant, and any other person who has a legal or beneficial interest in the dwelling, consents to an authorised officer of the designated local authority or Housing Agency entering the dwelling, and exercising such powers specified in section 43 as he or she considers necessary for the purposes of performing its functions under this Act,

(xii) a statement that the applicant, and any other person who has a legal or beneficial interest in the dwelling, consents, where applicable, to the creation of a charge under section 31 and to the registration of the charge in the Land Registry or the Registry of Deeds,

(xiii) a copy of any previous application made under this section or under the Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks in Construction (Remediation) (Financial Assistance) Regulations 2020 ( S.I. No. 25 of 2020 ) by the applicant, or any other person who has a legal or beneficial interest in the dwelling, of any correspondence received from the designated local authority or Housing Agency, or relevant local authority in relation to the previous application, and of any notification in relation to the previous application under section 16 (9) or any decision in relation to the previous application under the Regulations, which the applicant or other person has received,

(xiv) a statutory declaration made by the applicant that the information provided with the application is true, and

(xv) such other documents, information or confirmations as may be prescribed, whether for the purposes of the matters referred to in subparagraphs (i) to (xiv), or otherwise for the purposes of the consideration of the application in accordance with this Act,

and

(b) shall be made in such form and manner as may be prescribed.

(3) For the purpose of considering whether an application is valid, the designated local authority may—

(a) require the applicant to provide in writing, within 90 days of the date of the requirement, such further information or documents relating to the application as the designated local authority may consider necessary, and

(b) require that the applicant facilitate, within 90 days of the date of the requirement, an inspection of the dwelling by an authorised officer of the designated local authority.

(4) A designated local authority may refuse to consider whether an application is valid where the applicant fails to comply with a requirement under subsection (3).

(5) The designated local authority shall notify the applicant of its refusal under subsection (4), and the reasons for its refusal, as soon as practicable after the refusal.

(6) Where, at any time after making an application, an applicant becomes aware of any change in circumstances that affects his or her application, he or she shall immediately notify the designated local authority of that change, and the designated local authority may, where it considers it appropriate to do so, notify the Housing Agency of the change.

(7) The designated local authority shall consider whether an application is valid and shall—

(a) where it decides that the application is valid, refer the application to the Housing Agency as soon as practicable after making that decision, or

(b) where it considers that the application is not valid, refuse to refer the application to the Housing Agency.

(8) In considering whether an application is valid, the designated local authority shall have regard to—

(a) the application,

(b) any further information, or documents provided to it, or the results of any inspections made by it under subsection (3), and

(c) any change of circumstances notified to it under subsection (6).

(9) An application is not valid where—

(a) the dwelling does not comply with paragraph (a), (b) or (d) of section 8 (1), or is a building referred to in section 8 (2)(b).

(b) subject to paragraph (a) and section 9 (7), the applicant, or any other person who has a legal or beneficial interest in the dwelling, is not a relevant owner of the dwelling,

(c) the application is not made in accordance with subsection (2) or any regulations made under that subsection,

(d) the applicant does not qualify for a grant due to the operation of subsection (7) or (8) of section 10 , or

(e) the application does not comply with any further conditions that may be prescribed.

(10) The designated local authority shall notify the applicant of the referral or refusal under subsection (7) as soon as practicable after it is made.

(11) A notification under subsection (10) shall include—

(a) the reasons for the referral or refusal and,

(b) where a notification relates to a refusal, a statement that the applicant may appeal the refusal under Part 5 within 28 days of the date of the notification.