COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

south dublin county council crest

MEETING OF CLONDALKIN AREA COMMITTEE

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

QUESTION NO. 14

QUESTION: Councillor E. Ó Broin

To ask the Manager for a report on damp/mould in housing units in Balgaddy including the following information:


- the number of reports of damp/mould  by tenants in Méile an Rí, Tor an Rí and Búirg an Rí in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 (broken down by year and by estate)

- the number of households who reported damp in Méile an Rí, Tor an Rí and Búirg an Rí in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 (broken down by year and by estate)

- the number of households where remedial action was taken by the Council and in the view of the Council the matter is no resolved

- the number of households were remedial action was taken by the Council and where the damp/mould reappeared

- the number of households where the Council determined that the cause of the damp/mould was related to 'lifestyle issues'

-  the methodology and equipment used by the Council to determine the cause of the damp/mould?

REPLY:

The Housing Maintenance computer system can not provide the information required by way of inquiry. Each individual maintenance request, (and there are several thousands for each area for the periods stated), would need to be examined to extract the information requested. 

An exercise was carried out to extract information using the key words 'damp/mould' and the following chart shows the result of that exercise.

Area 2010 2011 2012 2013
Tor an Rí 7 7 13 10
Búirg an Rí 9 2 9 0
Méile an Rí 8 22 16 21
         

This exercise took two days to compile and is still not reflective of the true numbers as other key words such as 'windows' or 'leaks' might have been used in recording complaints of damp or mould in dwellings. It is estimated that it could take a week to complete the information sought.  It is not possible to provide the information due to the work involved in producing it.

However while most of the problems being experienced in these estates are now due to tenants not ventilating their homes there were some problems when the estate was originally constructed.  There were leaks around windows and doors as well as from the roof in some cases.  All of these defects have been remedied by the Council who put in place a dedicated team with the task of responding to all reports of damp / mould.  A recent Architects report on the estates found that extensive remedial works for the area have been undertaken and dampness issue due to building defects have been resolved.

When complaints are received in relation to dampness in dwellings the Clerk of Works visits the tenant and examines the complaint.  In most cases he uses a moisture meter to measure the amount of water in the air in the house.  He has reported that in a considerable number of cases the water vapour is extremely high and consequently the vast majority of complaints are dealt with by making lifestyle changes and tenants are provided with information regarding condensation.  This information is also available on the Council Website.