The Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Act 2022 ("The Act") which contains the Enhanced Defective Concrete Blocks (DCB) Grant Scheme commenced on 22 June 2023 and the related Regulations were adopted on 29 June 2023. The enhanced scheme provides very considerable enhancements over the old Scheme for eligible homeowners.
I understand that the Question is referring to the eligibility of rental properties for the Scheme. Sections 30 to 35 of the Act cover cases where a grant is paid to a landlord. Further details are set out in the Ministerial Guidelines for Designated Local Authorities and the Housing Agency issued under Section 50 of the Remediation of the Act set out in Part 5, Section 4.3 the position in respect of a dwelling that is the subject of a tenancy agreement.
Where a landlord has submitted an application for a remediation option grant for a dwelling subject to a tenancy agreement, they are subject to the following conditions:
• the designated local authority will make a charging order over the relevant dwelling following the issue of the final part payment of the remediation option, or payment of the whole remediation option grant;
• the charging order will create a charge over the relevant dwelling, equal to the payments made to the landlord who is the relevant owner for a period of 20 years;
• a reduction of 5% will be applied by the designated local authority to the total charged amount on each anniversary of the relevant date, i.e. the date on which the charging order was made by the designated local authority, where a relevant event has not occurred.
A relevant event is:
• where the relevant owner/landlord no longer owns the relevant dwelling; or
• where the relevant owner/landlord is no longer renting the relevant dwelling to a tenant or tenants which is registered on the residential tenancies register.
Where a Charging Order is required to be issued, it is the responsibility of the designated local authority to carry out this function. The new scheme is now open to applications in four counties: Clare, Donegal, Limerick and Mayo with comprehensive information of all aspects of the Scheme available including the Guidelines on my Department’s website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/service/8002e-enhanced-defective-concrete-blocks-grant-scheme/.
