The Bill replicates the effects of sections 134 and 135 of the Building Safety Act 2022 for Northern Ireland and will amend the Defective Premises (NI) Order 1975 and the Limitation (NI) Order 1989.
This will mean that claims for defects that occur before the Bill is enacted will have a limitation period of 30 years. After enactment, the limitation period is 15 years.
Currently, citizens in Northern Ireland only receive 6 years of protection relating to defective buildings.
Communities Minister, Gordon Lyons, stated that the Bill is an important first stage of a substantive piece of work to create a new residential building safety environment in Northern Ireland. Officials in the Department for Communities are currently working on a wider suite of legislation that will further strengthen and support residential building safety.
Who can make a claim?
The owner or leaseholder of a property with defects that make it uninhabitable may have a claim under defective premises rules. The law will apply equally to newly completed homes and work done on existing dwellings.
Builders, property developers, and other professionals involved in providing or refurbishing dwellings have a statutory obligation to ensure that new homes are built correctly and that work on existing properties is completed professionally with proper materials so that the home is fit for human habitation.
