“I built a house 10 years ago but structural problems only appeared in the last 2 years. Am I out of time to sue for negligence?”
There has been a lot of confusion in recent years over when a case (in negligence ) for property damage becomes Statute Barred. The accepted view was that the six year time limit should run from when the alleged negligent works were carried out (i.e. when the house was built ).
This caused a lot of cases to be Statute Barred as in many cases the actual damage was not apparent or manifest until many years after the works were done. The Supreme Court has now given clarity to this area. The cause of action and the statutory time limit starts to run from when the damage became apparent, rather than when the underlying defective work was carried out.
This is a significant change in the law and many cases in negligence for defective building works which would have previously been considered Statute Barred will not now be considered Statute Barred once they have been commenced within six years of the damage becoming apparent/manifest. It is critical, if you have a claim for defective workmanship for property damage that you act immediately.
This advertorial is presented by Mahon Sweeney Solicitors, Main Street, Roscommon.
