Faults which appear more than six years after a building is completed or sold could be the basis for civil action if a draft Bill prepared by the Law Reform Commission is enacted.
The draft Bill is appended to the report by the commission on the Statute of Limitations as it applies to claims about latent damages. The report, along with two others, was launched by the Chief Justice, Mr Justice Keane, last night.
Latent damages are losses or damages which are not immediately apparent to the ordinary person. Under the existing Statute of Limitations Act of 1957, a person must start a civil action within six years of the damage taking place. There are some areas, such as cracks in the foundations of houses, carelessly drafted documents or negligent financial advice, where the full implications of the damage might not become apparent within six years.
The commission concluded that this "could lead to much injustice and hardship".
Accordingly, it recommends an alternative period of three years from the time a reasonable person ought to know that damage had occurred. However, it also acknowledges that it would be unreasonable to expect builders or professionals to keep records indefinitely, so it recommends a cut-off point for taking action of 10 years from when the damage occurred.