A housing trust established by the Guinness family has apologised to a tenant after their home was flooded with sewage seven times.
The Iveagh Trust was founded in 1890 by the Guinness family to improve the horrific living conditions in the Liberties during that time. The trust currently has nine "communities" across Dublin.
Generally, tenants pay a "differential" rent which is calculated as a percentage of the household income. There are other variables which change depending on the complex.
Read more: Popular Dundrum pub closes to make way for dog-friendly boozer
Independent Councillor Mannix Flynn said tenants have been sending him a "steady stream" of complaints. Dublin Live has seen two complaints.
The resident of The Iveagh Trust's Kevin Street complex was happy when they first got the keys to their apartment years ago but quickly realised there were issues. Property belonging to the resident was regularly destroyed in the floods and their mental health was "majorly affected" due to stress.
They told Dublin Live: "I was delighted to get a set of keys from the Iveagh Trust with the housing crisis. I got a ground floor flat and all of a sudden there was a surge coming up through the toilet.
"I didn't know what to do as I was only new there. I didn't want to make a lot of noise so I was mopping it up myself and getting stuck in.
"Then it was happening a lot and started getting really bad. I had to bring it to their attention. All my stuff had been destroyed - carpets, flooring. That was the first time I dealt with them."
The trust moved him out of his ground floor apartment and into another one on the top floor after a particularly bad flood. He said: "The final one [in his first flat] was like a sewer. It was so bad that it came back again and backed up."
When they got transferred they thought their troubles were behind them. However, they came back home one day to another flood.
They said: "I came back to my flat in February and now it was water this time that had come up through the toilet. The whole flat was flooded. It went into the flat beneath me and into their electrics."
The issues do not appear to be confined to the Kevin Street complex. A resident of the Trust's original site on Bull Alley said the windows in the complex were not up to standard as they were single glazed and "rotten".
They added the buildings seem to be falling apart as a piece of pipe recently broke and fell from a three storey height and.
They said: "In this day and age, why should tenants live in conditions that prevailed in 1903 when they were built? The carbon footprint - with heat escaping during winter- creates fuel poverty. It's a disgrace."
In response to queries around the flooding complaint, the Iveagh Trust apologised "for the impact" the situation had on the resident who's apartments flooded. A spokeswoman said: "We are sorry for the impact that this situation has had on our resident and can appreciate the frustration and upset caused.
"We will continue to work closely with them to ensure the situation is resolved in full as soon as possible. From time to time, there will be incidents that take place in the homes of our residents.
"We have processes in place for any issues such as these to be raised directly to us, so that we can get concerns resolved quickly and efficiently via our estate management and maintenance team."
She added that the Trust receives "very few formal complaints from residents and any complaints that are received are dealt with in accordance with our complaints policy and resident handbook." The Trust has invested €7 million "of its own resources" and has a plan to preserve their listed buildings and "ensure that we make them as energy efficient as possible"
In response to queries around the number of legal claims tenants have made against the Trust, they said the trust "is not in a position to disclose or discuss any legal matters".
Cllr Flynn says he is in receipt of regular complaints from tenants around sewage entering tenant's flats. He said: "It is an ongoing issue and I am sure that the founders of the Iveagh Trust, the Guinness family, would be turning in their graves if they realised the tenants were being treated like this.
"I have had a steady series of complaints about; sewage coming up people's bedrooms, living rooms and bathrooms; boilers bursting and creating illnesses and bits of the building falling down."
Cllr Flynn called on Patrick Guinness, the Chair of The Iveagh Trust, to make a statement on the matter.
Read next:
Huge amount of MDMA seized as woman in 50s arrested and released without charge
Human poo floods into Council flat through sink and 'destroys' property
Free weekly kids movies in outdoor cinema in Temple Bar launched by DCC
Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletter to get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox.
