Step by Step Guide

This is a simple step by step guide to help guide you through the DCB scheme application

This guide is a very basic step by step guide to the Enhanced Defective Blocks Scheme. More details will be added to each step soon.

Step 1– Make an appointment with a competent building professonal from the listsHERE. This can be an Enginner, Architect or Building Surveyor.

Step 2– The building professional will come to your property to carry out a BC – Building Condition Assessment following criteria.

Step 3– Register with Donegal County CouncilHERE. When you register on the Donegal County Council Website you will submit the BCA carried out by your building professional. Just because you register with Donegal County Council does not mean you label your house as having defective materials, only testing will prove this. You can also leave the application process at any stage.

Stage 4– An engineer from the Housing Agency will call to your house to do testing and assessment of your property. They inform the Donegal County Council of their recommended remedation option and the grant amount that will be given.

Step 5– Donegal County Council will contact the property owner to inform them of the decision made by the Housing Agency

Step 6– Contact a building professional (same as before or different one). Seek planning permission is needed (building anything outside like for like) Building professional submits a Remedial Works Plan

Step 7– Contact a building contractor or several to get a number of quotes. Recieve a quote you are happy with. Your contractor and Building professional can take you through the necessary steps and required forms to be uploaded to your online DCC portal. Once this is complete work can commence.

Step 8– Other grants can now be applied for eg. Alternative Accomodation 15k, Storage 5k and Immediate Works (emergency works) 5k.

Step 9– When works are completed you need to submit a Certificate of Remediation signed by your building professional along with the request for the final grant payment.

Step 10– For property owners repairing via options 2-5 only – On recept of your Cetificate of Remediation signed by your building professional, The Donegal County Council will issue a Letter of Assurance for remediation other than demolition and rebuild to the property owner.

Please note

1. As of Oct ’23 the Central Bank confirmed they would deem a rebuilt property remortgageble (should you want to sell your home to someone requiring a mortgage to buy it) provided it was built to current standards. The Enhanced Defective Blocks Scheme only allows for a grant to cover up to 2008 regulations (windows, heating systems etc.)

2. We have been informed by several building professionals that they would not be in a position to sign a certificate of rememdiation unless the building is rebuilt to current standards (in option 1 demolition and rebuild) or safe (any other option 2-5) due to repercussions on their own indemnity insurance. Engineers Ireland are also governed by their Code of Ethics which may also hold bearing on this. 

Please feel free to contact us if you think any of the above information is incorrect.

You can contact the Enhanced Defective Block Scheme Application facilitators for help and guidance throughout the application process. Their details as well as a list of building professionals and other helpful guides can be found in our Help and Advice sectionHERE. We are working on getting more information on many things including video explanations and step by step guides and will be adding them to the website as we get them.