Sandra Gettings can see, from the front window of her rented home, the new house she has been allocated in the Crann Ard estate in Fermoy. It makes the fact that she cannot move into it all the harder to bear. "It feels like you're after winning the lotto and then finding out you didn't," she told The Avondhu this week.

Sandra is one of 13 families notified by letter by the Munster Co-operative Housing Society last September that she was to be housed in Crann Ard. In December they were given the number of their new houses. An impasse between Cork County Council, the housing agency and the bank holding the developer's bond has left them in limbo ever since.

The housing agency say it's not their fault, they cannot let the people they gave houses to move in until unfinished works are done. The council wants the bank to release the developer's bond to pay for the works to be completed. Local councillor Noel McCarthy wants the council to take the estate in charge, do the works to allow the 13 families to move in and then go after the bank to release the money.

Part of the private estate is finished. The section that isn't is partially occupied by private owners or houses are owned by individuals who are renting them out, as in Sandra's case. The unfinished works include the road surface, connection of public lighting and making a boundary fence safe.

"I'm living here already, why can't I be allowed to move into my own house?" Sandra wonders. She feels lucky that she hadn't given notice to her landlord and been forced to quit her existing accommodation, as some of the others had to.

"Even if they said it'll be next year, at least we would know," Sandra said. She has two children, one of whom is fostered. "He needs to be settled, he needs stability," she pointed out.

She and another prospective tenant, Jessie Duggan, spoke of the stress of their situation.Jessie, who also has two children, says she was ten years on the county council's housing list and was thrilled when told she was to be housed in Crann Ard. She told family, when she was allocated it last September that "there was a reason I've had to wait this long. This is my dream house."

In private rented accommodation in Ballyhooly, Jessie had given her landlord notice but has had to extend her lease. She doesn't know what she'll do when it comes to an end again shortly, leaving her facing the dilemma of whether or not to sign a lease for a further year or seek a short term lease. She was also forced to make a decision regarding her children's school in Ballyhooly as the school needed to know their numbers for September. She told them they wouldn't be back in September. She's now faced with having to enrol them in schools Fermoy without knowing that's where she'll be residing.  Jessie was buying furniture on layaway for her new house thinking she'd be in it within a few weeks of it being allocated. She also delayed buying heating oil for her rented home in case she was moving.

"We've been freezing - I'm demented. I say every week 'maybe this week, maybe it'll be this week," Jessie explains.

Others who understand their stress, upset and frustration are Ciaran and Geraldine Roche. Ciaran says they were told by the housing agency that if it wasn't December they'd be in their new home in late January. The lease in their private rented accommodation was up in April. "We thought we were well covered," Ciaran says. Geraldine says they weren't even aware of the reasons for the delay until they were notified by Cllr Noel McCarthy.

Like Sandra and Jessie, the couple would be happy to move into the estate with the works unfinished and have them done down the line. In fact so desperate are they to move into their house with their three boys that Ciaran says he is willing to sign a form taking full responsiblity and indemnifying the county council against claims being brought against them arising out of the unfinished works. He also pointed out the fact that there are residents already living in the unfinished part of the estate "so why not us?"

Cllr Noel McCarthy has asked for the county council's head planner to arrange a meeting with the bank holding the bond and the housing agency to get the matter resolved.

"It's an intolerable situation. The work needs to be done to let these people in," he said. He's planning to raise the matter again at the next full meeting of Cork County Council. Cllr Tadhg O'Donovan says: "We are determined to see this through. No-one is walking away from this situation until it's resolved."

Both councillors also want the county council to put the affected people back on their housing list so that they don't miss out on any other housing options that may become available.  Those residents The Avondhu spoke to made it clear however that they want to move into the Crann Ard houses they were assigned eight months ago.

In response to queries from The Avondhu, Cork County Council and NABCO issued a joint statement on Tuesday, stating: "There are some outstanding issues in relation to the completion of the Crann Ard estate. Cork County Council and NABCO are working together with the developer to have these issues resolved as quickly as possible. Once resolved, the properties will be tenanted."

The 13 families involved are hoping that happens sooner rather than later!

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