2013-05-23T09:37:48-04:00 http://archinect.com/news/article/56567387/in-ruined-apartments-symbol-of-ireland-s-fall mantaray 2012-09-03T16:22:00-04:00 >2012-09-05T11:31:25-04:00 <img src="http://cdn.archinect.net/images/514x/b2/b2hmfn7ichvegtb4.jpg" width="514" height="283" border="0" title="" alt="" /><em><p>Those residents, unable to move back into houses they still have to pay for, have spent nearly a year in legal limbo... More than 2,000 developments begun during that period have turned into &ldquo;ghost estates,&rdquo; ...Others, built under a system that allowed developers to &ldquo;self-certify&rdquo; &mdash; meaning that they could unilaterally declare, with only minimal government oversight, that their properties complied with building codes &mdash; are now falling apart, even while residents live there.</p></em><br /><br /><p> A look at how self-certification helped developers cut corners during Ireland's construction boom, leaving home-owners homeless and trapped in a legal bind. &nbsp;</p>