The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland and the Law Society of Ireland have published a consumer guide which identifies the causes of delays when buying and selling a property in Ireland.
The guide is primarily aimed at sellers but will also be of interest to buyers. Its aim is to speed up property sales, which is averaging at over four months, but can be much longer.
It sets out in detail the steps anyone selling a property needs to take, the questions they need to ask, and who they need to contact, as well as how long it usually takes and costs.
Shirley Coulter, chief executive of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland explains, “Many people don’t realise the volume of documentation around key issues which needs to be gathered to complete a property sale. One key document is the property’s title deeds, which is often held by a bank or other lender, but others include copies of marriage or civil-partnership certificates and land-registry and mapping documents.
“Additional information and documentation may be required if third parties have rights over a property, such as a right of residence or right of way, or if there have been boundary issues or disputes with a neighbour.”
Law Society Director General Mark Garrett agreed, “For most people buying or selling a house is the biggest transaction they will be involved in. However, the process they must deal with is antiquated, overly complex and can involve up to fifteen interdependent parties, as well as dozens of documents.
“A delay at any point can have a knock-on effect on the process and lead to significant delays, which can in turn negatively impact the Irish housing market.
Both organisations are advising anyone who is contemplating selling a property to read “Speed up your property sale – a guide to avoiding the most common delays”. It itemises seven areas in particular which cause these delays.
- Documentation & Team – If you are the seller, you must start the process by gathering the appropriate documentation and instructing your team (solicitor and estate agent),
- Deeds – Getting the title deeds for the property (usually the bank has them),
- Roads – Confirming who has responsibility for maintaining the roads, lanes and services (water and sewage) for the property,
- Planning – Ensuring compliance with all planning permissions (back to 1964),
- Taxes – There is an increasing number of taxes which have been attached to property and must be collected before a sale (these include Commercial Rates, Local Property Tax (LPT), Household Charge, Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) and Fair Deal scheme),
- Probate – If the property is being sold following death of the owner, then the sale could be conditional or ‘subject to’ probate causing very significant delays,
- Money – Having the finance in place to complete the sale (buyer) or having the final redemption figure from their bank to settle the existing mortgage (seller).
https://www.lawsociety.ie/globalassets/documents/news/2024/speed-up-your-property-sale.pdf
NB – This is a guide for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you have an issue requiring legal advice, please contact any of the team at Nolan Farrell & Goff LLP, whose numbers can be found on our website www.nfg.ie, or email info@nfg.ie.
