Greasing the wheels of Ireland’s creaking conveyancing system

There have been a slew of efforts in recent years to address the glacial pace of Ireland’s antiquated conveyancing system – with varying degrees of success.

These include the digitisation of property titles at Tailte Éireann, a new body tasked with streamlining the State’s registry, valuation, and surveying functions. But solicitor Sonia McEntee says there are delays in registration due to a backlog at property registration body Tailte Éireann.

In 2019, the Law Society introduced the ‘pre-contract investigation of title’ system to bring forward most of the information and work in the pre-contract phase of conveyancing to enable due diligence before contracts are exchanged. But 75pc of agents surveyed by Ipav said it has not improved the situation. selling agent and request they put space in their diary for a catch-up by phone once a week or fortnightly to keep you up to speed and to ensure they’re not just sitting on your file.

Buyer’s agent Breffnie O’Kelly says: “Sometimes people are too shy to ring their solicitor and ask them where things are at. But you’re not a lamb to the slaughter – take an active role.

“Make sure the solicitor is working actively on your behalf and that they become a squeaky wheel to get the attention of the vendor’s solicitor.

“Find out who is going to be your point of contact at the practice. You may have engaged a solicitor called John Brown but in reality it might a paralegal called Mary who is doing the work. If you’re going to be a collie dog chasing this, you want to know who to chase.”

ASK ABOUT THE SELLER’S PAPERWORK

If you’re about to put in a bid, ask the selling agent if the vendor already has a solicitor and if that solicitor has the title deeds. If they don’t, expect delays.

If the agent won’t disclose this information, “you can get clues from the house,” O’Kelly says. “If the house is a wreck with a crazy attic conversion, it can follow that paperwork will be a mess. It’s unusual to buy a house that’s topsy-turvy and find that the paperwork is pristine.

“It’s the same brain behind the building and all that paperwork.”

Instead, Ipav says conveyancing times could be cut in half if the Seller’s Legal Pack for Property Buyers Bill 2021 was passed. This legislation would require a vendor to prepare a seller’s legal pack before putting a property on the market. The pack would provide buyers with documents such as contracts for sale, planning documents, and certificates of compliance with planning and building rules. Ipav CEO Pat Davitt says this process already exists for properties sold via public auctions, with post-auction sales closing in just four weeks. The bill passed the second stage in the Dáil in October but hasn’t progressed much since. In November, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar set up an expert group to examine the obstacles in conveyancing and probate.