Documents, planning and taxes hold up property sales

Issues relating to documentation, planning and taxes have been identified among the prime causes of delays when buying and selling a property in Ireland.

The issues are highlighted in a new consumer guide which has been published by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland and the Law Society of Ireland with the aim of speeding up property sales.

The document sets out the steps sellers and buyers needs to take as well as questions they need to ask and the practicalities around costs and timings.

The average sale time for a property here is around four months, but for some, there can be considerable delays.

“Many people don’t realise the volume of documentation around key issues which needs to be gathered to complete a property sale,” Shirley Coulter, CEO of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland said.

“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.”

She added that 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.

“Compliance with or exemptions from planning permission or building regulations is an area where we are seeing an increasing number of holdups. For example, if a building extension has been added on, copies of planning permissions and evidence of compliance with that permission and with building regulations will be required,” she explained.

The guide also notes that measures to prevent money laundering and a requirement to collect outstanding taxes and charges have been introduced in recent years, including evidence of payment of the Local Property Tax and Household Charge in more recent years.