Completing the sale

Before the contract signing, your solicitor will check that the contracts are in order, investigate the title documents and raise any necessary enquiries with the sellers solicitor. You should only proceed to sign the contracts when your solicitor is satisfied with the seller’s replies to these enquiries (usually called ‘requisitions on title’). You will sign two copies. Your solicitor will return these to the seller’s solicitor. The seller will sign and their solicitor will return one copy to your solicitor.

At this point, you have legally agreed to buy the property and the seller has legally agreed to sell it. If you withdraw from the sale after this contract has been signed, you may lose your deposit.

Both solicitors will arrange a final closing date and time. Your lender will issue mortgage funds to your solicitor, and your solicitor will transfer these funds to the seller through their solicitor. Only after closure is successfully completed can the property physically transfer to the home purchaser.

Your solicitor will secure your property deed which shows the new ownership details. They will arrange for this to be stamped with the Revenue Commissioners (which must happen within 30 days of the completion of the sale), and lodged for registration with the Registry of Deeds and/or the Land Registry. Tailte Éireann is responsible for both systems of registration.

This is an essential step in the conveyancing process, and you should ask your solicitor to confirm to you that your property deed has been lodged for registration following your purchase. This is because your legal ownership is protected by registration on the National Land Register. Final approval of the registration can take some time but the key issue is that the application has been properly completed and lodged. The fact that registration is pending does not affect you taking possession of your new home.

If you have purchased a home that is not registered in the Land Registry, your solicitor will need to make an application for first registration. This will involve either a certification of the title by your solicitor, or an application for a full investigation of title. The solicitor will lodge the relevant deeds and if you have a mortgage this will be lodged at the same time for registration as a burden on the title.

If your property is not registered and needs to be registered for the first time by your solicitor following the sale, you should be aware that this process may take some months, but this does not affect your ownership and you will still be able to take possession of the property.

If the property is already registered, your solicitor will lodge a deed of transfer, mortgage and any supporting documents, so that the register is updated to reflect the legal effect of the transfer and mortgage. Further information may be found at Tailte Éireann.

Payment of Stamp Duty is also required to make the change in property ownership in the Government’s records legal - and must be completed within 30 days of completing the sale. Stamp Duty must be paid within 44 days or you will have to pay interest on the unpaid duty. You will pay the Stamp Duty to your solicitor, who will pay this to Revenue on your behalf.

You may also have to pay some or all of the Local Property Tax (LPT), which is charged on all residential properties in Ireland, depending on the time of year you buy or sell. The liability date for LPT is 1 November each year. Visit Revenue’s website for further information.

Any LPT due on the property up to the point of sale should have been paid by the previous owner prior to the closure of the sale.