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14 I Why Ireland? A guide to doing business in Ireland I ByrneWallaceReal estateIreland is a commonlaw jurisdiction.The acquisition,development andoccupation of realestate in Irelandis governed bylegislation, case lawand contract lawprinciples. Thereare no particularrestrictions on non-Irish or EU persons orbodies acquiring orleasing real estate inIreland.There are two main activities: (a) buyingand selling property; and (b) occupationalleasing. Neither of these transactions areeffected electronically although work ispresently underway to establish a systemof e-Conveyancing in the short to mediumterm.BUYING AND SELLING PROPERTYTitle and OwnershipTitle to Irish real estate can either beacquired outright by acquiring thefreehold interest or by acquiring a longleasehold interest with a term usually inexcess of 200 years subject to a nominalrent with a capital premium paid at theoutset and subject to certain limitedcovenants on the part of the “tenant”.Title insurance is rarely used save wheretitle is investigated and found to bedefective.RegistrationTwo systems of registration of real estateexist namely: (a) the Property RegistrationAuthority (formerly Land Registry) titles(“Registered”); and (b) the Registry ofDeeds titles (“Unregistered”).Title to Registered land is evidencedby one document issued by the LandRegistry know as the “folio” which is Stateguaranteed (save in respect of mapping)as the Property Registration Authorityinvestigate title to the property prior toregistering same.Title to Unregistered land is evidenced bytitle deeds showing the devolution of titlefrom one party to another over a numberof years. At least fifteen years good andmarketable title must be evidenced.Title in urban areas tends to beunregistered with the majority of ruralproperty being registered. All counties ofIreland – other than Dublin and Cork – arewithin areas of compulsory registration.It is hoped that all land will beRegistered in the coming years, anecessary precursor to the introductionof e-conveyancing.Due Diligence and Contract for SaleThe commercial terms of the sale ofproperty are usually negotiated by realestate agents and once settled referredto real estate lawyers acting for thevendor and purchaser. It is the obligationof the vendor’s solicitor to draw up theContract for Sale and demonstrate theability of their client to deliver “goodand marketable title” to the subjectproperty. The Contract for Sale willnot only deal with title matters but alsoplanning, taxation and the condition ofthe property.Before the Contract for Sale is signedthe real estate lawyer acting for thepurchaser will carry out a due diligencedesigned to ensure that not only doesthe vendor have title to the subjectproperty but also that there has beencompliance with statute and thatthere are no liabilities attaching to theproperty which would pass with the titleto the purchaser.While the vendor will usually disclose anyimperfections, the principle of “caveatemptor” (let the buyer beware) applieswith the obligation on the purchaser tomake adequate enquiries in relation toboth legal and regulatory matters and tophysically inspect the subject property.The transfer of the title usually occurswithin six weeks of the executionof the Contract for Sale. In certaincases completion of the transaction ispostponed or conditioned upon theoccurrence of certain events (e.g.) thepurchaser procuring planning permissionfor the property, development financeto construct a building or procuringstatutory body (e.g. IDA) or bank consentto the disposal of the asset.