A radical overhaul of Ireland’s conveyancing system is long overdue.
It can currently take as long as six months or more for a house buyer to get the keys in their hands after deciding to buy a home. In today’s modern and digital society, it shouldn’t take that long for a property to change hands.
Furthermore, there have been cases where it has taken years to complete a house sale. In a submission to the Department of Justice in September 2023, the Law Society of Ireland said that in a worst-case scenario, delays in Ireland’s conveyancing system were setting back house sales by up to five years.
A secure, paperless and electronic conveyancing process could change all this. With the right e-conveyancing system and procedures in place, the time it takes for a house buyer to get the keys into their hands could be reduced to between four and six weeks.
This would make a huge difference to the thousands of people struggling to get on to the property ladder – as well as those keen to sell their homes. It would lead to greater certainty for house buyers and sellers, save costs, cut red tape and reduce the stress that comes with house sales.
In its programme for government, published earlier this year, the Government promised to deliver a national e-conveyancing system by 2027. Over the summer, Taoiseach Micheál Martin welcomed what he described as the “progress” being made towards this goal. He also commended the moves towards an eight-week conveyancing process, whereby conveyancing would take no more than eight weeks – from acceptance of an offer to the closure of the house sale.
To an ordinary observer, these targets and the so-called progress that is being made towards them seems like a job well done. But let’s not be fooled.
It has been more than 20 years since a working group was set up by the Law Reform Commission to examine how e-conveyancing could be introduced. Yet Ireland for the most part still has the antiquated and inefficient conveyancing system that it had back then.
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By comparison, our neighbours in the UK have made huge strides on e-conveyancing in recent years. The UK’s equivalent of the Land Registry, HM Land Registry, has long been accepting digital signatures on the many documents required in the conveyancing process.
Given the many similarities between properties and land in Ireland and the UK, there is no reason why this should not happening here too.
Outdated systems and legislation continue to significantly contribute to delays, adding to the costs and stress for those buying and selling homes
Yet in Ireland, even the smallest steps in the right direction on e-conveyancing seem to go nowhere or be forever stalled. The Government’s poor progress on getting a “statement of truth” document over the line are a case in point.
One of the major obstacles to e-conveyancing is the requirement for certain statutory declarations to be signed in the physical presence of an independent solicitor or commissioner for oaths when a house is changing hands.
Statutory declarations are hugely important in conveyancing transactions. They are needed for the completion of most transactions, they are retained with the title deeds and documents and also relied upon by subsequent purchasers, lenders and others taking an interest in the property. However, statutory declarations cannot be made by electronic signature unless there’s a change in the law.
The “family home declaration” is one of the statutory declarations that must be signed when a house is changing hands.
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While the Government made moves in 2022 to support the increased use of statements of truth to replace certain hard-copy affidavits or statutory declarations (such as the family home declaration) in the process, almost three years later we’re still waiting on the legislation for this.
In the UK, HM Land Registry can already accept a statement of truth that has been signed using a conveyancer-certified electronic signature. The best that our Government can do is say that legislation will be prepared later this year that will support the increased use of statements of truth. Let’s not hold our breath.
Over the years, there have been numerous calls on the minister for justice (including from the Law Society in 2022) to introduce amending legislation as a matter of urgency so that statements of truth can be used in conveyancing transactions. Yet for reasons unknown, the Government has dragged its heels on this.
Outdated systems and legislation continue to significantly contribute to delays, adding to the costs and stress for those buying and selling homes.
There is plenty of evidence of this. Some 69 per cent of solicitors indicated that they always or regularly experienced delays in completing property registrations, according to a recent survey by the Law Society.
Based on our own experience, nearly one in seven property deals are falling through – not because buyers change their minds but because serious planning or title issues come to light far too late in the process. If a properly run and adequately resourced national e-conveyancing system were in place, such issues could be addressed and ironed out much earlier in the process.
Huge digital advances have been witnessed worldwide and in Ireland in recent years, particularly since the pandemic. Yet despite all the backslapping and talk of progress, the Government is no nearer to delivering e-conveyancing today than it was more than 20 years ago when the idea was initially mooted.
Unless there is a radical change of thinking and approach by our elected representatives, a national e-conveyancing system will never be achieved in Ireland, never mind by 2027.
Instead, consumers will continue to be bedraggled by a laborious, antiquated and costly conveyancing process. Irish house buyers and sellers deserve more than empty promises and inaction. It’s time to bring Ireland’s conveyancing system into the 21st century.
Mike Stack is a solicitor with digital conveyancing specialists Beam, a trading name of Orbitus Law LLP
