Mr. Patrick Davitt:

I will introduce members to our president, Ms Kearney, and Mr. Anderson, who has been a member of our conveyancing committee for many years. On behalf of the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers, I thank the committee for inviting us to the pre-legislative hearing of the Seller’s Legal Pack for Property Buyers Bill 2021. We look forward to discussing the basis and provisions of the Bill, which remain open to amendment following the committee’s scrutiny.

The Seller’s Legal Pack for Property Buyers Bill 2021 was devised by IPAV in 2020 after extensive consultation with various property-related stakeholders. We invited the Law Society to participate, but it did not choose to do so at that time. The urgency for enacting the Bill stems from the significant delays, often up to 16 weeks, that currently plague the property market. These delays cause profound disruptions for all parties to the property sales process, including consumers. As the trade body representing the interests of our profession, we have sought policy and legislative changes to address these concerns. The primary aim of the Bill is to reduce conveyancing delays by front-loading the process. Instead of reinventing the wheel, we propose to change the order in which documents are made available to prospective buyers.

Our objectives with the legislation, which prioritises consumer interests, include: providing full transparency and complete information to consumers upfront, thus reducing potential liabilities for vendors and ensuring certainty for all; offering early confirmation of property saleability, which will reduce failed transactions and associated costs; driving efficiencies similar to those in public auctions and online sales, where documentation is provided upfront and sales close within weeks; and cutting conveyancing times by at least 50%. These objectives were borne out of research conducted by IPAV among property sales professionals and consumers in 2020, which highlighted the need for the seller's legal pack, as 81% of auctioneers expressed frustration over delays, with sales taking an average of 16 weeks to complete. Further research in 2024 found that 32% of properties on the market had issues to be resolved, such as deed or boundary problems. These issues could have been averted if the seller's legal pack had been in place.

Previous attempts to reduce delays, such as the voluntary pre-contract investigation of title, PCIT, system, have had a poor effect, whereas a mandatory seller’s legal pack would offer confidence, certainty and protection for consumers while addressing long-standing frustrations. Moreover, the seller's legal pack can act as a precursor to e-conveyancing, which was flagged as a crucial reform but, much like the conveyancer profession, has yet to be introduced. What one must understand about e-conveyancing, even it were to be introduced today, is that the documentation we are speaking about is still required and will be required.

However, the seller's legal pack that we are addressing today is not a lone wolf. The UK Government's 2022 White Paper on levelling up proposed reintroducing a very similar initiative to the seller's legal pack, namely, the home information pack, HIP, recognising its potential to reduce conveyancing delays. Additionally, professional bodies and lawyers in Scotland and Wales have expressed interest in adopting similar legislation to achieve more positive outcomes for consumers. According to Professor Stewart Brymer of the Scottish Conveyancers Forum, the home report has been in place in Scotland since 2008 and works very well, but a speedier process with upfront document provision is long overdue.

Concerns have been raised regarding the cost of the seller's legal pack for consumers but this will not happen, given the objective of the Bill is to conduct the same legal work but merely to upfront the current process, thus making it more time-efficient. Furthermore, any issues or concerns raised have been strongly rebutted in submissions to the Departments of Justice and housing, and these have been largely accepted. IPAV is open to input from the committee to ensure the Bill benefits consumers once enacted.

As I am sure members know, the Bill contains seven sections. I will not go through them here but will move on. I will leave members with this: when purchasing a car, you receive a history of the vehicle upfront, including mileage, maintenance, and ownership details. This makes it very easy to validate the data before making a decision to purchase. However, when purchasing a property, people receive no upfront evidence, despite paying a multiple of what the cost of a car would be. This makes no sense, particularly given the intricacies of Ireland’s conveyancing, which largely dates back to the Conveyancing Act 1881. Therefore, it is clear to me that the process desperately needs reform to reflect the digital age.

The case for reform is clear. Let us work together to make the whole process more streamlined and simplified for customers, while providing certainty to all parties to a property sale. I look forward to a constructive discussion on the merits of the Bill, welcome suggestions for amendments, and am ready to answer any questions the committee may have. Go raibh maith agaibh.