Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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129. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the help and assistance available to a person who bought a house off plans and when they sought to sell the house there was no property title on it and now they must go through the process of first registration. [18106/14]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I can inform the Deputy that there are two separate systems for recording property transactions in Ireland:

- the system of title registration in the Land Registry, and

- the system for recording deeds concerning land in the Registry of Deeds.

Following the enactment of the Registration of Deeds and Title Act 2006, both systems are under the management and control of the Property Registration Authority. Registration in the Land Registry is governed by the Registration of Deeds and Title Acts 1964 and 2006 and the Land Registration Rules 2012. The Registry of Deeds operates under the provisions of part 3 of the Registration of Deeds and Title Act 2006 and the Registration of Deeds Rules 2008. Applicants for registration must provide documentary evidence on which their claim to title is based.

In applications for first registration of title, the Authority examines and approves the title for registration. Once registered in the Land Registry, the title carries a State guarantee. In view of the quasi-judicial nature of the functions of the Property Registration Authority in approving the title presented, the Authority is precluded from advising or assisting applicants in the preparation of applications for registration. As these matters can be legally complex, it is generally in the applicant’s best interests to consider consulting a solicitor who would advise on the matter.