Seller's Legal Pack: Motion
Seanad Éireann — 2026-01-27
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Aubrey McCarthy (IND), University of Dublin

I move:
“That Seanad Éireann:
acknowledges that:
- the Seller’s Legal Pack for Property Buyers Bill 2021 was originally introduced by the then Independent TD, Marc MacSharry;
- the Bill was designed to front-load the property conveyancing process and reduce transaction times for property purchases, reduce wasted costs associated with delays or sales falling through, and to allow for more certain and transparent transactions for both the consumer and the seller when a property is being bought and sold;
- the Institute of Professional Auctioneers & Valuers (IPAV) Conveyancing Survey Results 2020 revealed that 81 per cent of property service providers are either frustrated or very frustrated by the delays caused by the current conveyancing process, according to the survey results, some 79 per cent of auctioneers who are experiencing conveyancing delays from the time the property has gone 'sale agreed’ to when the sale has closed;
- in 2021, IPAV was campaigning to find new and cost-effective ways to speed up the conveyancing of property – the legal process in transferring property title;
- an IPAV Conveyancing Survey 2023 showed 97 per cent support for the Seller’s Legal Pack (SLP) among IPAV members, with delays still prevalent despite previous voluntary reforms to the conveyancing process; Ireland Thinks Survey 2023 indicated 77 per cent consumer support for the SLP, with significant backing from young adults, and 73 per cent of respondents saying that the conveyancing process caused problems for them when purchasing a house;
- an IPAV Member Survey 2024 found 32 per cent of properties on the market have issues to be resolved (i.e. issue with deeds, boundary issues and other matters) and these properties should not be on the market until they are saleable;
- the figure from all four surveys highlight the need for a radical change in the conveyancing and house purchasing process, to make it more accessible and easier to navigate for consumers;
- the surveys also found that the average number of weeks it takes from when a property is ‘sale agreed’ to when contracts are signed is ten, and it takes six weeks from the signing of the sales contracts to the date the sale closes;
- in 2021, the IPAV, as the representative body responsible for standards in the property sales industry, took the view that the SLP would substantially reduce the delays incurred in the current sales process which they consider to be unaligned, rife with uncertainty and which present legal risks to the vendor;
- the SLP would result in the following benefits:
- reducing the number of property sales which fall through;
- cutting down the conveyancing timeframe that encourages gazumping or gazundering to take place;
- streamlining the conveyancing process to align with public and online property auctions;
- allowing for the filtering of properties prior to sale to confirm saleability;
- reducing the potential liability for the seller/vendor;
- reducing conveyancing times as the larger part of the process would now be front loaded;
- there would also be additional non-monetary benefits, including but not limited to:
- increased transparency;
- greater certainty;
- reduced transaction times; and
- reduced stress in the purchase of a property;
- the pack would make issues arising from non-refundable costs such as surveys, legal bills and mortgage valuations, should the deal fall through due to lack of important information up front, all easier to resolve;
- when a seller places their property on the market, an SLP would be compiled and advertised with the property, which can then be sent to potential buyers;
- the ultimate objective of the SLP is to influence the development of a sustainable property market where people can buy or sell properties in a cost-effective manner with reduced delays;
notes that:
- the Seller’s Legal Pack for Property Buyers Bill 2021 draws upon similar initiatives in the UK, notably the Home Information Packs (HIPs); evidence from the UK suggests that 87 per cent of property practitioners believe HIPs would succeed if implemented today due to their positive impact on the housing market and the increased consumer confidence they provided;
- the Seller’s Legal Pack Bill aligns with these findings by frontloading the property sales process, similar to HIPs; this would reduce delays caused by back-and-forth communication between solicitors, prevent transactions from falling through due to expired loan offers, and eliminate speculative listings, by providing all necessary documentation upfront, as the Bill ensures transparency and certainty, thus building buyer confidence and encouraging more efficient property transactions;
- there were concerns regarding the original Bill which were listed in the Report on Detailed Scrutiny of the Seller’s Legal Pack for Property Buyers Bill 2021;
- the Law Society of Ireland made a submission on the Seller’s Legal Pack for Property Buyers Bill 2021 in 2024, and the IPAV also made a submission in the same year;
- when a seller places their property on the market, this legislation would direct that a SLP is compiled and is advertised with the property; the SLP can then be sent to potential buyers, and it is expected the SLP would add no further cost to the general expenses associated with the sales process, as the fee would include all potential queries that might be raised by the vendor, purchaser and legal representatives throughout the conveyancing process;
calls on the Government to:
- address the issues outlined in the Report on Detailed Scrutiny of the Seller’s Legal Pack for Property Buyers Bill 2021;
- address the concerns about the conveyancing raised by the IPAV and the Law Society of Ireland in their submissions;
- liaise with the IPAV regarding how a new updated version of the Seller’s Legal Pack could be made possible;
- bring forward an updated version of the Bill which will implement all the benefits of the original 2021 Bill within the lifetime of the Government; and
- introduce a Bill or multiple Bills so that it is possible to avail of as many of the benefits of the SLP as possible, if it is not possible to address all of the issues outlined in the report and submissions.”

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Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-01-27/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:33+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-27