IRELAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Diarmuid Mawe, Craig Kenny, Katelin Toomey and William Fogarty, Maples Group
1. General 1.1 Main Sources of Law
EU regulations. The demand for Grade A sus - tainable office space will continue to split the market, leading to an increase in the refurbish - ment and retrofitting of older assets. Ensuring adequate and affordable housing is a key concern of the Irish government which is being addressed through the “Housing for All” plan. To achieve its housing objectives for 2022– 2030, the government aims to deliver 312,750 homes, comprising 88,400 social, 53,800 afford - able or cost rental and over 170,000 private units, with a state investment of EUR40 billion. As a result, this sector has strong growth pros - pects for 2024. The Irish retail sector has demonstrated its resilience with consumer confidence and retail sales increasing throughout 2023. Several new international entrants to the Irish market are seeking retail space with, for example, Swed - ish retailer Arket and Chinese retailer Icicle due to open their first Irish stores in Dublin in 2024. High-end retail centres performed well in 2023 with, for example, The Blanchardstown Centre securing new leases with leading brands such as Lego, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Nike in the past year. There is no doubt that the impact of rising infla - tion, increases in interest rates and the resultant uptick in associated property costs have induced a period of price discovery in Irish real estate. However, inflationary pressures have now eased somewhat, and interest rates appear to have stabilised, with a marginal reduction expected throughout 2024. Ireland remains the European Union’s fastest- growing economy and an excellent place to invest and do business. It offers a high degree of economic and political stability with the benefit
The main source of Irish real estate law is stat - ute. The key legislative provisions are set out in: • the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act, 2009 (the “2009 Act”); • the Registration of Title Act, 1964 (the “1964 Act”); • the Registration of Deeds and Title Act, 2006; • the Landlord and Tenant Acts, 1967‒2019 (the LTA); and • the Residential Tenancies Acts, 2004–2022 (the RTA). The other main source of Irish real estate law is case law, derived from judgments of the Irish courts. 1.2 Main Market Trends and Deals The year 2023 was a challenging one for real estate markets across Europe, and the Irish mar - ket was no different. We expect 2024 to be a year of recovery, with interest rates stabilising and ultimately declining. The dominant asset classes in the Irish real estate market are currently office, residential (including social and affordable housing), indus - trial and retail. Within those classes, the largest deals in Ireland involved large-scale residential multi-family developments, property redress schemes (PRS) and student accommodation schemes, logistics portfolios and regional retail parks and shopping centres. The Irish office market has been dominated by a “flight to quality”, with developers, building own - ers and occupiers collaborating to meet environ - mental, social and governance (ESG) objectives and comply with net zero targets and impending
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