IRELAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Diarmuid Mawe, Craig Kenny, Katelin Toomey and William Fogarty, Maples Group
2.2 Laws Applicable to Transfer of Title Historically, Irish law was based on legislation predating the establishment of the Irish State. The 2009 Act replaced much of the old law and modernised conveyancing practice. The 2009 Act is the main statute applicable to the transfer of title in Ireland and applies to all asset class - es, including residential, commercial, industrial, offices, retail and hotels. The RTA govern the residential landlord and tenant sector, while the LTA govern the commercial landlord and tenant sector. 2.3 Effecting Lawful and Proper Transfer of Title Registration When ownership of a property is registered in the Land Registry, the deeds are filed with the Land Registry and all relevant particulars are entered on folios that form the registers maintained by the Land Registry. In conjunction with the folios, the Land Registry also maintains maps (referred to as title plans). Both folios and title plans are kept in electronic form. The Registry of Deeds provides a system of vol - untary registration for deeds that affect property. The purpose was to give priority to registered deeds over unregistered but “registrable” deeds. There is no statutory obligation to register a deed in the Registry of Deeds, although failure to do so may result in a loss of priority. Tailte Éireann launched in March 2023 and is the state organisation responsible for the registra - tion of property transactions in Ireland, encom - passing both the Land Registry and the Registry of Deeds. Tailte Éireann also provides national mapping and surveying infrastructure and a property valuation service for Ireland.
Title insurance is used in property transactions in Ireland but is not widespread. Electronic Signatures While the use of electronic signatures has increased in Ireland, the transfer of Irish real estate is still required to be effected by way of original wet ink signature. The Electronic Com - merce Act 2000 (the “E-Commerce Act” ) gov - erns the use of electronic or digital signatures in Ireland, and previously specifically excluded interests in land from its ambit. However, the Electronic Commerce Act 2000 (Application of Sections 12 to 23 to Registered Land) Regu - lations 2022 (the “Regulations” ) amended the E-Commerce Act and allowed for the legal rec - ognition of the electronic execution of docu - ments dealing with interests in registered land. Notwithstanding the Regulations, practice has not yet changed in Ireland as the Land Registry has clarified that it is not currently in a position to accept electronic or digital signatures on docu - ments submitted to it for registration. Ultimately, Land Registry practice will dictate whether elec - tronic signatures are acceptable on documents relating to real estate interests. An exception to this is the contract for sale, which may be executed by electronic signature. While it was possible to use an electronic signature to exe - cute contracts previously, the 2023 Law Society of Ireland General Conditions provided express confirmation of the parties’ consent to electronic exchange of contracts, the use of counterparts and the potential to use electronic signatures. As with all the General Conditions, this condi - tion can be amended in a contract for sale by a special condition. 2.4 Real Estate Due Diligence A buyer’s lawyer will investigate the seller’s title to the property pre-contract to ensure the buyer
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