A property register giving all details of residential sales in 2010 and 2011 should be available before the end of June next year, according to the head of the Property Services Regulatory Authority, Tom Lynch.
The publication of the register will be a priority for the authority when the Property Services (Regulation) Bill 2009 becomes law, probably before Christmas.
Proposals in the Bill for a property price register and lease database were approved by the Dáil on Tuesday. The Bill now goes to the Seanad.
Publication of residential property sales prices and the establishment and maintenance of a commercial leases database will help to restore much-needed confidence to the property market, Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence Alan Shatter said.
The Property Services Regulatory Authority, based in Navan for the past four years, will transfer information about residential sales from the Revenue Commissioners – already in receipt of this information for stamp duty purposes – to create the register.
Mr Lynch could not say how long it would take to establish a commercial leases database, as the information needed was not easily available. However, once the Property Services Bill is law, tenants will have to return information about the terms of their lease to the authority within 30 days of signing.
The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland welcomed the passing of the Bill in the Dáil and said the long-awaited legislation would provide much needed regulation in the sector. The society’s vice-president Roland O’Connell said: “The Property Services (Regulation) Bill is long overdue.”
