A new consumer guide has identified issues relating to documentation, planning and taxes as among the prime causes of delays when buying and selling a property in Ireland.

The guide, which is primarily aimed at sellers but will also be of interest to buyers, has been published by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland and the Law Society of Ireland with the aim of speeding up property sales.

It sets out in detail the steps anyone selling a property needs to take, the questions they need to ask, who they need to contact as well as how long it usually takes and costs.

Shirley Coulter CEO of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland says that while the average timeframe to complete a sale is over four months, for a significant number of sales there can be considerable delays.

“Many people don’t realise the volume of documentation around key issues which needs to be gathered to complete a property sale. One key document is the property’s title deeds, which is often held by a bank or other lender, but others include copies of marriage or civil partnership certificates and land registry and mapping documents.”

“Additional information and documentation may be required if third parties have rights over a property such as a right of residence or right of way or if there have been boundary issues or disputes with a neighbour.”

“Compliance with or exemptions from planning permission and/or building regulations is an area where we are seeing an increasing number of holdups. For example, if a building extension has been added on, copies of planning permissions and evidence of compliance with that permission and with building regulations will be required.”

“If the extension was below the size threshold to require planning permission a certificate of exemption will be needed. A valid Building Energy Rating (BER) certificate and BER Advisory Report are legally required if you are selling a property. So, the sooner you engage your professional team the sooner you can begin gathering the relevant documents” Ms Coulter said.

Both organisations are advising anyone who is contemplating selling a property to read “Speed up your property sale – a guide to avoiding the most common delays”.

Mark Garrett, Director General of the Law Society said, “For most people buying or selling a house is the biggest transaction they will be involved in. However, the process they have to deal with is antiquated, overly complex and can involve up to 15 interdependent parties as well as dozens of documents. A delay at any point can have a knock-on effect on the process and lead to significant delays, which can in turn negatively impact the Irish housing market.”

“In many cases, selling a house in Ireland takes far too long and the Law Society has long called for systemic reform of the conveyancing system. Through this guide, we want to support people to understand the complexity of the current process and, armed with this information, plan ahead to avoid delays where that is possible.”

The guide notes that measures to prevent money laundering and a requirement to collect outstanding taxes and charges have been introduced in recent years. The latter includes evidence of payment of the Local Property Tax and Household Charge.

It also notes the requirement when selling a property of the need for confirmation from Uisce Éireann that services such as water supply are in place and are being managed by the utility company as well as confirmation from your local authority that they are responsible for the maintenance of the roads in your estate.

According to the guide if the property is being sold following the death of the owner, then the sale could be conditional or ‘subject to’ probate causing additional delays. Another issue which very often leads to delays is when buyers have not got the finance in place to complete a sale or when sellers have not got the final redemption figure from their bank to settle the existing mortgage.

• Download Speed up your property sale – a guide to avoiding the most common delays