Buying and selling property online was brought a step closer with the launch yesterday by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern of the Law Reform Commission report on e-conveyancing.
The report follows nine successive reports from the commission on various aspects of land law and related matters in an attempt to reform and modernise Ireland's antiquated system of land law.
In its report, the commission stressed that such reform is a prerequisite to a move to e-conveyancing. It also stresses that moving to e-conveyancing is a policy matter for government, rather than a matter of law reform.
As part of its work on this project, the commission asked consultants Bearing Point to draw up a Modelling Report, which analysed the whole conveyancing process.
This report involves a step-by-step analysis of the entire process, from the vendor putting the property on sale, through the roles of estate agents and lawyers, to the eventual transfer of the property to the purchaser and the payment of all appropriate charges and taxes.
The next step, according to the commission, is to establish a project board from the key public sector and private sector stake-holders. This would make a detailed assessment of the most appropriate model for e-conveyancing in Ireland.
The existing conveyancing system can be improved even before there is any move to e-conveyancing, according to the commission.
Various delays and deficiencies in the system were identified in the Modelling Report, and the commission expressed the hope that the various stakeholders (such as solicitors and lending institutions) will move quickly to discuss the changes outlined in this report.
These include the standardisation of documents used by the various stakeholders, the avoidance of overlap in sourcing information from stakeholders, and increased communication between them.
Legislative change, based on work already done, is also necessary, it said. The Land and Conveyancing Reform Bill, based on the commission's 2005 report on "Reform and Modernisation of Land Law and Conveyancing Law" is expected to be published later this year.
This will repeal a huge range of obsolete legislation and replace what is still of relevance in a modern and more simple form.
The Bill has also anticipated the possibility of e-conveyancing, so there will be no need for further legislation to facilitate it.
In conclusion, the commission noted the varying stages of readiness of the various stakeholders, and urged that this be urgently addressed.