Q&A

Published list of planning offences caused concern: In your newspaper last Friday you published a list of people who were in some way in contravention of planning permission. Is this a first? It caused concern because my father built an extension on to our house without planning and is now worried about seeing his name in a paper.

Your dad is probably not the only one who felt a cold chill when he saw the public notice placed by Dublin City Council in this paper last week. It is an initiative by the local authority which is determined to show how serious it is about enforcing planning regulations. Publication of names is the end of a very long process which begins when the council becomes, or is made aware, of a building or change of use for which planning permission has not, or may not, have been obtained.

Last year, 1,200 such complaints from the public were made and most of these would have been followed up with a letter (to the person complained about) from the planning enforcement section of the council requesting information about the development. Each case is different, but that might then be followed with a visit from an enforcement officer who, if they found a contravention of planning, would then issue an enforcement notice with a compliance date. At this point the clock is really running and, unless the matter is resolved, legal proceedings can ensue. It's only on foot of these proceedings that your name might appear in the paper so, as you may imagine after all that, seeing it in print might not come as too much of a shock. Dublin City Council is adamant that it would prefer people to comply with planning - and gives plenty of opportunity to resolve matters - and that going to court is a last resort.

Your father probably has absolutely nothing to fear. The rules concerning the size of an extension exempt from planning permission are quite generous (consult www.dublincity.ie and go to the planning section), and unless it has been built in the past seven years and someone has complained about it, the first paperwork you will encounter about the extension is when you try to sell the house.

Shocked by the agent's intrusive questions

This is my first time attempt to buy property in Ireland and am shocked by the intrusiveness of the estate agent who showed me two apartments last week. She asked questions: such as my loan approval status; if I was selling a property to finance this purchase; was I first-time buyer (I'm over 50!), etc. It was very insulting. Is this the norm?

If anecdotal evidence is to be believed, the main reason (certainly last year) why sales fell through after the "sale agreed" stage was because the buyers could not come up with the finance. It's likely that the owners of these apartments have instructed the agent (and remember she is acting for them, not you) to deal favourably with people who are in a position to complete the sale - and that typically means someone who has already sold their property or otherwise has cash in the bank or a firm offer of finance from a lending institution.

Once the money is in place, sales can go through very quickly. The agent was just fishing, and it's not unusual, though most do it rather more smoothly than your particular experience.

Send your queries to Property Questions, The Irish Times, The Irish Times Building, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2 or email propertyquestions@irish-times.ie. Unfortunately, it is not possible to respond to all questions. The above is a representative sample of queries received. This column is a readers' service and is not intended to replace professional advice. No individual correspondence will be entered into.