Q&A

This week the impact of Luas on parking and buying in Croatia

Parking mad

I live on a quiet suburban road close to a Luas stop and within striking distance of the new Dundrum Town Centre. The problem is that the parking situation on our once quiet road has gotten out of hand with both commuters and shoppers parking on the road. I believe the situation could be alleviated if there was paid parking on the street. Can an ordinary homeowner apply for paid parking?

If you feel that paid parking would make a difference to your daily life then you could write to the car-parking section of your local authority, which in your case is Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council. You should outline your problem and maybe even back-up your case with photos. The council then looks into your request - it's likely that, if you have been moved to write to the council, then other people on your road have also felt the need to write. The demand for car-parking and its availability in your area will be assessed and your road will be looked at to see does it meet a set of certain criteria. For example, if all of the houses have driveways where the path outside is dished, it is unlikely that there will actually be space on the road to paint car-parking spaces. Instead of paid car-parking, double yellow lines might be offered as a solution. While demand for car-parking in your area has, by all reports, been very high in the run up to the opening of the shopping centre, it is likely that it will calm down now that the centre with its vast car-park has opened.

Once the council decides that a certain road might have paid car-parking, a long, public consultation process is entered into, culminating in the plan being put before the council for by-law approval. Your road would be leafleted and you would be invited to a public meeting. If the vast majority of the homeowners don't want paid car-parking, it simply will not go ahead - on one south Dublin road, 98 per cent of the householder voted against the plan and it was scrapped. Be prepared for a long consultation process - it's not a question of writing a letter and a man appears the following week with a couple of litres of white paint. The next meeting which will vote on issues relating to new car-parking arrangements in your area is in the autumn sometime.

Buying in Croatia

I understand that Irish people are buying holiday properties in Croatia but I was under the impression that "foreigners" were not allowed to own land there. Can you clear up the confusion?

Irish people are allowed to buy property in Croatia but it can be a lengthy process, as it requires the approval of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Zagreb. After you sign the contract to buy and pay a deposit, that contract is sent to the ministry in Zagreb for approval. After you get approval you can then register the property in the land registry in your name and then pay the property purchase tax. Without the ministerial approval you cannot register your ownership.

All this can take up to a year so be prepared for a delay. Don't be put off by the thought of all this paper work. Once you go and start looking at property in Croatia, you'll soon find a range of independent advisors who can help you through the process.

Send your queries to Property Questions, The Irish Times, 10-16 D'Olier Street, Dublin 2 or e-mail 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.