Keith McConnell, Chair

The Conveyancing Committee enjoyed yet another hugely successful and productive year in 2025, with ten new practice notes published on topics such as Residential Zoned Land Tax, prohibitions notices, and the Croí Cónaithe scheme, all of which were well received by the profession.

The committee also completed the pilot on the practice note notification system, and now has almost 1,300 solicitors subscribed to this system. Throughout the year, committee meetings were once again hosted monthly in a hybrid manner, with members attending either online or in person. Attendance at the meetings was very strong, and engagement continued to be collaborative and enthusiastic, with very useful discussion on many of the areas of law affecting conveyancing solicitors. Work continued on the new template pre-lease enquiries, which were published in March 2025. Work also continued throughout the year on the combined building agreement/contract for sale, which was published in February 2026.

Throughout 2025, committee members regularly met with the Housing for All Expert Group on Probate and Conveyancing. The Law Society continued to highlight its many submissions and recommendations that outlined concerns with the significant and long-standing delays in the conveyancing process. Out of the six areas identified by the Law Society, significant progress was made on four, while work continued with various Government departments in relation to unpaid taxes being charges on property and established non-conforming developments.

The committee continued to engage extensively with many third parties, including Tailte Éireann, the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland, the RZLT and LPT sections of the Revenue Commissioners, the Local Government Management Agency, the Decision Support Service, the Society of Chartered Surveyors in Ireland, RIAI, the Construction Industry Federation, and the various bar associations.

Two webinars were hosted in autumn 2025 in collaboration with Tailte Éireann on Forms 1 and 2 registrations and Form 3 registrations. These webinars were a sellout, with over 3,000 registrations. They remain on the Law Society’s website, providing CPD free of charge to practitioners.

One of the many highlights was the publication of the new pre-contract enquiries for the sale of secondhand houses in multi-unit developments in March 2025 and for apartments in August 2025. These new publications were extremely well received by the profession.

The Conveyancing Committee secretary spoke at various LSPT clusters around the country, highlighting the work of the committee and updating practitioners on conveyancing practice. Feedback at these talks and events was very positive.

Renewed thanks are due to all committee members, consultants, committee secretary Deborah Leonard, and vice-chair Niamh Mahon, who continue the work of the committee.