A draft Land and Conveyancing Bill, which will simplify the conveyancing of property, will be published today in a report from the Law Reform Commission.
It is expected to be brought before the Dáil later this year by Minister for Justice Michael McDowell who is officially launching the report this evening.
The draft Bill sets out to repeal almost 800 years of archaic statute law on land and property, including more than 150 pre-1922 statutes. Some of them date back as far as 1285, though many of the older statutes have become obsolete or have been superseded by other laws.
Among the proposed reforms are the simplification of the law on mortgages, so that a mortgage will involve a charge as security on the land instead of a transfer of the ownership to a financial institution; a new statutory scheme for trusts of land; changes to the law affecting "squatters' rights" so that the owner of land will not lose his or her title without a court order, which may include an order for compensation; and the reform of the conveyancing laws using more accessible language.
The draft Bill also seeks to make specific provisions concerning neighbouring landowners' rights and obligations in relation to shared structures, and access for the purpose of carrying out work to buildings close to the boundary line between two properties.
The draft Bill has 133 sections and is 317 pages long. It repeals all or parts of 164 previous Acts, consolidating them into a single piece of legislation.
The commission embarked on the work of updating Irish land law at the request of the Government, and as part of a joint project with the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.
It is the culmination of 30 years' work by the Law Reform Commission, resulting in the publication of over 100 consultation papers and reports, covering areas as diverse as criminal law, including sexual offences; vulnerable groups and the law; and tribunals of inquiry. Over 60 per cent of these have been implemented.
This project sought to update land law in line with changes in society, make it more easily understood and accessible, simplify the conveyancing process, including the taking of security (mortgage) over land, and facilitate the extension of the registration of titles. Ultimately it is intended that an updated Land and Conveyancing Act would pave the way for electronic conveyancing of property and land.
The first phase of the project involved the screening of the pre-1922 statutes in order to identify those which could be repealed, and which needed replacement, along with a review of the general law.
Prof JCW Wylie, a specialist in land law, was engaged by the commission to carry out this phase. This ended with the consultation paper, and an extensive consultation process.
The drafting of the Bill marks the third phase of the project.
The development of a model for "e-conveyancing" has been put out to tender, supported by a grant from the Government's Information Society Fund. Progress on this will depend on the extent to which Government departments are computerised.