Big increase in cost of registering house sales

FEES RISE:FEES FOR REGISTERING new ownership of a home are to go up by as much as 86 per cent next month.

From December 1st, there will be a substantial hike in the fees for the registration of a transfer on sale at the Land Registry based at the Property Registration Authority (PRA).

The fee for the sale of a house between €51,000 and €200,000 will increase by 60 per cent from €375 currently to €600.

From €200,000 to €255,000 it goes up from €375 to €700, an increase of more than 80 per cent. This is the bracket for most house purchases in Dublin.

From €255,001 to €385,000, the increase is from €500 to €700 or 40 per cent.

Solicitor Richard Lee, of Lee and Sherlock, described the increases as “frightening stuff” when the property market was still so fragile.

He estimated the Land Registry fees hike would add 13 per cent to the cost of fees associated with buying an average house costing €240,000. The increases will go from €2,489 to €2,814.

“I’m at a loss to understand it. The timing of it is poor and the level of increase is poor as well,” he said. He believed there was a sense of shock among house purchasers at the scale of the increase.

He questioned why the biggest increases were in mid-priced homes, while house prices in the highest brackets were relatively unaffected. “That doesn’t make any sense to me.”

In the higher price brackets, between €385,001 and €400,000 the fees change from €625 to €700, an increase of 12 per cent.

In the bracket above more than €400,000 it goes up from €625 to €800, an increase of 28 per cent.

The cost of registering a mortgage/charge at the Land Registry will also rise by 40 per cent to €175 (currently €125).

In addition, fees for registrations and services, which previously cost €25 and €85, will also be increased to €40 and €130 respectively.

The increases were sanctioned by the Minister for Justice and Equality Alan Shatter in late September when he signed the Land Registration (Fees) Order 2012.

The Property Registration Authority (PRA) justified the move on the basis that it is the first time there has been an increase in fees since 1999.

It claims the PRA is obliged by legislation to charge fees at an appropriate level to cover costs of the provision of services.