Stage Payments and Certificate of Title

The Conveyancing Committee has been reviewing the Certificate of Title system in relation to residential properties and in particular the area of Stage Payments. On the issuing of the stage payment by the lender to the solicitor’s client account, the security documentation is put in place and the application is made to have the title (where relevant) registered in the client’s name and the charge on the property registered with the Property Registration Authority (PRA). The Certificate of Title is dated the date of the first drawdown and at this juncture, subject only to registration of the title and the charge with the PRA, the solicitor lodges their Certificate of Title with the lending institution together with the title deeds.  It is at the point of the initial drawdown that searches are carried out and subject only to the registration and the delivery of the Certificate of Title and title deeds to the lender, the solicitor's engagement comes to an end.

In keeping with the current Certificate of Title system agreed between the Law Society of Ireland and the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland, after first drawdown, all further stage payments should be paid by the lender directly to their customer and not to the solicitor’s client account. Where the first drawdown has occurred and the security has been put into place, the Committee considers there should be no need for the solicitors' client account to be used to process subsequent stage payments. The Committee considers that where the lender requests stage payments to be processed through a client account of a solicitor, this increases the work and costs involved, as well as the timeline for funds transfer and it increases risks particularly around cybercrime.  Each solicitor who in their discretion agrees to process these additional payments should first agree with their client the terms of their service in this regard, including in relation to costs. Where the lender transfers the stage payments directly to its customer, the potential for increased works, costs and delay is reduced and transfer risks are also reduced as there is only one payment by the lender to a verified customers' account.