If a sale has stalled, check this first. An extension, an attic room or a converted garage — built years ago, perfectly sound, and with nothing on paper to show it was permitted or that it complies.
Exemption Is Not the Same as No Paperwork
A certificate of compliance is a professional opinion from a suitably qualified architect, engineer or surveyor confirming that development at the property complies with planning permission and building regulations — or that it was exempted development requiring no permission. It is not issued by the local authority; the professional certifying takes responsibility for it. Here is the point that catches sellers out: even where the work needed no planning permission, a certificate saying so is generally still required. Certain works are exempt subject to conditions and limits — on size, on position relative to the building, on remaining private open space, on the use of the structure — and whether a particular extension fell within those limits is a question of measurement and fact that a buyer’s solicitor cannot take on trust. Their lender will not take it on trust either. The two structures that cause most difficulty are attic and garage conversions, because owners frequently do not think of them as development at all, and because building regulations for a habitable room engage means of escape, stair design, insulation and ventilation.
If It Cannot Be Certified
Options depend entirely on the facts. It may be possible to regularise the position through an application for retention permission — a planning application with its own timeline, and not guaranteed. It may be possible to modify the works so they can be certified. The parties may agree that the buyer takes the risk, reflected in the price and in a special condition — though a mortgaged buyer frequently cannot accept that because their lender will not, so a seller attempting to pass the risk may simply lose the sale. And in a small number of cases it cannot be resolved, which affects marketability until it is. The conclusion for sellers is straightforward and worth acting on today: find the documents before you go to market, and if they do not exist, arrange the certification then. Look at everything built or altered since you bought — extension, attic, garage, conservatory, garden room, and on rural property any new structure at all. If a previous owner did the work and left nothing, say so at the outset. It is common, usually solvable, and it takes time.
This is the delay you can actually prevent. Every other common cause — the lender, the chain, a grant of representation — is largely outside your control. This one is not.
Built something and cannot find the paperwork? 01 5827148.
Richard O’Shea — Solicitor & TEP
Solicitor at Mary Molloy Solicitors, established 1981, with an office at 2 Rose Inn Street in Kilkenny city centre and a second office in Dublin. The firm handles residential and rural conveyancing across Kilkenny and the south-east — buying, selling, sites and farmland, family transfers, remortgages and transfers of equity. Richard is a TEP of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, which matters more in conveyancing than people expect: a great many property transactions in Kilkenny arise out of an estate, a family transfer or a succession plan, and those need both sides handled together. Nothing here is tax advice — stamp duty and any gift or inheritance tax questions belong with your accountant and Revenue. 01 5827148 · richardoshea@marymolloysolicitors.com · LinkedIn
General information, not legal advice. This website contains general information about conveyancing and property law in Ireland. It is not legal advice and does not create a solicitor—client relationship. Every transaction turns on its own facts — the title, the planning position, the lender’s requirements and the contract — and advice on yours requires a consultation.
Nothing here is tax advice. Stamp duty, Local Property Tax, capital gains on a sale, and any gift or inheritance tax arising on a family transfer are matters for your accountant or tax adviser and for Revenue’s own guidance. This firm does not advise on tax and states no rate, threshold, relief or condition anywhere on this site. Where a scheme such as Help to Buy or the First Home Scheme is mentioned, the eligibility rules and limits are set by Revenue and the scheme administrators and change from time to time — confirm the current position directly with them.
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