Contracts, Deposits & When You Are Committed

The most misunderstood thing about buying a house in Ireland.

You hand over a substantial booking deposit, the auctioneer marks the property sale agreed, and it feels like something has happened. Legally, almost nothing has. That gap between how it feels and what it is causes more distress than any other feature of the Irish system.

The Booking Deposit Binds Nobody

A booking deposit is paid to the auctioneer when a sale is agreed. It is not a contract — it is an expression of intent, generally refundable, and it commits neither side. A buyer who changes their mind is generally entitled to it back; a seller who accepts a higher offer must return it. It carries real commercial weight, in that an auctioneer will usually stop actively marketing, and very little legal weight. Which produces the two words everybody has heard. Gazumping is a seller accepting a higher offer after agreeing a sale. Gazundering is a buyer cutting their offer at the last moment, when the seller is already committed to an onward purchase. Both are lawful here, and neither is a loophole: it follows directly from the requirement that a contract for the sale of land be in writing and signed. Until contracts are exchanged there is simply no agreement to sell or to buy. That is why the pre-contract period is anxious for everyone involved, and why speed at that stage protects both sides — the shortest route out of the uncertainty is a well-prepared file, not pressure on a solicitor.

Exchange Is the Moment — and What You Sign Matters

You are committed when contracts have been signed by both parties and exchanged, with the balance deposit paid. Not at sale agreed. Not on the booking deposit. Not even when you sign your own part — signing alone does not commit you, because it is the exchange that creates the binding agreement. From that moment both sides are committed, a completion date is fixed, and failing to complete carries consequences under the contract including risk to the deposit. Everything material must therefore be resolved before exchange, which is the whole reason the investigation stage takes as long as it does. As to what you are signing: the Law Society standard contract is used for most residential sales, and its general conditions are familiar and broadly balanced. The special conditions are where the real negotiation happens — a special condition can limit a seller’s obligation to prove something, shift a planning risk onto the buyer, deal with a known defect in title, or make the sale subject to an event. Those need reading properly, and they are exactly where an unsatisfactory position gets quietly papered over because everybody is anxious to move. One related warning: approval in principle is not a loan offer. Exchanging on the strength of one is a genuine risk to your deposit.

Been Sent Contracts?

The special conditions are the part worth real attention, and the mortgage position needs to be genuinely secure before exchange rather than hopefully secure.

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Contracts & Deposits - FAQs

Generally yes. A booking deposit is paid to the auctioneer when a sale is agreed, and it is not a contract - it is an expression of intent that holds the property off the market as a matter of practice rather than law. It binds neither side. A buyer who changes their mind is generally entitled to it back, and a seller who accepts a higher offer must return it. That surprises people, who reasonably assume that handing over a substantial sum of money means something. It does mean something commercially - an auctioneer will usually stop actively marketing - but it means very little legally, and the distinction matters enormously during the weeks that follow.

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.

No valuation, survey or financial advice. This firm does not value property, does not advise on price, and is not a surveyor, engineer or mortgage adviser. A solicitor’s investigation of title is not a structural survey and is not a substitute for one, and no legal work will tell you whether a property is sound or whether the price is right.

Never both sides of the same transaction. The firm acts for buyers and, in separate transactions, for sellers — but not for both parties to the same sale. Conflicts are checked before any substantive discussion, which is why the first contact should identify the property and every party involved.

No timeline is promised. Nothing on this site states or implies that a transaction will close by any particular date. Closing depends on matters outside any solicitor’s control, including the other side, the lender, the chain, and third parties such as local authorities and Tailte Éireann.

Fees. Fees and outlays are agreed in writing with the client at the outset, in accordance with the Legal Services Regulation Act. In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.