Buying an apartment in Ireland is quite a different legal structure to buying a house. If you are considering buying an apartment there are certain points that you need to be aware of and this article aims to set these out for you.

Title

Title to an apartment is generally long leasehold title i.e. 999 years lease. In this lease it will contain clauses which sets out what you can and cannot do such as rules regarding no animals, floor coverings, noise, and clothes on balconies. It is important that your solicitor furnishes you with a copy of the lease so can familiarise yourself with these clauses. A management company may also have house rules in place and again your solicitor should provide you with a copy of these to review.

Common Areas & freehold title

In a new development, the developer retains title to the “common areas” – these are the hallways, the stairways and the access and exit to the estate. However when all of the units are sold in the development, the developer is required by law to transfer the common areas to a management company.

In a number of established estates, it is apparent from examining the title that these common areas have not been transferred in breach of the law. Your solicitor will explain the consequences of such a situation if this arose.

Service charge

An annual charge is payable to the management company for the upkeep and maintenance of the common areas. This charge does vary but it can be 1-2k per annum. You will need to be advised by your solicitor what this charge is exactly so that you can budget for it. If you are buying an existing apartment your solicitor should ensure that all payments for this charge are paid up to the date of closing.

Insurance

When you buy an apartment, there will be a block policy in place which deals with the buildings insurance. Your solicitor will obtain a copy of this policy and you should review this prior to entering into contracts and note the excess on the policy and what it actually overs.

You should note however that contents insurance will be a matter exclusively for you to deal with once you own the property.

The insurance cost is covered in the service charge paid annually.

Sinking fund

A sinking fund is a requirement under law where a management company sets up this fund to deal with any major repair work in the development.

From our experience we frequently see that where the common areas are not transferred, no sinking fund has been set up. You need to be aware of this implication as it may have a direct impact on the service charge being augmented in the future to cater for this fund.

For more information on this contact Roisin at 061 502005 or email us at roisin@rocs.ie

This article is general in nature and cannot be regarded as legal advice. It is general commentary only. You should not rely on the contents of this article without consulting one of our Solicitors. If you would like advice regarding how the law applies to your individual circumstances, then please contact Roisin O’Connell Solicitors.