The Gazette 1974

EDITORIAL

Auctioneer's Fees

The subject of auctioneer's commission fees has long

been a controversial one amongst solicitors, as, rightly

or wrongly, it was contended that the fee for selling

immovable property, throughout the Republic, had been

fixed for auctioneers at 5 per cent of the value of the

property sold, although solicitors, who had the responsi-

bility of advising their clients on the title, were com-

pelled by statute to accept much less than that. Further-

more, the scale of solicitor's fees went up on a receding

scale, with the result that, on a sale of property of

£10,000 or more the fees allowed to a solicitor rarely

exceeded 1J per cent and usually less, in the case of

registered land. The long-awaited report by the Nati-

onal Pricess Commission on the services of auctioneers,

prepared by Dr. Harrington of the Department of

Economics, of Manchester University, which has just

been published, fully justifies these criticisms. The

report recommends that, within the Dublin area, the

maximum commission fee for the selling of all immov-

able property by auctioneers should be reduced by half,

from 5 per cent to 2J per cent. No recommendations

were made in respect of letting property, or in reducing

the scale fee for the sale of furniture, goods, plant and

machinery, and for live and dead farming stock.

As regards property sold outside the Dublin area,

is recommended that the scale fee be reduced fr

on1

5 per cent to 3J per cent. These fees would be exclusi

of advertising, but no other extras could be added

It is recommended that these reductions should tak

place in stages, in the first year in all areas from 5 p

cent to 4 per cent, in the second year in all areas fi"

0,il

4 per cent to 3J per cent and in the third year, in th

Dublin area alone, from

per cent to 2J per cent.

is also recommended that there should be no reductio'

in the scale fee in respect of the properties, mostb

commercial, which are sold for more than £50,00'-

It is pointed out that in the last four years the price

new houses has increased by 64 per cent and that there

were no less than 1,650 licensed auctioneers in 19'

In Northern Ireland, the scale fee provided for

commission of 2 | per cent on the first £5,000 in ^

value of the property and

per cent on the balance-

When all these factors are taken into consideration, ;

will be seen that Dr. Harrington's suggestion for

reduction in the commission scale fee of auctioneers

011

sales is not unreasonable.

THE SOCIETY

Proceedings of the Council

16th MAY 1974

The President in the chair, also present Messrs

William B. Allen, Walter Beatty, Bruce St. J. Blake,

John F. Buckley, Anthony E. Collins, Laurence Cullen,

Gerard M. Doyle, Joseph L. Dundon, James R. C.

Green, Gerald Hickey, Christopher Hogan, Michael P.

Houlihan, John B. Jermyn, Francis J. Lanigan, Patrick

C. Moore, Patrick J. McEllin, Brendan A. McGrath,

John J. Nash, Patrick Noonan, Peter E. O'Connell,

James W. O'Donovan, Rory O'Connor, William A.

Osborne, David R. Pigot, Mrs. Moya Quinlan, Brian

W. Russell, Robert McD. Taylor, and Ralph J. Walker.

Undertakings to banks

Members wrote to the Society pointing out that some

banks now require solicitors to give very detailed under-

takings. One such undertaking reads as follows.

"If you provide facilities to our client for the pur-

chase of property we undertake to hand over to you all

deeds and documents after stamping and registration

has been completed to show that our client is absolutely

entitled to the said property free from encumbrances

and that the property is not subject to any covenant

against alienation or to forfeiture in the event of bank-

ruptcy or where applicable of an excise licence beifl?

lost and in the meantime to hold them to your order-

Members have pointed out that difficulties can an

§e

if the solicitor's client goes bankrupt or in the case of

company into liquidation during the course of

documents being stamped and registered. Solicitors

accordingly warned to consider this possibility whe'

signing such an undertaking.

17th Interim Report of the Committee on Court Pr

tice and Procedure dealing with Court fees

The basic recommendation in this report is that th

administration of justice is a necessary State service

all citizens and it should be available to them witho

the payment of Court fees.

However, if it is decided to continue with the imp

sition of Court fees the amount of such fees should ^

determined so that the receipts therefrom should

exceed two-thirds of the costs of the administration

justice. In determining the cost of the administration

justice no account should be taken of salaries, pensio°-

and travelling expenses of Judges and Justices, charg

for public works or buildings or rates on Governm^

property.

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