Fine Gael seeks Dáil support for a bill to outlaw the practice of gazumping in the sale of property.
Fine Gael announced proposals to address a practice that sees the seller of a property looking to maximise their profit by accepting a higher offer when they have already accepted a prior offer. At a meeting of the Fine Gael frontbench in Galway party leader John Bruton described the practice,
As a worrying and ethically questionable development driven by greed.
John Bruton said that gazumping was a trend that needed to be stopped. Rising house prices were preventing many families from buying a home. This is made even worse when they find that after they have agreed a price and paid a deposit, the price goes up again.
The bill requires that anyone selling a property would have to give a written contract to a buyer within 14 days of a booking deposit being paid. The buyer would then be required to finalise the contract within a further 14 days and pay ten per cent of the purchase price.
Fine Gael TD Brian Hayes says that the practice of gazumping is utterly wrong.
Fine Gael believes that the government policies on housing are not working. The party has called for a cabinet minister specifically for housing to tackle the current housing crisis.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 22 June 1998. The reporter is Jim Fahy.
