Town Council won't issue completion certificate due to debt

[Handy]

Hi Nigel,
I purchased a property in 2007 on an estate of 15 properties all of which had a planning and building licence. I filed my application for deeds with the Land Registry last November. The developer who is solvent advises me that he paid about 10,000 euro for the license but the Town council decided that the fee was incorrectly calculated so he agreed to pay another 3,000 euro in due course but says he does not yet have the money. Consequently, the Town Council will not issue a certificate of completion to the land registry to allow me or the other residents to obtain my deeds. I met with the Mayor and suggested that this is a civil debt and the council should not be using the residents as prawns but he was adamant that it is up to the residents to pressure the developer to pay the debt. I asked if the residents could settle the debt but could not get an answer. Please advise.

[Nigel-Howarth]

Hi Handy

There is little you can do. The Land Registry has prepared more than 20,000 files for the planning authorities to complete their work.

But you should complete a Compulsory Acquisition of Title form and take it to the Land Registry and add it to your application.

Regards