The Land Registry in Ireland is run by Tailte Éireann, and its public search is landdirect.ie. A folio search there takes ten minutes. Searching the map is free, a plain copy of the folio costs €5, and the folio tells you who the registered owner is and what rights and charges sit on the property. You do not need an account: choose Proceed as Guest.
What a folio is
When a property is registered, the Land Registry opens a folio for it: a record of the property, its owner and any burdens, linked to a plan on the Registry map. The State guarantees the title shown on the folio, so a buyer can rely on it without reading the old deeds. Tailte Éireann says about 90% of the land in Ireland is registered, which is 85% of titles. The rest is unregistered, and its deeds are recorded in the Registry of Deeds instead. Since 1 June 2011, any unregistered property bought anywhere in the State must be registered after the sale.
Doing the search
Open landdirect.ie, choose Proceed as Guest, and find the property on the map by address or location. The address search uses GeoDirectory, which links every postal address in Ireland to the digital map. Click the plot. If it is registered, you see the folio number and can order a copy. If nothing comes up for a house you know is there, the title may be unregistered, or the house may sit inside a bigger folio that was never split. Both are questions for your solicitor.
A warning from Tailte Éireann: third-party websites sell copies of folios and maps at a much higher price, and some use ads and names that look official. The official prices are €5 for a plain copy of a folio on landdirect.ie (no map, immediate download) and €40 for a certified copy with the map (title plan), with no postage charge. Start on landdirect.ie or tailte.ie and nowhere else.
Reading the three parts
Part 1 describes the property: location, the plan reference on the Registry map, any rights that belong to it (a right of way over a neighbour’s lane, for instance) and usually the area. Part 2 names the registered owners and the quality of the title, and shows any cautions or inhibitions. Part 3 lists the burdens on the property: mortgages, rights of way, fishing and sporting rights.
For a buyer, Part 2 answers one question: is the person selling the person on the folio. If the owner died, or the name differs, the sale needs extra steps. Part 3 is the one to read slowly. A right of way for a neighbour across the back garden will not show at a viewing. On the landdirect map, registered rights of way are typically shaded yellow. If a folio shows pending applications, landdirect warns you on screen: the register may be about to change.
What the map does not tell you
The Registry map identifies property. It does not fix boundaries. Citizens Information and Tailte Éireann both say the maps do not show whether a boundary includes a hedge, wall or ditch, and Tailte Éireann will not rule on a neighbour dispute. So walk the fences against the map and ask about anything that does not line up: a side passage, a strip behind the back wall, a shared drive.
Where our report fits
The Land Registry title check in our report reads Tailte Éireann’s open data of registered boundaries for the Eircode. It says whether a registered title is mapped under the roof, freehold or leasehold, the plot size, and whether the plot is shared with neighbouring addresses (a parent folio), and it draws the boundary on a map. It does not show the folio number, the owner’s name or Part 3 burdens: for those you still need the €5 folio from landdirect.ie, and the report tells you how to get it. Run the free snapshot first; the full report is €24.99. For what comes after the offer, see sale agreed: what happens next.