48. The Water Services Act 2014 is amended by inserting the following section after section 3:

“3A. (1) In this section—

‘dwelling’ means a premises occupied, or which may be occupied, by a person as his or her place of private residence (whether or not as his or her principal private residence);

‘market value’, in relation to a dwelling, means the price which the unencumbered fee simple of the dwelling would fetch if sold on the open market;

‘sale’ includes, in relation to a dwelling, the transfer of the dwelling by its owner or any trustee or personal representative of the owner to another person—

(a) in consequence of—

(i) the exercise of a power under any enactment to compulsorily acquire land, or

(ii) the giving of notice of intention to exercise such power,

or

(b) for no consideration or consideration which is significantly less than the market value of the dwelling at the time of its transfer.

(2) The owner of a dwelling (in this section referred to as the ‘vendor’) who proposes to sell the dwelling shall—

(a) before the completion of the sale, pay to Irish Water any charge under section 21 of the No. 2 Act of 2013 in respect of the dwelling payable by the owner to Irish Water, including any such charge payable by the owner by virtue of section 23A(4) of that Act, and

(b) provide to his or her solicitor—

(i) a certificate of discharge from Irish Water confirming that any such charge has been paid, or

(ii) a statement from Irish Water that any charge under section 21 of the No. 2 Act of 2013 payable in respect of the dwelling is not the liability of the owner.

(3) Where the vendor fails to provide the certificate referred to in subsection (2)(b)(i) or the statement referred to in subsection (2)(b)(ii) before the completion of the sale, the vendor’s solicitor shall, before completing the sale, request from the vendor a statement from Irish Water setting out the amount of the charge (if any) under section 21 of the No. 2 Act of 2013 payable by the vendor to Irish Water in respect of the dwelling.

(4) Where the vendor fails to provide the statement referred to in subsection (3), the vendor’s solicitor shall, before completing the sale, request such a statement from Irish Water.

(5) The vendor’s solicitor shall withhold from the net proceeds of sale remaining (if any), after the discharge of all mortgages and other liabilities relating to the sale, the amount (if any) set out in the statement provided to the solicitor under subsection (3) or (4), as the case may be, and, subject to subsection (6), remit that amount to Irish Water within 20 working days of the completion of the sale of the dwelling.

(6) A remittance of any amount to Irish Water under subsection (5) is without prejudice to any right the vendor may have under—

(a) a complaints procedure provided by Irish Water in accordance with a code of practice approved by the Commission under section 32 of the No. 2 Act of 2013,

(b) the dispute resolution service provided by the Commission under section 8 to customers of Irish Water, or

(c) Part 6 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004.

(7) Irish Water shall provide a receipt to the vendor’s solicitor in respect of any amount remitted to it under subsection (5).

(8) A receipt provided to the vendor’s solicitor under subsection (7) shall be in full and final settlement of any obligation imposed on the vendor’s solicitor under this section.

(9) A person who is a tenant of a dwelling let to him or her under the Housing Acts 1966 to 2014 and who proposes to purchase the dwelling under a scheme for its purchase shall, before the completion of the sale to him or her, provide to the local authority concerned a certificate of discharge from Irish Water confirming that any charge under section 21 of the No. 2 Act of 2013 in respect of that dwelling payable by the person to Irish Water has been paid, and the sale of the dwelling to him or her shall not be completed until the certificate has been so provided.

(10) Irish Water shall, as appropriate, provide without undue delay—

(a) to a vendor, on his or her request, a certificate referred to in subsection (2)(b)(i), or a statement referred to in subsection (2)(b)(ii) or (3),

(b) to a person referred to in subsection (9), on his or her request, a certificate referred to in that subsection, and

(c) to a vendor’s solicitor, on his or her request, a statement referred to in subsection (4) and, where any amount has been remitted to Irish Water under subsection (5), a receipt referred to in subsection (7).”.