Legal Ownership

Plenty of websites will sell you a certificate that says you "own" a piece of another country. Almost none of them give you any legal interest in land at all. Buy Ireland is different, and this page explains exactly how — in plain language, with nothing hidden.

What you actually own

When you buy a plot through BuyIreland.com you receive a genuine leasehold interest in a specific, individually mapped square-foot plot of land at Curry, Brideswell, Athlone, County Roscommon. A leasehold is a recognised form of property interest under Irish law — the same legal mechanism that underpins countless property arrangements across Ireland and the UK. It is real legal ownership of real land, not a symbolic gesture.

The Deed of Assurance

Your ownership is set out in a personalised Deed of Assurance — a formal legal indenture prepared with Beauchamps Solicitors, one of Ireland's most respected law firms. The deed:

• Grants a 20-year lease of your plot under Irish law, identified on the grid maps attached to the deed.
• Renews at no charge, indefinitely — the deed gives you an irrevocable right to renew the lease, in 20-year periods, for as long as you or your heirs wish. In practice, the land is yours forever.
• Costs nothing to keep — the rent is a nominal one cent per year, and only if we ever ask for it (we never have). There are no taxes, maintenance fees or renewal charges.
• Protects the land itself — mutual covenants preserve the area's untouched natural beauty: no structures may be built, and plots are reached on foot along mapped common walkways.
• Is recorded in an owners register — we covenant to maintain an electronically accessible register of every plot and owner, and you can request confirmation of your record at any time.

What it is not

We believe honesty is the foundation of a 20-year-old business, so to be precise: your interest is a leasehold, not a freehold transfer. It is not registered with Ireland's Property Registration Authority (PRA)/Land Registry, and it confers no planning or development rights — you can visit your plot whenever you like, but you cannot build on it. BuyIreland.com is a heartfelt, original gift, not a property investment, and a money-back guarantee applies if it isn't what you expected.

How this differs from souvenir plot certificates

Most "own a piece of land" gifts supply a decorative certificate and nothing more — no deed, no lease, no legal interest of any kind. That is why you may have read the general advice that novelty land plots confer "no legal ownership". It is fair comment about certificate-only products; it simply does not apply to Buy Ireland. Every Buy Ireland order includes the Deed of Assurance itself — three pages of genuine legal documentation you can read, frame, or have your own solicitor review.

Want the full detail? Read What Does It Mean to Own Land in Ireland? or browse the legal questions on our FAQs page. And if you'd like to see the documents themselves, What You Get shows the full ownership pack.