Estate agent fined €10,000 over mishandled €50k deposit

The Property Services Regulatory Authority (the Authority) received a complaint against Mr. Gabriel Dooley of Dooleys Estate Agents who were based in Greystones, Co. Wicklow.

The complaint was received from a liquidator of a company who had paid Mr Dooley €50,000 to purchase lands, where the sale did not conclude.

The liquidator had sought an Order of the High Court where Mr Dooley was ordered to refund the booking deposit of €50,000 to the liquidator, which was granted.

Mr Dooley refused to release the booking deposit.

Following this the complaint was received by the Authority from the liquidator.

On receipt of the complaint a full investigation was carried out, following which the Board of the Authority made one finding of improper conduct against Mr Gabriel Dooley in relation to breaching Regulation 6(6) of the Property Services (Regulation) Act 2011 (Client Moneys) Regulations 2012.

This was due to Mr Dooley withdrawing money during a specific period from the €50,000 booking deposit, which was held in his client bank account, prior to contracts for the sale of the land were signed and/or finalised.

In determining the appropriate sanction, the Board of the Authority took into account various factors as outlined in Section 73 of the Property Services (Regulation) Act 2011.

On foot of that, the Board imposed a major sanction on Mr. Gabriel Dooley.

On Monday 21 July 2025, the President of the High Court confirmed the sanction decision of the Board imposing a financial penalty of €10,000 on Mr Dooley, which was paid to the Authority by Mr Dooley prior to the Confirmation Order.

The Authority is reminding the public that when they pay booking / security deposits to a property services provider, ensure that they are licensed with the Authority by checking the Register of Licensed Property Services Providers on its website www.psr.ie.

In addition, if the public experience any issues with a licensed property services provider to contact the Authority by email at info@psr.ie