{"id":3673,"date":"2018-08-30T19:48:08","date_gmt":"2018-08-30T19:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/vacant-site-levy\/"},"modified":"2018-08-30T19:48:08","modified_gmt":"2018-08-30T19:48:08","slug":"vacant-site-levy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/vacant-site-levy\/","title":{"rendered":"Vacant Site Levy"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_63 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/vacant-site-levy\/#General\" title=\"General\">General<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/vacant-site-levy\/#Vacant_Site_Residential_Land\" title=\"Vacant Site Residential Land\">Vacant Site Residential Land<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/vacant-site-levy\/#Vacant_site_on_%E2%80%9Cregeneration_land%E2%80%9D\" title=\"Vacant site on \u201cregeneration land\u201d\">Vacant site on \u201cregeneration land\u201d<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/vacant-site-levy\/#Identification_and_Entry_on_Register\" title=\"Identification and Entry on Register\">Identification and Entry on Register<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/vacant-site-levy\/#Owner_Issues\" title=\"Owner Issues\">Owner Issues<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/vacant-site-levy\/#Vacant_site_levy\" title=\"Vacant site levy\">Vacant site levy<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/vacant-site-levy\/#Any_levy_due_will_remain_to_be_a_charge_on_the_land_until_paid\" title=\"Any levy due will remain to be a charge on the land until paid\">Any levy due will remain to be a charge on the land until paid<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/vacant-site-levy\/#2018_Rate_Change\" title=\"2018 Rate Change\">2018 Rate Change<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"General\"><\/span>General<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The\u00a0 Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015 provides for the vacant site levy. The land to which the levy provisions may apply shall\u00a0be either \u201cresidential land\u201d or \u201cregeneration land\u201d. It applies to land in both public and\u00a0private ownership.<\/p>\n<p>Residential land means land included by a planning authority in its development plan or\u00a0local area plan with the objective of\u00a0zoning for use solely or primarily for residential purposes, and includes any structures on such land.\u00a0Regeneration land\u00a0\u00a0means land identified by a planning authority in its development plan or\u00a0local area plan, \u00a0with the objective of development and renewal of areas in need of\u00a0regeneration, and includes any structures on such land.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0Planning and Development Act 2000\u00a0 previously provided that a development plan shall set out a range of objectives for the area in question, including\u00a0 \u201cthe development and renewal of areas in need of regeneration\u201d.\u00a0However, for purposes of supplementing the provisions relating to the vacant site levy and\u00a0elaborating on the principles and policies relating to these provisions, the\u00a0\u00a0Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015 provides\u00a0 provide that objective in a development plan shall in future be for\u00a0\u201cthe development andrenewal of areas in need of regeneration \u2026 in order to prevent \u2013<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>adverse effects on existing amenities in such areas, in particular as a result of the ruinous or neglected condition of any land,<\/li>\n<li>urban blight and decay,<\/li>\n<li>anti-social behaviour or<\/li>\n<li>a shortage of habitable houses or of land suitable for residential use or a mixture of residential and other uses.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Information on the criteria to be used to identify vacant sites on either regeneration or\u00a0residential land is set out in the vacant site definition.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Vacant_Site_Residential_Land\"><\/span>Vacant Site Residential Land<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>For the purpose of the application of the vacant site levy, a site is\u00a0 \u201cany area of land\u00a0exceeding 0.05 hectares identified by a planning authority in its functional area but does not\u00a0include any structure that is a person\u2019s home. In effect, a vacant site for the purposes of the levy does not include a person\u2019s home and garden. This applies whether the property is owner occupied or rented<\/p>\n<p>The criteria by which a site shall be considered as vacant depends on whether it relates to\u00a0residential land or regeneration land.In the case of \u201cresidential land\u201d, sea site is considered a\u00a0vacant site if it satisfies the following criteria:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>the site is situated in an area in which there is a need for housing,<\/li>\n<li>the site is suitable for the provision of housing, and<\/li>\n<li>the site, or the majority of the site, is vacant or idle or\u00a0\u00a0being used for a purpose that does not consist solely or primarily of the provision of housing or the development of the site for the purpose of such provision, provided that the most recent purchase of the site occurred after it became residential land, and\u00a0 before,\u00a0 the commencement of section 63 of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2018.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The need for housing in an area shall be determined by the planning authority by reference to\u00a0the following factors<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>the housing strategy and the core strategy of the planning authority,<\/li>\n<li>house prices and the cost of renting houses in the area,<\/li>\n<li>the number of households qualified for social housing support that have specified the area as an\u00a0 area of choice for the receipt of such support and any changes to that number since the adoption of the planning authority\u2019s development plan, and<\/li>\n<li>whether the number of habitable houses available for purchase or rent was less than 5<br \/>\nper cent of the total number of houses in the area.\u201d.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A site being deemed to be suitable for the provision of housing is determined by the\u00a0planning authority by reference to<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>the core strategy,<\/li>\n<li>whether the site was served by the public infrastructure and facilities necessary to enable housing to be provided and serviced, and<\/li>\n<li>whether there was anything affecting the physical condition of the land comprising the\u00a0site which might affect the provision of housing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Vacant_site_on_%E2%80%9Cregeneration_land%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>Vacant site on \u201cregeneration land\u201d<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>In the case of regeneration land,\u00a0 a site shall be considered a\u00a0vacant site if it satisfies the following criteria:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>the site, or the majority of the site, is vacant or idle, and<\/li>\n<li>the site being vacant or idle has adverse effects on existing amenities or reduces the amenity provided by existing public infrastructure and facilities\u00a0 in the area in which the site is situated or has adverse effects on the character of the area.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A site being deemed to have adverse effects on amenities or reducing the amenity or character of the area is determined by refrence to<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>land or structures in the area were, or are, in a ruinous or neglected condition,<\/li>\n<li>anti-social behaviour was or is taking place in the area, or<\/li>\n<li>there has been a reduction in the number of habitable houses, or the number of people living, in the area,<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>and whether or not these matters were affected by the existence of such vacant or idle land.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Identification_and_Entry_on_Register\"><\/span>Identification and Entry on Register<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Once a vacant site has been identified, it must be vacant or idle for a period of 12 months\u00a0prior to being placed on the register. However, in considering that point, a planning authority\u00a0shall not take account of any unauthorised development or unauthorised use of the site during\u00a0that vacancy period i.e. such unauthorised development or use would not negate the<br \/>\napplication of the levy.<\/p>\n<p>Planning\u00a0authorities are advised\u00a0 by Departmental Guidance to take the following steps for the purposes of applying the levy in their functional areas in accordance with\u00a0the timelines set out in the Act:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0undertake a preliminary assessment and quantification of the number and location of\u00a0potential vacant sites in their functional areas;<\/li>\n<li>submission of report by the Chief Executive to the elected members of the local\u00a0authority on the application of the levy provisions in their functional areas;<\/li>\n<li>inclusion of an explicit objective in the development plan or local area plan (by way\u00a0of new plan or variation of an existing plan) for the development and renewal of\u00a0identified \u201cresidential land\u201d and\/ or \u201cregeneration land\u201d for the purposes of the levy;<\/li>\n<li>incorporation of designated areas in which the levy can be applied in the development\u00a0 plan or local area plan;<\/li>\n<li>identification of individual vacant sites in the relevant designated areas which in the\u00a0planning authority\u2019s opinion were vacant during the previous year;<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0establishment and maintenance of a register of vacant sites\u00a0 (entitled the vacant sites register) in the identified areas (under the Act, this can be done from 1 January 2017\u00a0onwards);<\/li>\n<li>once satisfied that relevant sites have been vacant for a minimum of 12 months,\u00a0including such sites in the vacant sites register and noting the details of the registered\u00a0owner etc.;<\/li>\n<li>charging in respect of the previous year a levy on the registered owner of each vacant\u00a0site which remains included in the vacant site register (under the terms of the Act, if\u00a0planning authorities have taken all the necessary and preparatory steps in accordance\u00a0with the timelines outlined above, the first levy shall be payable on 1 January 2019);<\/li>\n<li>continuing, in each subsequent year, to charge levy on the registered owner of each<br \/>\nvacant site which remains included on the vacant site register.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Owner_Issues\"><\/span>Owner Issues<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The authority issues notices to the registered owners of vacant sites included in the vacant sites\u00a0register prior to 1 June each year indicating that such site owners shall be charged\u00a0levy in respect of the current year in the following January. Uunder the terms of the Act, if planning authorities have taken all the necessary preparatory steps and are in a<br \/>\nposition to apply the levy from 1 January 2019, such notice must issue to the registered owner prior to 1 June 2018.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOwner\u201d means\u00a0in relation to land that is registered land within the meaning of the Registration of Title act \u00a0the registered owner, and\u00a0\u00a0in relation to all other land, a person, other than a mortgagee not in possession, who, whether in his or her own right or as trustee or agent for any other person, is entitled to receive the rack rent of the land or, where the land is not let at a rack rent, would be so entitled if it were so let..<\/p>\n<p>In any\u00a0 year where there is a change in ownership of a vacant site, including\u00a0the transfer of ownership due to death, then the levy will be charged at zero for that and the\u00a0preceding year. However, this provision does not apply in certain circumstances such as\u00a0where &#8211;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>ownership of the site transfers from one company to an associated company,<\/li>\n<li>the owner of the site transfers it to a connected person (other than where ownership of the site devolves on the death of the owner), or<\/li>\n<li>ownership of the site changes, in the opinion of the planning authority in whose\u00a0functional area the site is located, for the sole or principal purpose of avoiding the obligation\u00a0to pay vacant site levy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Vacant_site_levy\"><\/span>Vacant site levy<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Vacant site levy means a levy charged on each vacant site which has been entered on the\u00a0vacant site register for which a market value has been determined. It shall be payable in\u00a0arrears and can be applied, at the earliest, commencing in January 2019 in respect of 2018.<\/p>\n<p>The levy is payable on a demand by the planning authority within 2 months, though<br \/>\narrangements may be made or facilitated by the planning authority for the payment of the\u00a0levy by the owner of the site by instalments. If not paid, the levy shall be recoverable as a\u00a0simple contract debt through the Courts.<\/p>\n<p>The levy is not payable on any land which is already subject to a levy under the Derelict Sites\u00a0Act 1990. This is mirrored by a related amendment to the Derelict Sites Act 1990, to the\u00a0effect that the derelict sites levy shall not be payable in respect of land on which the vacant\u00a0site levy is payable\u00a0 This is to ensure that no double levy situation arises in the<br \/>\ncase of any individual site.<\/p>\n<p>A demand for payment of the levy may not be made in a situation\u00a0where the owner of a site appeals to the Valuation Tribunal against the market valuation of\u00a0the site as determined by the planning authority. Once the appeal is determined, and the market valuation is determined, the demand for the levy may then be calculated as appropriate and applied<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Any_levy_due_will_remain_to_be_a_charge_on_the_land_until_paid\"><\/span>Any levy due will remain to be a charge on the land until paid<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Market value<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cmarket value\u201d in relation to a site shall be determined by the planning authority by\u00a0estimating or causing to be estimated the price which the unencumbered fee simple of such\u00a0site would fetch if it was sold on the open market on the date of the determination in such\u00a0manner and in such conditions as might reasonably be calculated to obtain for the vendor the\u00a0best market price for the site.<\/p>\n<p>The market value should be determined by a suitably qualified person, authorised by the\u00a0planning authority, following a site inspection as permitted by the site owner. In a case\u00a0where an inspection of the property is not permitted, the authorised person shall make an\u00a0estimate of market value based on their knowledge of the site and property and the prevailing\u00a0local market conditions.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2018_Rate_Change\"><\/span>2018 Rate Change<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The amount of the vacant site levy shall<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>in respect of the year 2018, be such amount as is equal to 3 per cent of the market value of the vacant site as determined<\/li>\n<li>in respect of the year 2019 and every subsequent year thereafter, be such amount as is equal to\u2014\u00a0 7 per cent, or such other percentage (not exceeding 7 per cent) as may stand prescribed, for the time being, by regulations, of the market value of the vacant site<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Minister shall, in prescribing a percentage have regard to changes in the value of property and the Residential Property Price Index published by the Central Statistics Office.<\/p>\n<!--themify_builder_content-->\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-3673\" data-postid=\"3673\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-3673 themify_builder tf_clear\">\n    <\/div>\n<!--\/themify_builder_content-->\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>General The\u00a0 Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015 provides for the vacant site levy. The land to which the levy provisions may apply shall\u00a0be either \u201cresidential land\u201d or \u201cregeneration land\u201d. It applies to land in both public and\u00a0private ownership. Residential land means land included by a planning authority in its development plan or\u00a0local area plan [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[307],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3673"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3673\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}