Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1049. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the process involved in reducing the list of properties in unfinished estates exempt from the local property tax following on from the initial list of properties exempt from the household charge; the reasons certain properties in unfinished estates are not now exempt from the local property tax; if he will explain how these decisions were made and the role of local authorities in the matter; the guidance that was provided to local authorities in adjudicating on this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37575/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Under Section 10 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012, an exemption from liability can arise for properties located in developments prescribed on a list made by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government where the Minister is satisfied that the developments on the list are incomplete to a substantial extent, having regard to the condition of public infrastructure and amenities, including access, water services, public lighting and amenity areas. An exemption from the Local Property Tax applies to developments listed in the Schedule to the Finance (Local Property Tax) Regulations 2013. The list of unfinished housing developments eligible for the exemption was compiled by local authorities utilising the categorisation employed for the purposes of the National Housing Survey 2012. The survey was carried out over the course of summer 2012 by my Department in conjunction with local authorities and the Housing Agency. Only developments that were deemed by local authorities to be in a “seriously problematic condition”, regardless of whether a developer was on or off site, were included in the Finance (Local Property Tax) Regulations 2013.The Government has taken a number of significant steps to address the issue of Unfinished Housing Developments. In particular, the development of Site Resolution Plans (SRPs), agreed between residents, developers, funders and local authority personnel for the finalisation of works on site to render estates as habitable as possible, has been pivotal in resolving a large number of estates. In the 2014 National Housing Survey, of the 1,263 estates inspected, there were 587 in some stage of SRPs. Specifically, 270 were agreed and ready for implementation, 230 had commenced while 87 had been completed. I believe that a continuation of this collaborative approach serves the best interests of all concerned and is an effective tool in the resolution process. The 2015 National Housing Survey is being finalised and will illustrate further progress in resolving unfinished housing developments.

To assist further in addressing the legacy of unfinished housing developments, Budget 2014 contained a special provision, in the form of a targeted €10 million Special Resolution Fund (SRF). The SRF is designed to encourage the resolution of the remaining tranche of unfinished developments identified in the National Housing Development Survey 2013 and, particularly, those developments not likely to be resolved in the normal way through solely developer/owner/funder action because of the presence of specific financial barriers. The SRF was particularly targeted to address the remaining unfinished developments with residents living in them and, in particular, any developments that local authorities identified, for the purposes of the Local Property Tax exemption, as in a seriously problematic condition.

On 2 May 2014, SRF allocations to 86 housing developments across the country were announced. Further information is available at the following weblink:

.

This public investment aimed to leverage an additional €12 million from third parties (developers/lenders/bonds) which will be invested in these estates. The SRF has enabled very substantial progress to be made in resolving as many of the remaining unfinished developments as possible.