Written answers

Monday, 11 September 2017

Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government

Vacant Sites Levy

Photo of John CurranJohn Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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2032. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans to raise the 3% rate of the vacant site levy in view of the limited housing construction under way; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38210/17]

Photo of Eoghan MurphyEoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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The Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015 introduced a new measure, the vacant site levy, which is aimed at incentivising the development of vacant, under-utilised sites in urban areas.  Under the Act, planning authorities are required to establish a register of vacant sites in their areas, beginning on 1 January 2017, and to issue annual notices to owners of vacant sites by 1 June 2018 in respect of vacant sites on the register on 1 January 2018. The levy will be applied by planning authorities, commencing on 1 January 2019 in respect of sites which were vacant and on the vacant site register during the year 2018 and will subsequently be applied on an annual basis thereafter, as long as a site remains on the vacant site register in the preceding year.

Planning authorities are empowered to apply an annual vacant site levy of 3% of the market value of vacant sites exceeding 0.5 hectares in area - with reduced or zero rates of levy applying in specific circumstances – which, in the planning authority’s opinion, were vacant or idle in the preceding year, in areas identified by the planning authority in its development plan or local area plan for residential or regeneration development. The 3% rate of vacant site levy is consistent with the rate applied to derelict sites under the Derelict Sites Act 1990.

All levies due on an individual site will remain a charge on the land concerned until all outstanding levies due are paid. Accordingly, under the vacant site levy provisions, there will be a cumulative effect associated with not activating a site for development purposes for each year that a site remains vacant or idle.

As the Deputy will be aware, I have initiated a focused review of the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan on Housing and Homelessness, with a particular focus on strengthening the measures already in place, including for example the vacant site levy, as well as identifying new initiatives that will add value and raise ambition across all five Pillars of the Action Plan, including measures that seek to bring land and property into active use for housing purposes.  Following detailed consideration of the issues, in close consultation with other relevant Government colleagues, I anticipate that details of proposed actions arising from the review will be finalised in the coming weeks.

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