Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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43. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of tenancies in which a 100% interest relief deduction was claimed under section 97(2K) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 as inserted by section 15 of the Finance Act 2015 in each of the years since the inception of this provision; and the cost to the Exchequer in each of these years. [9211/18]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Finance Act 2015 introduced a new relief for landlords who commit to let their property to tenants in receipt of social housing supports for a minimum period of three years.  It allows landlords to claim an increased expense deduction for mortgage interest in their rental accounts – they will be able to claim 100% of relevant mortgage interest, in place of the 85% generally allowed at present in respect of rented residential property (increased from 80% in 2017 and 75% in 2016).

I am advised by Revenue that data on the number of taxpayer units availing of the 100% interest relief reduction on residential property, and the number of tenancies that this relates to, is not yet available. The provisions under section 97(2K) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 came into effect from 1January 2016 and, as part of the eligibility criteria, the length of the tenancy must be three years.  Therefore, the earliest date on which a benefit may accrue is 1 January 2019.  Information on the numbers or cost will not available until tax returns for 2019 are filed, which will be in late 2019 or 2020 depending on the relevant Income Tax or Corporation Tax periods.

However, the Deputy may be aware that one of the criteria to avail of the relief is that a commitment must be registered with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) at the commencement of the three-year period.  Data from the RTB indicate that uptake of the scheme to date has been positive, with over 2,991 tenancy commitments registered to date.  Qualifying tenancies have been registered in all 26 counties and the numbers are set out in the table below: