Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) was introduced in Finance Act 2021. It seeks to increase housing supply by encouraging the activation of development on lands which are suitably zoned and appropriately serviced. It aims to bring those lands which have benefitted from investment in services and are capable of being developed forward for housing.

The tax is an action contained in Housing for All, the Government’s plan for housing, to increase housing supply and is supported in the Programme for Government. The tax applies to land that is zoned suitable for residential development and serviced.

The tax measure is a key pillar of the Government’s response to address the urgent need to increase housing supply in suitable locations. However, it is important that affected landowners have sufficient opportunity to engage with the mapping process and that a fair and transparent process is applied when local authorities consider what land should be placed on the RZLT maps.

Therefore, as part of Budget 2024, it was decided to extend the liability date of the tax by one year, from February 2024 to February 2025. The policy rationale behind this deferral is to allow for the annual mapping cycle to complete and afford landowners another opportunity to raise issues for the consideration of the local authority regarding particular matters which would preclude housing being developed on the land, which may result in the land not meeting the criteria for inclusion as set out in section 653B of the TCA 1997.

The deferral will also provide a further opportunity to landowners whose land will appear on a draft revised final map to be published on 1 February 2024 to request the re-zoning of such land from the local authority in whose functional area the land is situated.

In relation to farmland, it is important to note that, to come within the scope of RZLT, farmland must be both zoned for residential use and serviced. Farmland that is zoned for residential use, but which is not currently serviced, is not within the scope of the tax and will only come within the scope of the tax should the land become serviced at some point in the future.

Agricultural land which is zoned solely or primarily for residential use meets the criteria set out within the legislation and therefore falls within the scope of the tax. Agricultural land that is zoned for a mixture of uses including residential is not in scope. These zonings are considered to reflect the housing need set out within the core strategy for the relevant local authority area and landowners within such zonings may fall within the scope of the tax, in the interests of ensuring an appropriate supply of housing on zoned lands.

Decisions on whether to amend zonings as a result of submissions or at any other time are a matter for the local authority, taking into account the need to ensure that housing supply targets across the county can be met.

Furthermore, it is worth noting that provision is made in the Planning and Development Act 2000 for elected members to seek a report from their Chief Executive on the matter of proposed re-zonings.