Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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115. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reason no penalty system is in place for property owners who are leaving their properties unoccupied long-term, leaving them to fall into disrepair but not derelict, so they cannot be placed on the derelict sites register. [24158/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Tackling vacancy is a key priority for this Government and Pathway 4 of Housing for All sets out a blueprint to address vacancy and make efficient use of our existing housing stock. The Vacant Homes Action Plan Progress Report, which I recently published on my Department's website, outlines the significant progress that has been made in addressing vacancy, along with the actions that are being pursued to return vacant properties back into use as homes.

The Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, launched July 2022, is a key measure in returning vacant and derelict properties back into use. A grant of up to €50,000 is available for the refurbishment of vacant properties for occupation as a principal private residence and for properties which will be made available for rent. Where the refurbishment costs are expected to exceed the standard grant of up to €50,000, a maximum top-up grant amount of up to €20,000 is available where the property is confirmed by the applicant to be derelict or where the property is already on the local authority’s Derelict Sites Register, bringing the total grant available for a derelict property up to a maximum of €70,000.

The grant is available in respect of vacant and derelict properties built up to and including 2007, in towns, villages, cities and rural areas, and which have been vacant for 2 years.

In addition, a Vacant Homes Tax was introduced in Budget 2023. The tax applies to residential properties which are occupied for less than 30 days in a twelve-month period and aims to increase the supply of homes for rent or purchase to meet demand, rather than be merely a revenue generating exercise.

In Budget 2024, the Minister for Finance announced an increase in the rate of the Vacant Homes Tax from three times to five times the property’s existing base Local Property Tax charge. This increase took effect from the beginning of the current chargeable period on 1 November 2023.

The Vacant Homes Tax operates on a self-assessment basis, where the number of properties in scope and the amount of tax payable depends on the self-assessed returns submitted by property owners, the number of properties declared as liable, and the number of property owners entitled to claim available exemptions from the tax.

The Derelict Sites Act 1990 (the Act) imposes a general duty on every owner and occupier of land to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the land does not become, or continue to be, a derelict site. The Act also imposes a duty on local authorities to take all reasonable steps, including the exercise of appropriate statutory powers, to ensure that any land within their functional area does not become, or continue to be, a derelict site. The enforcement and implementation of the provisions of the Act is a matter for individual local authorities.

A property can be placed on the derelict site register where it is deemed by a local authority to satisfy the criteria of a derelict site under the terms of section 3 of the Act i.e. (i) it is in a dangerous or ruinous condition; (ii) it is in a neglected or unsightly condition; or (iii) there is a presence of litter, waste or debris on the site. A property cannot be placed on the derelict site register of a local authority simply by being vacant.

It is also worth noting that placing sites on the derelict sites register, and collecting levies in respect of those sites, is not the sole mechanism that local authorities apply under the Act in relation to bringing sites back into use. They often engage collaboratively with property owners with a view to necessary works being undertaken to bring sites back into use while also using their powers under the Act to compulsorily acquire derelict sites.