Derelict Property Tax will have positive impact, Irish Planning Institute says
Olivia Kelleher
The Irish Planning Institute has said that the new Derelict Property Tax will have a "positive" impact on the housing market in this country.
Plans are underway to introduce the tax as part of the Finance Bill later this year.
It will initially apply to properties in urban areas with populations of 4,000 or more before being rolled out to towns with populations of 2,000 or more.
Tánaiste Simon Harris will brief the Cabinet on the measure on Tuesday.
It will replace the current derelict site levy, in which the property owner is charged at 7 per cent of the value of the property. The new tax is not expected to be lower than that rate.
Revenue will be given the powers to collect the tax. Councils are currently supposed to collect the levy but they have been criticised amid low levels of compliance.
Institute president Gavin Lawlor told Newstalk Breakfast that the system in this country requires urgent change.
He says that Waterford has carried out “Herculean work” in terms of setting up their own special purpose vehicle and bringing back derelict or vacant sites in the town centre.
“And it's made quite a significant difference to certain parts of the city.
“What's the definition of derelict? Is it vacant for 20 years? Does that constitute derelict? Does it have to have a roof?” he said.
“There's lots of lessons learned; so, I think anything that we do that can improve upon the current legislation is positive.”
He warned that new legislation will have to tightly define what is defined as dereliction.
“Not so that people can then avoid and put lipstick on pigs, but rather so that we can actually go and determine what equals derelict,” he said.
“Same things we've had in terms of the Residentially Zoned Land Tax.
There's a similar issue there in terms of how properties have been used and if they've been used for commercial purposes.
“But there's a very clear definition around that, and it's very difficult for people to get around that, if you get me.”
Overall, Lawlor believes that the new tax could benefit young people who will choose to buy a “doer upper” in the town centre rather than having to purchase an expensive brand new house in a housing estate.
2,140 sites were registered as derelict last year. However, it is understood that the real figure could be as high as 19,000.
On Sunday, Simon Harris told reporters that the move to introduce a tax has been driven by “frustration” and “some bit of anger” that thousands of properties with housing potential remain idle in the midst of a housing crisis.
