Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012

PART 1 Preliminary and General

1. Short title and commencement.

1.— (1) This Act may be cited as the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012.

(2) This Act comes into operation on such day or days as the Minister may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or provisions.

2. Interpretation.

2.— In this Act—

“Act of 1997” means the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997;

“Act of 2005” means the the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005;

“Act of 2009” means the Local Government (Charges) Act 2009;

“Act of 2011” means the Local Government (Household Charge) Act 2011;

F1["Appeal Commissioner" has the meaning given to it bysection 2of the Finance (Tax Appeals) Act 2015;]

F2["approved housing body" means a body approved of or standing approved of, under, or for the purposes of,section 6of theHousing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992;]

“building” includes—

(a) part of a building, and

(b) a structure or erection of any kind and of any materials, or any part of that structure or erection, but excludes a structure that is not permanently attached to the ground, a vessel and a vehicle (whether mobile or not);

“chargeable value”, in relation to a relevant residential property, means the price which the unencumbered fee simple of the property might reasonably be expected to fetch on a sale in the open market were that property to be sold on the valuation date in such manner and subject to such conditions as might reasonably be calculated to obtain for the vendor the best price for the property and with the benefit of any easement necessary to afford the same access to the property as would have existed prior to that sale;

“cohabitant” is a person who is a cohabitant within the meaning of section 172 of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 and who is in a relationship of cohabitation with another adult for a period—

(a) of at least 2 years, where they are the parents of one or more dependent children, and

(b) of 5 years or more, in any other case;

“Collector-General” means the Collector-General appointed under section 851 of the Act of 1997;

“company” includes any body corporate;

F3["electronic means" has the meaning given to it by section 917EA of the Act of 1997;]

“lease”, “lessee” and “lessor” have the meaning given to them by section 96 of the Act of 1997;

“liable person” shall be read in accordance with Part 3;

“liability date” means—

(a) 1 May 2013, in respect of the year 2013,

(b) in respect of any other year, 1 November in the preceding year;

F4["local authority" means a local authority for the purposes of theLocal Government Act 2001(as amended by the Local Government Reform Act 2014);]

“local property tax” has the meaning given to it by section 16;

“Minister”, other than in section 20 and Chapter 2 or 3 of Part 10, means the Minister for Finance;

“personal public service number” has the same meaning as in section 262 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005;

“personal representative” has the meaning given to it by section 799 of the Act of 1997;

“prescribe”, in relation to a power or duty of a Minister of the Government to do so, means prescribe by regulations;

“relevant residential property” has the meaning given to it by Part 2;

“rent” has the meaning given to it by section 96 of the Act of 1997;

F5[“residential property”shall be construed in accordance withsection 2A;]

“return” means a statement of particulars which is required to be prepared and delivered under Part 7;

“return date” means—

(a) 7 May 2013, in respect of the year 2013,

(b) in respect of any other year, 7 November in the preceding year, or

(c) the date specified in a notification issued under section 33;

“Revenue officer” means an officer of the Revenue Commissioners;

“self-assessment” has the meaning given to it by section 52;

“Tax Acts” has the same meaning as in section 1(2) of the Act of 1997.

F2["valuation date" shall be construed in accordance withsection 13(1);]

F2["valuation period" shall be construed in accordance withsection 13(1A);]

2A.—(1) In this Act, "residential property" means any building which is in use as, or is suitable for use as, a dwelling.

(2) A shed, outhouse, garage or other building which is appurtenant to or usually enjoyed with a residential property shall be considered, for the purposes of this Act, to form part of the residential property.

(3) Subject tosubsection (4), yards, gardens or other lands appurtenant to or usually enjoyed with a residential property as its garden or grounds shall be considered, for the purposes of this Act, to form part of the residential property.

(4) Where the total area of the yards, gardens and other lands, referred to insubsection (3), exceeds 0.4047 hectares, only those parts of such yards, gardens and other lands, which would be the most suitable for occupation and enjoyment with the dwelling, up to a total area (exclusive of the area, at ground level, of the building referred to insubsection (1)) of 0.4047 hectares, shall form part of the residential property.]

PART 2 Residential Property

3. Meaning of relevant residential property.

3.— Subject to F7[sections 3AtoF8[10E,]] where a building in the State is a residential property on a liability date, it shall, for the purposes of this Act, be a relevant residential property in relation to that liability date.

3A. F9[Applications of exemptions

3A.—Section 4,5,7,7A,10A,10B,F10[10C,10Dor10E,]as the case may be, shall not apply in respect of a relevant residential property unless the person who prepares the return for the property has specified in the return, in accordance withsection 41A, that the property should not, in accordance withsection 4,5,7,7A,10A,10B,F10[10C,10Dor10E,]as the case may be, be regarded, for the purposes ofsection 16(1), as a relevant residential property.]

4. Residential property fully subject to municipal rates.

F11[4.—A residential property shall not, for theF12[for the purposes ofsection 16(1)], be regarded as a relevant residential property where the property is a property which—

(a) is wholly used as a dwelling (other than a dwelling that forms part of a mixed hereditament within the meaning of theLocal Government (Financial Provisions) Act 1978), and

(b) in respect of which municipal rates (within the meaning of theValuation Act 2001) are payable.]

5. Long term mental or physical infirmity.

5.— (1) In this section, a “registered medical practitioner” means a medical practitioner who is registered in the register established under section 43 of the Medical Practitioners Act 2007.

(2) A residential property shall not, F13[for the purposes ofsection 16(1)], be regarded as a relevant residential property where—

(a) the property was F13[occupied by a person, being a liable person in relation to that property,] as his or her sole or main residence and—

(i) has been vacated by the person for a period of at least 12 months by reason of long term mental or physical infirmity of the person which infirmity has been certified by a registered medical practitioner, or

F14[(ii) if the period for which the property is vacated by the person is less than 12 months, where a registered medical practitioner is satisfied that the person is unlikely at any stage to resume occupation of the property,]

F13[provided that the property is not occupied by any other liable person in relation to that property,]

6. Newly constructed residential properties.

6.— A residential property shall not, for the purposes of this Act, be regarded F15[as a relevant residential property in relation to the liability dates in the years 2013 to 2020] where the property—

(a) has been completed but not sold by the person who has constructed the property, or who has had the property constructed,

(b) is not occupied as a dwelling,

(c) has produced no income that would be chargeable to income tax or corporation tax, as the case may be, under Case I, Case IV or Case V, as the case may be, of Schedule D (within the meaning of section 18 of the Act of 1997), and

(d) is trading stock (within the meaning of section 89 of the Act of 1997) of the person referred to in paragraph (a).

7. Special needs accommodation.

7.— (1) In this section F16[andsection 7A], “charity” means a body of persons or a trust established for charitable purposes only and which has been granted an exemption under section 207 or 208 of the Act of 1997 or given a notice of determination under section 208A of the Act of 1997, as the case may be.

(2) A residential property shall not, F17[for the purposes ofsection 16(1)], be regarded as a relevant residential property where—

(a) F18[the liable person in relation to the property is]—

(i) a charity, or

(ii) a body established by statute,

and

(b) the property is used solely or primarily to provide special needs accommodation.

(3) In this section “special needs accommodation” means accommodation provided to persons who by reason of old age, physical or mental disability or other cause require special accommodation and support to enable them to live in the community.

7A. F19[Properties used by a charity for recreational activities.

7A.—A residential property shall not,F20[for the purposes ofsection 16(1)], be regarded as a relevant residential property where—

(a) the liable person in relation to the property is a charity, and

(b) the property is used solely as residential accommodation in connection with the facilitation of recreational activities in the course of the actual carrying out of a primary purpose of the charity.]

8. Exemption for first-time buyers.

8.— (1) Subject to subsection (3), a residential property shall not, for the purposes of this Act, be regarded F21[as a relevant residential property in relation to the liability dates in the years 2013 to 2020] where—

(a) the property is purchased in the period beginning on 1 January 2013 and ending on 31 December 2013,

(b) subject to subsection (2), the property is purchased by a person who would have been entitled to relief under section 244 of the Act of 1997 had a qualifying loan (within the meaning of that section) been taken out in the period beginning on 1 January 2004 and ending on 31 December 2012, and

(c) after the property is purchased, it is occupied as the sole or main residence of the person referred to in paragraph (b)(or, in the case of the persons referred to in subsection (2) (a), (b) or (c), the married couple, civil partners or cohabitants, as the case may be).

(2) If the property referred to in subsection (1) (a) is purchased in the period specified in that provision by—

(a) a married couple,

(b) civil partners, or

(c) cohabitants,

this section shall apply notwithstanding that one of the spouses, civil partners or cohabitants, as the case may be, would not have been entitled to the relief referred to in subsection (1) (b).

(3) Subsection (1) shall cease to apply where the property referred to in that subsection—

(a) is sold (within the meaning of section 125) by, or

(b) ceases to be used as the sole or main residence of,

the person or persons referred to in subsection (1) (c) at any time after the purchase of the property.

9. Purchase of new residential properties in the period 2013 to 2016.

9.— Notwithstanding that a residential property of the type referred to in section 6 is sold at any time in the period beginning on 1 January 2013 and ending on F22[31 October 2021], the property shall not be F22[a relevant residential property in relation to any liability date] occurring in the period following the first sale of the property and ending on F22[31 October 2021].

10. Unfinished housing estates.

10.— (1) In this section, “unfinished housing estate” means a development of two or more buildings that is specified in a list prescribed, under subsection (3), by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government for the purposes of this section.

(2) A residential property shall not, for the purposes of this Act, be regarded F23[as a relevant residential property in relation to the liability dates in the years 2013 to 2020] where it is situated in an unfinished housing estate.

(3) The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government shall, for the purposes of this section, prescribe a list of developments in the State, being developments each of which that Minister is satisfied is incomplete to a substantial extent.

(4) For the purposes of the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government satisfying himself or herself that a development is incomplete to a substantial extent, the Minister shall have regard to all relevant circumstances, including the following:

(a) the state of completion of roads, footpaths and public lighting facilities in the development,

(b) the state of completion of piped water and sewerage facilities within the development,

(c) the state of completion of open spaces or similar amenities within the development,

(d) the extent to which the development complies with the terms of any planning permission applicable to it,

(e) the extent to which the development complies with the provisions of the Building Control Acts 1990 and 2007,

(f) the provisions of the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act 1964 as they pertain to dangerous places and dangerous structures within the meaning of that Act,

(g) the extent to which roads, open spaces, car parks, sewers, watermains, drains or other public facilities in the development have been taken in charge by the local authority concerned, and

(h) where there is an agreement with the local authority concerned relating to the maintenance of roads, open spaces, car parks, sewers, watermains, drains or other public facilities in the development, the extent to which there has been compliance with the conditions for maintenance under the agreement.

10A. F24[Pyrite-induced damage.

10A.—(1) The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government shall make regulations—

(a) providing for the methodology for the assessment of residential properties and the testing of subfloor hardcore material to establish the presence of significant pyritic damage,

(b) providing for the issue, by a competent person, of a certificate in relation to a residential property confirming (if such be the case) that significant pyritic damage has, in respect of the property, been established, in accordance with the regulations,

(c) specifying the form of the foregoing certificate, and

(d) providing for such incidental or consequential matters in respect of the preceding paragraphs or such other matters as the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government deems appropriate having regard to scientific and technical considerations concerning instances of pyritic damage in the State or elsewhere.

(2) In making regulations undersubsection (1), the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government shall have regard to Irish Standard 398-1:2013 published by the National Standards Authority of Ireland and any revisions of that standard as may from time to time be made.

F25[(3) Subject tosubsection (4), a residential property shall not,F26[for the purposes ofsection 16(1)], be regarded as a relevant residential property where—

(a) a certificate under and in accordance with regulations undersubsection (1)has been issued in relation to it,

(b) the property has been included in the pyrite remediation scheme,

(c) the property has been or is being remediated in satisfaction of a claim made and settled under structural warranty insurance, structural warranty guarantee or some other form of insurance, or

(d) the person who constructed the property, or who caused the property to be constructed (in this section referred to as the‘builder’) remediates the property or puts the liable person in relation to that property in sufficient funds to remediate the property,

and, in the case of a property referred to inparagraph (c)or(d), the Revenue Commissioners confirm, undersubsection (3A), that the residential property shall not be so regarded.]

F27[(3A) (a) A liable person may, in relation to a property referred to insubsection (3) (c)or(d), make an application in writing to the Revenue Commissioners for confirmation that the property shall not,F26[for the purposes ofsection 16(1)], be regarded as a relevant residential property.

(b) For the purpose of an application underparagraph (a), the Revenue Commissioners may specify the form of an application and may require that the following information is provided to them:

(i) the address of the residential property;

(ii) the nature and extent of the pyritic damage;

(iii) any documentation provided by a competent person (within the meaning of thePyrite Resolution Act 2013) in relation to the person’s assessment of the pyritic damage;

(iv) the results of any testing carried out on the property to establish the extent of the pyritic damage;

(v) any documentation provided in relation to a claim or settlement under structural warranty insurance, structural warranty guarantee or some other form of insurance;

(vi) any documentation provided by the builder of the property in relation to the remediation of that property;

(vii) such certificate of remediation as may be required by the standard for remediation;

(viii) any other particulars the Revenue Commissioners may reasonably require for the purpose of considering the application.