Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 March 2012
355 Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if homes that are under control of the National Asset Management Agency are eligible for the household charge and if local authorities will be eligible to pay the household charge as they are considered to be landlords. [15089/12]
View answerThe Local Government (Household Charge) Act 2011 and the Local Government (Household Charge) Regulations 2012 provide the legislative basis for the household charge.
Interpretation of the legislation is a matter for legal advice in individual cases and ultimately a matter for the Courts.
Section 2 of the Act provides the meaning of residential property for the purposes of the legislation. Section (2)(2)(a) provides that a building—
(i) from which no income has been derived since the building's construction,
(ii) that, since the building's construction, has never been used as a dwelling, and
(iii) that forms part of the trading stock of a business as defined in section 2(3), is not a residential property for the purposes of the Act.
Section 2(2)(b) provides that a building that is vested in a housing authority is not a residential property for the purposes of the Act.
The Act places the onus on an owner of a residential property to assess his or her liability to the household charge on the liability date and, if liable, to declare that liability and to pay the household charge in respect of that property by the due date.
