Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 March 2013
88. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance the manner in which local property tax is payable by residents of voluntary housing associations; if the housing association or tenant is liable; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15923/13]
View answerThe Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended) sets out how the tax is to be administered and how a residential property is to be valued for LPT purposes. Section 7 of the Act provides that voluntary social housing bodies will be liable to pay the LPT on their properties in the same way as any other residential property owner, unless the properties in question are used to accommodate people with special housing needs such as the elderly or people with disabilities. Special housing needs refers to the provision of housing and support for people who have a particular need in addition to a general housing need to enable them to live in the community. To avail of the exemption from LPT, the social housing provider must operate as a charity and must have a general tax exemption granted by the Revenue Commissioners.
I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that they have had extensive contacts regarding the LPT obligations of social housing providers either directly with the providers themselves or indirectly through the Irish Council for Social Housing. Where a property owned by a provider of social housing is not exempt from the charge to LPT because it is not used to provide special needs accommodation, the Act provides that the market value of any such property will be deemed to fall into the lowest valuation band of zero to €100,000 up to and including 2016. This will result in an LPT charge of €45 per property for 2013 and €90 per year for 2014 to 2016. As the social housing body will be liable for the payment of LPT, it will be a matter for the bodies themselves to decide whether they will pass on the LPT liability to their tenants in the form of an increase in rent or whether they will absorb the liability without recourse to their tenants. In addition, the Act also gives social housing providers until 1 January 2014 to pay the 2013 tax.
I am also advised by the Revenue Commissioners that they have liaised with the social housing sector to establish how social housing bodies will provide them with information in relation to their LPT liability and the timing and manner of the payment of this liability. All social housing providers affiliated to the Irish Council for Social Housing have been contacted in this regard. Revenue is anxious to ensure that any social housing providers who have not already done so should contact it as soon as possible.
Furthermore, the Commissioners have also confirmed that in order to minimise the administration burden on these bodies, it is Revenue’s intention to require each social housing provider to complete and submit a single LPT Return in respect of all the residential properties it owns, rather than seeking a separate Return for each individual property.
