Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 June 2013
168. Deputy Michelle Mulherin asked the Minister for Finance the criteria the Revenue Commissioners apply when establishing whether or not two residential properties with shared services operating as one household are one unit or not for the purposes of the local property tax charge on the owner; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26906/13]
View answerBased on the information provided by the Deputy it is not possible to give a definitive reply. However, by way of general information, the following may be of relevance. Local Property Tax (LPT) is a self-assessed tax and is chargeable in respect of a building, or a part of a building, that is in use, or suitable for use, as a dwelling. A single building may contain several separate residential properties within it, for example, a building containing apartments. Where an individual residential property within a building is suitable for use as dwelling in its own right, i.e. a self- contained dwelling, it should be valued as a single residential property for LPT purposes. In the example of a block of apartments each apartment would be treated as a separate residential property for the purposes of LPT and an LPT Return should be filed for each apartment. Where a building contains units that are not suitable for use as dwellings in their own right, such as a bedsit, the building as a whole should be valued for LPT purposes and one LPT Return can be filed.
Whilst the strict legal position is that any self-contained dwelling, such as a granny flat, is treated as a separate residential property that will incur a separate LPT liability, Revenue recognises that certain types of dwelling that are an integral part of a larger building may be difficult to value and sell on the open market. Therefore Revenue will give a liable person the option of valuing a granny flat as part of the overall building where the liable person in relation to both parts of the building is the same. However, where there is a different liable person in relation to the granny flat and the rest of the building, the granny flat should be valued separately for LPT purposes. This treatment also applies to other similar types of dwelling that are an integral part of the overall building such as converted garages and side extensions.
