The Local Government (Charges) Act 2009, as amended, provides the legislative basis for the Non Principal Private Residence Charge. The NPPR Charge, which has since been discontinued, applied in the years 2009 to 2013 to any residential property in which the owner did not reside as their normal place of residence. It is a matter for an owner, whether resident in Ireland or elsewhere, to determine if he or she has a liability and, if so, to declare that liability and pay the Charge and any late payment fees applicable. A residential property not in use by an owner as his or her sole or main residence is liable for the Charge. This may not necessarily be a second home; a person may have vacated a property and be living in rented accommodation elsewhere for work or other reasons and in such a case, the property that the owner is no longer living in is liable for the Charge, even if it is the only residential property that person owns. The 2009 Act places the Charge under the care and management of the local authorities, and application in particular circumstances is a matter for the relevant local authority.
Part 12 of the Local Government Reform Act 2014 deals with the collection of undischarged liabilities relating to the NPPR charge. The Act provides for a period, from on 2 March 2014 to 31 August 2014, during which time no new late penalties will be applied to existing liabilities. If payment is not made in full, or, if settlement terms are not agreed by the end of that period, an additional late payment fee of €120 per liability date is applied on 1 September 2014. In addition, the entire NPPR liability is increased by a factor of 50% and frozen. It is very much in the interest of non-compliant owners to come forward to regularise their affairs and to take advantage of this once-off opportunity. The NPPR charge is based on self-declaration and therefore the onus is on the property owner themselves to register their property and make the payment. Local authorities will be taking a proactive approach to ensure that any outstanding liabilities are discharged in the most equitable, efficient and economically beneficial manner. I am advising all non-compliant owners to log on to www.nppr.ie, or alternatively to contact their local authority and make arrangements to discharge their outstanding liabilities before 1 September 2014 to avoid incurring additional fees.
