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Unfinished Housing Developments

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 9 April 2014

Wednesday, 9 April 2014

Questions (116, 117)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

116. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government in respect of housing estates not taken in charge where the developer-builder concerned is insolvent, the number of such estates that are assessed as exempt from property tax; the specific criteria which are taken into account in making this determination regarding these type of estates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16853/14]

View answer

Catherine Murphy

Question:

117. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the detailed criteria taken into account when determining the exempted unfinished estates for both the household charge and property tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16854/14]

View answer

Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 116 and 117 together.

The administration of issues relating to unfinished housing developments is a matter for individual local authorities. Each local authority has appointed an Unfinished Housing Development co-ordinator; contact details can be found at: www.housing.ie.

As part of the process of analysing and addressing the causes and consequences of unfinished housing developments, the Department has published annual National Housing Development Surveys since 2010. Developments to be included in the surveys were those in an unfinished state whose construction had ceased since 1 January 2007, specifically owing to the onset of the economic downturn and related developments in the housing market.

As part of the National Housing Survey 2011, all local authorities were asked to categorise developments into one of four categories, as follows:

- Category 1: either where the development has been broadly completed (only very minor works outstanding) but not fully occupied or where the development is being completed and the developer is still active on the site and in either case there are no serious issues apparent from a public safety perspective;

- Category 2: where a receiver has been appointed and the development is being appropriately managed from a public safety perspective;

- Category 3: where the developer is in place but there is no on-site activity and the developer is responsible for managing the site from a public safety perspective;- Category 4: where there is no construction activity on the site, where efforts to contact the developer or site owner have been unsuccessful, where no receiver has been appointed, where serious public safety issues are present and efforts to compel the developer and/or site owner to address such issues have been unsuccessful.

This categorisation formed the basis for the list of those unfinished developments eligible for a waiver of the Household Charge. Only households in developments in Categories 3 and 4 are eligible for the waiver from payment of the Charge.

The list of developments in which households are eligible for the Household Charge waiver is set out under the Local Government (Household Charge) (Amendment) Regulations 2013. Consequently, if an estate is not named in the Schedule prescribed by these Regulations, then properties in that estate are not eligible for the waiver provided for relating to unfinished housing estates.

An exemption from the Local Property Tax (LPT) applies to developments listed in the Schedule to the Finance (Local Property Tax) Regulations 2013. The list of unfinished housing developments eligible for the exemption was compiled by local authorities based on data from the National Housing Survey 2012, which was carried out over the course of summer 2012 by my Department in conjunction with local authorities and the Housing Agency. A similar approach to that which applied to the waiver of the Household Charge was followed but using the revised methodology used in the 2012 Survey which included a new criterion identifying developments in a “seriously problematic condition” and to which the LPT waiver was applied.

My Department does not hold information in relation to the solvency of particular developers/builders. However, a comprehensive range of information on Unfinished Housing Developments is available on the Housing Agency’s website at www.housing.ie including, Frequently Asked Questions on Exemptions from the Local Property Tax and annual Progress Reports on Actions to Address Unfinished Housing Developments which include general information in relation to bonds.

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