Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 May 2014
88. Deputy Anne Ferris asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide the full criteria for exemptions to the local property tax for unfinished estates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23438/14]
View answerUnder Section 10 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012, an exemption from liability can arise for properties located in developments prescribed on a list made by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government where the Minister is satisfied that the developments on the list are incomplete to a substantial extent, having regard to the condition of public infrastructure and amenities, including access, water services, public lighting and amenity areas. An exemption from the Local Property Tax 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 utilising the categorisation employed for the purposes of the National Housing Survey 2012. The survey was carried out over the course of summer 2012 by my Department in conjunction with local authorities and the Housing Agency. Only developments that were deemed by local authorities to be in a “seriously problematic condition”, regardless of whether a developer was on or off site, were included in the Finance (Local Property Tax) Regulations 2013.
The Government has taken a number of significant steps to address the issue of Unfinished Housing Developments, in particular the development of Site Resolution Plans (SRPs), agreed between residents, developers, funders and local authority personnel for the finalisation of works on site to render estates as habitable as possible, have been pivotal in resolving a large number of estates. In the 2013 National Housing Survey, of the 1,811 estates inspected, there were 607 in some stage of SRPs. Specifically, 281 were agreed and ready for implementation, 213 had commenced while 113 had been completed. I believe that a continuation of this collaborative approach serves the best interests of all concerned and is an effective tool in the resolution process.
The Public Safety Initiative (PSI), which was launched in March 2011, also provided funding to address immediate public safety issues in unfinished housing developments. The types of works that have been approved to date under the PSI include the fencing off of unsecured and hazardous areas, capping of pipes, installation of street lighting and other works to secure sites. Under the PSI, my Department has made allocations totalling €4.5m to local authorities from the funding made available. To date, €3.3m has been drawn down. Local Authorities have been advised that the deadline for receipt of any new applications for PSI funding is 30 May 2014.
To assist further in addressing the legacy of unfinished housing developments, Budget 2014 contained a special provision, in the form of a targeted €10m Special Resolution Fund (SRF). The SRF is designed to encourage the resolution of the remaining tranche of unfinished developments identified in the National Housing Development Survey 2013 and, particularly, those developments not likely to be resolved in the normal way through solely developer/owner/funder action because of the presence of specific financial barriers. It was envisaged that the SRF be particularly targeted to address the remaining unfinished developments with residents living in them and, in particular, any developments that local authorities identified, for the purposes of the Local Property Tax exemption, as in a seriously problematic condition.
In December 2013, my Department wrote to local authorities seeking proposals for funding support under the SRF and the deadline for receipt of applications was 28 February 2014. All submissions have now been evaluated by my Department in accordance with the criteria circulated to local authorities. On 2 May 2014, I announced SRF allocations to 86 housing developments across the country. Further information is available at the following weblink:
http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/News/MainBody,37940,en.htm. This public investment will leverage an additional €12m from third parties (developers/lenders/bonds) which will be invested in these estates. It is hoped that the SRF will enable very substantial progress to be made in resolving as many of the remaining unfinished developments as possible.
There are no plans to revise the list of developments included in the Schedule to the Finance (Local Property Tax) Regulations 2013, either by removing or adding developments to it, at this time.
