Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 June 2014
43. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Finance the reason a person with a building condition assessment pyrite damage rating of 2 is not exempt from the property tax this year as the assessment was carried out this year, even though the property clearly has no value in that condition. [26462/14]
View answerTo be eligible for an exemption from the charge to Local Property Tax (LPT), a liable person must obtain a certificate from a competent person, such as an engineer or a geologist, confirming the presence of significant pyritic damage and, I am informed, a liable person cannot claim the exemption until the relevant certificate has been issued in respect of the residential property concerned. In the absence of this certificate, LPT must be paid in full or by means of one of the approved phased payment arrangements.
It is not clear from the Deputy's question whether the necessary sampling and testing of the sub-floor hardcore material has been carried out on foot of the results of the Building Condition Assessment and whether the relevant certificate has issued to the property owner. Section 10A of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended) provides that a temporary exemption from the charge to Local Property Tax (LPT) will apply for a period of at least three consecutive years for residential properties that have been certified under Regulations made by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government as having "significant pyritic damage".
The Finance (Local Property Tax) (Pyrite Exemption) Regulations 2013 (S.I. No. 147 of 2013) require that residential property owners demonstrate significant pyritic damage in accordance with I.S. 398 Reactive Pyrite in sub-floor hardcore material Part 1, which was published in 2013 by the National Standards Authority of Ireland. This standard provides guidance on the Building Condition Assessment, as well as on the sampling and testing to be carried out, to establish the presence of significant pyritic damage.
As regards the period from which the exemption can be claimed, the standard procedure is for property owners to start the period of exemption from the liability date following the issue of the certificate. The exemption is linked to the three year valuation period and, depending on when in a 3-year valuation cycle the certificate is issued, the exemption may last for up to five years. For example, where a property owner received the relevant certificate in June 2014 then on 1 November 2014 (liability date for 2015) he/she can claim the exemption for the five year period of 2015 to 2019. Where a property qualifies for the exemption, it continues to apply even where the property is subsequently remediated before the end of the exemption period.
As the Deputy can appreciate the rules governing when, and for how long, the exemption applies are complex and are best explained by the use of examples. I am advised that further detailed information and examples on how the exemption for residential properties with significant pyrite damage operates are provided by the Department of Environment, Community & Local Government, www.environ.ie, or they can be accessed from the LPT pages of the Revenue website www.revenue.ie.
