Thomas Gould
Question:201. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the criteria that needs to be met for a property to be entered onto the vacant sites register. [34336/21]
View answerTuesday, 29 June 2021
Questions (201)
Written answers
Under the vacant site levy provisions in the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015 (the 2015 Act), planning authorities were empowered to apply a vacant site levy of 3% of the market valuation of relevant properties which were listed on local authority vacant site registers in 2018, which relevant owners were liable to pay in January 2019. The rate of the levy increased to 7% for sites listed on local authority vacant sites register from 2019 onwards which site owners became liable to pay in January 2020.
The implementation of the vacant site levy provisions is a matter for each local authority including the identification of residential and regeneration land, as underpinned by the development plan process, and the identification of individual vacant sites, in accordance with the detailed criteria set out in sections 5 and 6 of the 2015 Act. The Act provides that the levy will apply to vacant sites exceeding 0.05 hectares on residential land or regeneration land as designated in the development plan or local area plan which meets the relevant criteria as set out below.
Local authorities can apply the levy on vacant sites on "residential land" if the following criteria set out in section 5(1) of the 2015 Act are satisfied:
- the site is situated in an area where there is a need for housing,
- the site is suitable for the provision of housing, and
- the site, or a majority of the site, is vacant or idle or being used being used for a purpose that does not consist solely or primarily of the provision of housing or the development of the site for the purpose of such provision, provided that the most recent purchase of the site occurred after it became residential land, and before, on or after the commencement of section 63 of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2018.
The specific criteria in relation to determining whether or not there is a need for housing in an area within a planning authority's functional area are set out in section 6(4) of the 2015 Act. Such determination is required to be assessed by reference to:
- the housing strategy and the core strategy of the planning authority,
- house prices and the cost of renting in the area,
- the number of households qualified for social housing support in accordance with section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 that have specified the area as an area of choice for the receipt of such support and any changes to that number since the adoption of the planning authority's development plan, and
- whether the number of habitable houses available for purchase of rent was less than 5% of the total number of houses in the area.
With regard to the application of the levy on vacant sites on "regeneration land", the following criteria set out in section 5(2) of the 2015 Act must be satisfied:
- the site, or the majority of the site, is vacant or idle, and
- the site being vacant or idle has adverse effects on existing amenities or reduces the amenity provided by existing public infrastructure and facilities (within the meaning of section 48 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000, as amended (2000 Act)) in the area in which the site is situated or has adverse affects on the character of the area.
The specific criteria in relation to determining whether or not the site being vacant or idle has adverse effects on existing amenities or reduces the amenity provided by existing public infrastructure and facilities (within the meaning of section 48 of the 2000 Act) in the area in which the site is situated, or has adverse affects on the character of the area, are set out in section 6(6) of the 2015 Act. Such determination is required to be assessed by reference to whether:
- land or structures in the area were, or are, in a ruinous or neglected condition,
- anti-social behaviour was or is taking place in the area, or
- there has been a reduction in the number of habitable houses, or the number of people living, in the area, and whether or not these matters were affected by the existence of such vacant or idle land.