Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 July 2023
211. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Finance if his Department has given any consideration to rescinding and reconsidering the residential zoned land tax in its current format until the multitude of problems associated with its scoping and implementation have been resolved. [34212/23]
View answerThe residential zoned land tax (RZLT) is a new tax introduced in Finance Act 2021 which seeks to increase housing supply by encouraging the activation of development on lands which are suitably zoned and appropriately serviced. It aims to bring those lands which have benefitted from investment in services and are capable of being developed forward for housing. The tax is an action contained in Housing for All, the Government’s plan for housing, to increase housing supply and is supported in the Programme for Government.
The tax applies to land that is:
• zoned suitable for residential development whether it be solely or primarily for residential use, or for a mixture of uses, including residential use, and
• serviced (that is: reasonable to consider may have access, or be connected, to public infrastructure and facilities, including roads and footpaths, public lighting, foul sewer drainage, surface water drainage and water supply, necessary for dwellings to be developed and with sufficient service capacity available for such development)
In order to be liable for the tax the land must meet both criteria.
The local authorities, in preparing draft RZLT maps, determined whether the zoned land is connected or able to connect to the six required categories of services. Any exclusions which would rule the land out of scope were applied. The local authorities then published a draft RZLT map identifying the land which meets the requirements of the legislation and which may be liable to the tax. The tax will first be due and payable in 2024.
Land which is zoned solely or primarily for residential use meets the criteria set out within the legislation and therefore falls within the scope of the tax. These zonings are considered to reflect the housing need set out within the core strategy for the relevant local authority area and landowners within such zonings may fall within the scope of the tax, in the interests of ensuring an appropriate supply of housing on zoned lands.
A landowner with land identified on any published draft map had the opportunity to make a submission to the local authority regarding the land, setting out why they consider that the land does not meet the criteria for inclusion within the scope of the tax. For example, if the land is not zoned for residential use, if the land does not have access to or there is no capacity for any of the six servicing criteria, or if the land benefits from an exclusion as outlined in the legislation. The local authority was required to assess any submission and inform the landowner of their decision to either remove or retain the land on the map by 1 April 2023. If dissatisfied with the local authority decision, the landowner could have appealed the determination to An Bord Pleanála, again setting out why the land does not meet the criteria for inclusion for the tax.
In addition to being able to make a submission regarding inclusion of land on a draft map, the landowner had the opportunity to submit a request to change the zoning of the land by variation of the adopted development plan. Where the zoning is amended to a use other than residential or mixed use including residential, it would not meet the criteria for the tax and would be removed from RZLT maps. Decisions on whether to amend zonings as a result of submissions or at any other time are a matter for the local authority, taking into account the need to ensure that housing supply targets across the county can be met. In addition, provision is made in the Planning and Development Act 2000 for elected members to seek a report from their Chief Executive on the matter of proposed re-zonings.
The Department of Finance and Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage continue to engage with various representative bodies in relation to their concerns regarding the implementation of the RZLT measure.
It is acknowledged that the tax will impact on landowners, however if the land in question is zoned for a particular purpose under a plan adopted by the local authority and has been subject to investment by the local authority and the State in the services necessary to enable development for housing to accommodate increased population, it is intended that the land should be used for housing.
This tax measure is a key pillar of the Government’s response to address the urgent need to increase housing supply in suitable locations. I have no plans to rescind the residential zoned land tax at this time.
