Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 11 September 2023
453. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Finance when the appropriate amendment will be made to the forthcoming finance Act to exempt R2 residential zoned land from the residential zoned land tax, given that this land cannot currently be developed. [38171/23]
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.
Each local authority in the State was responsible for the preparation of an RZLT map for their functional area. In identifying in-scope lands for the tax, the local authorities have identified the relevant zonings contained in their development plan, including land zoned phase 1, phase 2 and as a strategic residential reserve. Each local authority, in preparing the draft RZLT maps, determined whether the zoned land is connected or able to connect to the six required categories of services. Finally, any exclusions which would rule the land out of scope were applied.
Each local authority 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.
A landowner with land identified on any published draft map has 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 had the opportunity to appeal 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 also 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.
Furthermore, 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. Officials in my department are currently considering this matter.
The issue of development potential of phased land which is identified in a statutory land use plan has been raised by a number of stakeholders and this matter is currently being examined in detail by officials in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and Department of Finance having regard to the need for a consistent approach to be applicable across the State.
