Vacant Properties

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 November 2023

Tuesday, 21 November 2023

Ceisteanna (182, 183, 184)

Pearse Doherty

Ceist:

182. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the number of returns with respect to the vacant homes tax that have been received to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51129/23]

Pearse Doherty

Ceist:

183. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the number of properties that were projected to be in scope of the vacant homes tax at the beginning of this year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51130/23]

Pearse Doherty

Ceist:

184. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the number of returns with respect to the vacant homes tax that have been received to date which have claimed exemption with respect to the tax on the grounds of the owner has died, a grant or representation was issued, the property is actively marketed for rent or sale, the property is subject to certain court orders, the property has underwent structural works, the property is unoccupied due to illness of the owner and the property is deemed not to be habitable, in tabular form. [51131/23]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Finance

I propose to take Questions Nos. 182, 183 and 184 together.

As the Deputy is aware, Vacant Homes Tax (VHT) is a new measure announced in Budget 2023, which aims to increase the supply of homes for rent or purchase to meet demand. Legislative provision for the tax was made in the Finance Act 2022. A residential property will be within the scope of VHT, if it has been occupied as a dwelling for less than 30 days in a chargeable period.

VHT operates on a self-assessment basis, where the number of properties in scope and the amount of tax payable depends on the self-assessed returns submitted by property owners, the number of properties declared as liable, and the number of property owners entitled to claim available exemptions from the tax. The first chargeable period ended on 31 October 2023 with the first self-assessed returns due on 7 November 2023 and the associated tax payable on or before 1 January 2024.

As with Local Property Tax, VHT does not apply to derelict or uninhabitable properties. Where a property is uninhabitable, to such an extent that it is not suitable for occupation (or not actually occupied), it is outside the scope of VHT and is not taxable. In such circumstances, the property owner is not required to file a VHT Return. Therefore, data is not available in respect of the number of units that are uninhabitable and deemed ineligible for VHT.

Prior to the introduction of the tax in Budget 2023, officials used Revenue’s preliminary analysis of vacant properties from the 2021 Local Property Tax (LPT) returns to estimate how many properties may be within scope, as well as a possible yield. Certain assumptions were made based on the Revenue data, taking into account the number of long-term vacant properties (those unoccupied for greater than 12 months), their valuation band, as well as their reasons for lying vacant. It was tentatively estimated that less than 15% of the total properties reported as long-term vacant may be in scope of the tax after exemptions were claimed. However, because the tax aims to encourage behaviour change, my Department has maintained the view that the number of properties who will be subject to this tax and the eventual yield may be lower than the estimates provided.

I am advised by Revenue that, to date 2,087 property owners have declared 4,806 properties as vacant.

The following table provides a breakdown of the number of VHT exemptions claimed for the period ending 31 October 2023:

-
Properties where the owner has died	116
Properties where a Grant of Representation was issued	29
Properties actively marketed for sale or rent	580
Properties subject to certain Court Orders	12
Properties that underwent structural work	972
Properties unoccupied due to illness of the owner	256
Total	1,965

Question No. 183 answered with Question No. 182.

Question No. 184 answered with Question No. 182.