The Irish Planning Institute has said the Government’s new Derelict Property Tax should have a “positive” impact on the housing market.
Tánaiste Simon Harris will brief the Cabinet on the measure, which will replace the current derelict site levy, in which the property owner is charged 7% of the property’s annual value.
The aim is to bring more derelict sites back into productive use, something the current derelict site levy is considered to be ineffective at doing.
Initially, the new tax will apply to towns and cities with a population larger than 4,000 and then be extended to those with 2,000 or more inhabitants.
On Newstalk Breakfast, Irish Planning Institute President Gavin Lawlor said the current system needs urgent change.
“What's the definition of derelict? Is it vacant for 20 years? Does that constitute derelict? Does it have to have a roof?” he said.
“There's lots of lessons learned; so, I think anything that we do that can improve upon the current legislation is positive.”
Mr Lawlor added that derelict properties remain a blight on many high streets the length and breadth of the country.
“Waterford have done Herculean work in terms of setting up their own special purpose vehicle and bringing back derelict or vacant sites in the town centre,” he said.
“And it's made quite a significant difference to certain parts of the city.”
A derelict shop. Picture by: P.Spiro / Alamy. Currently, there could be up to 60,000 derelict properties in the country but it depends on the definition of ‘derelict’, something Mr Lawlor believes any new legislation will have to tightly define.
“Not so that people can then avoid and put lipstick on pigs, but rather so that we can actually go and determine what equals derelict,” he said.
“Same things we've had in terms of the Residentially Zoned Land Tax.
“There's a similar issue there in terms of how properties have been used and if they've been used for commercial purposes.
“But there's a very clear definition around that, and it's very difficult for people to get around that, if you get me.”
Overall, Mr Lawlor believes the new tax could in particular benefit young people who are looking to buy, as well as town centres.
“What you're seeing younger people do now is instead of going out and buying a brand new house in a housing estate, they're choosing to buy the doer-upper in the town centre,” he explained.
“[They] take the grant and spend the money on getting the revitalising town centres.”
Main image: An old derelict shop front in Dublin. Picture by: Douglas O'Connor / Alamy.
