Homes vacant for more than six months will face a tax of 3% of market value under a proposed law.
The new Bill, published on 22/02/2022, has proposed a range of measures to tackle vacancy and dereliction including hitting owners of property left unoccupied for more than 180 days with the charge.
Properties that would be exempt from the tax include if the owner is in care, if the property is being renovated, if it is a holiday home or if the occupant has moved temporarily for work reasons.
The vacancy tax would be collected by Revenue as part of the local property tax and doesn’t apply to the owner’s main private residence along with the derelict property levy would also be changed into a tax under the proposed legislation.
Based on figures from the 2016 census there are some 90,000 vacant properties around Ireland at the moment.
The legislation would require local authorities to acquire derelict sites if they spend more than two years on the derelict sites register.