Map drafted ‘considered to be in the scope’ of RZLT

UP TO 30 submissions were made to South Dublin County Council over its a draft map of land ‘considered to be in scope’ for the Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT).

An overview of the RZLT process was presented to members at the recent council meeting.

The tax stems from the Government’s Housing For All – A New Housing Plan for Ireland proposed to activate vacant land for residential use.

The RZLT was introduced in the Finance Act 2021, to identify land to which the tax applies, and tax will be payable from May 2024, collected by Revenue.

SDCC prepared a draft map of the land ‘considered to be in scope’ which was on public display from November and the consultation ended on January 1, 2023.

During consultation landowners could set out why their lands should be ‘taken out of scope’, why their lands should be ‘put in-scope’ or request that their lands be re-zoned.

The local authority will assess up to 30 submissions to determine if there is merit in rezoning the lands in question.

Landowners unhappy with a decision may appeal to An Bord Pleanála Notification of lands to be removed shall be issued to the landowner by April 1, 2023.

At the council meeting, Cllr Yvonne Collins (FF) requested lands on the map that are not liable to be taxed, to be removed from the map, and questioned how landowners will be informed of any changes, noting that there is confusion that exists regarding the new tax.

Ind Cllrs Holohan and McMahon queried if landowners can switch the rezoning themselves, with the latter interested to know if there will be any penalties should a landowner refuse to comply with a decision made for their land.

Cllr Bailey (SocDems) expressed concern over the backlogs ABP is already under with regard to appeals, while Cllrs Moynihan (FF) and Deputy Mayor Tuffy (Lab) questioned how this would impact Strategic Development Zones.

Responding, SDCC said the map shows existing residential properties which they have to follow as per the legislation, and a review will be carried out every year.

A final map will be produced at the end of this year and any sites deemed not to be viable for the tax will be removed from the map.

With regard to requests for rezoning, that would have to go through the County Development Plan and SDCC have not received any requests for rezoning in this process to date.

All revenue raised from the tax will go to Revenue.