Non-Principal Private Residences Charge
The Local Government (Charges) Act, 2009 introduced an annual
€200 charge on Non-Principal Private Residences
("NPPR"), payable by the owner of the NPPR to the Local
Authority in whose area the property concerned is located.
The NPPR charge applies to every residential property owned by a
person which is not the principal or main residence of the owner.
There are, of course certain properties which are exempt from the
charge. For example, a property which is the sole or main residence
of the person who owns it, commonly referred to as a principal
private residence (PPR), is exempt. Other exempt properties are
listed in the Act.
Liability to pay the charge is determined on the basis of
ownership of the property in question on a single day each year.
For the year 2010 and subsequent years the liability date has been
set as 31 March and the NPPR charge must be paid by 31 May each
year. There is a one month grace period, so all charges paid after
30th June 2011 will attract a late payment fee of €20 a
month.
Property Registration
In Ireland, it appears that the onus is on property owners to
register any properties that are not their principal residence.
Under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2004, landlords must register
all tenancies with the Private Residential Tenancies Board
("PRTB"). Landlords must be registered to use the PRTB
dispute resolution service (although tenants do not have to be
registered to avail of this service).
The PRTB will use this information to maintain a publicly
available register. This will not show the identity of the landlord
or the tenants, or the amount of the rent. The PRTB will exchange
information with local authorities so that they can enforce the
regulations relating to standards and rent books.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
