“To ask the Manager the estimated revenue from the second home levy and whether this has been factored into the Budget already”

 

“The Local Government (Charges) Act 2009 introduced a €200 annual charge on non principal private residences payable by the owners of such properties to the Local Authority in whose area the property concerned is located. The Act came into operation on the 24^th July 2009 and the liability to pay the charge is determined on the basis of ownership of the property on the “liability date” which is the 31^st July 2009 for this year and the 31^st March in subsequent years.

 

According to data made available to us from the PRTB and CSO, there are approximately 11,500 rented dwellings in the Fingal area and over 5,300 vacant dwellings. The maximum annual income accruing from this charge based on these figures would be in the region of €3.4m. However, the true figure can only be determined when owners register and declare a liability to pay the charge as required under the Act and allowance is made for exemptions.

 

It is too early at this stage to give a more accurate estimate of the income potential from this charge as owners have up until the end of September to pay the charge and a further month until late payment fees apply. We expect to be in a better position to quantify the level of income in October as part of a review of our Budget for this year.

The income from this charge was not budgeted for last December when the Budget for 2009 was adopted by the Members as it was unclear at that stage when the charge would be introduced. However any income from the charge in the current year will go towards bridging the gap for other income sources such as planning fees, commercial water charges etc. which are not meeting budgetary expectations.”