Deadline for submissions: April 1st 2024

Overview

The Government’s Housing For All – A New Housing Plan for Ireland proposed a new tax to activate vacant land for residential purposes as a part of the Pathway to Increasing New Housing Supply.

The Residential Zoned Land Tax was introduced in the Finance Act 2021. The process to identify land to which the tax applies is now underway and the tax will be payable from 2025.

The objective of the tax is to activate land that is serviced and zoned for residential use or mixed use, including residential use, in order to increase housing supply and to ensure regeneration of vacant and idle lands in urban locations. These locations have been identified within statutory land use plans as being appropriate locations for housing and they have benefitted from investment in the key services to support the delivery of housing.

Please note that whilst residential properties are included on the Draft Map, they are not liable for the tax under Section 653O of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, as amended. A ‘residential property’ means any building which is in use as, or is suitable for use as, a dwelling. Owners of such properties will not be liable for the tax. 

The RZLT process has two parts

1) Identification and mapping of the land in scope for the tax. This is undertaken by local authorities through the publication of annual draft and annual final maps – see below.

2) Administration of the tax, which is to be undertaken by the Revenue Commissioners from 2025 onwards.

Identification of land liable to RZLT

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has prepared an annual draft map of the land considered to be in scope for the RZLT as of January 1 2024.

The annual draft map is available below and at the following locations:

• Dún Laoghaire – Rathdown County Council Offices, County Hall, Marine Road, Dún Laoghaire, A96 K6C9, 10:00am to 4:00pm, Monday to Friday.

• Dún Laoghaire – Rathdown County Council, Dundrum Offices, Main St, Dundrum, Dublin 14, 9:30am to 12:30pm and 1:30pm to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday.

Any interested individuals or parties may make submissions in respect of land on the annual draft map. This is dealt with in further detail below.

Please note that although they are included on the map, residential properties are not subject to RZLT if they are subject to Local Property Tax. It is not necessary to make a submission to remove this type of residential property from the map.

Submissions can be made by the public on the annual draft map from 1 February 2024 until 1 April 2024. These submissions can

• propose a correction to the annual draft Residential Zoned Land Tax map if they feel that the land included on the map does not meet the criteria;
• propose a correction to the date on which land first met the criteria;
• support of the exclusion of their land where it is identified on the map that the local authority proposes to exclude such land from the final annual map for 2025, to be published on or before 31 January 2025; and/or
• propose the inclusion of land, not identified on the map, if it is considered such land meets the criteria.

Landowners may request a change of zoning of their land by 31 May 2024, where such land is identified on an annual draft map.

Land appearing on the annual draft maps, as amended to take into account the outcome of submissions and rezoning requests made in respect of the land on these maps, will be included on the annual final map of land in scope for the tax in the administrative area of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to be published on 31 January 2025. This land will be subject to the tax in 2025 unless it is exempt as a residential property, as outlined above, or qualifies for any other exemption, as provided for in the legislation.

The RZLT map as prepared and published by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council includes lands that meet the relevant criteria for inclusion on the map as set out in the legislation.

The administration of the RZLT is a matter for the Revenue Commissioners.

The legislation underpinning the RZLT may be found at Part 22A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. Guidance in respect of the administration of the tax may be found here.

Guidance on the Residential Zoned Land Tax, as prepared and published by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, to assist planning authorities in publishing the maps can be viewed here.

You can find answers to some frequently asked questions about the RZLT and how to make a submission below.

Why your views matter

Making a submission

Submissions can be made by 1 April 2024 to:

• Identify additional land which may fall into scope, but which is not included in the annual draft map;
• Challenge the inclusion of land on the map if the owner considers that the land does not meet the criteria which determine the land in scope;
• Challenge the date from which the land is considered to be in scope; and/or Support the proposed exclusion of land.

Submissions can be made by 31 May 2024 to request a change of zoning of land identified on the annual draft map for 2025.
Please note your submission must clearly identify the site and outline what change (i.e. exclusion of land on a local authority map, or the date on which the site first met the criteria for inclusion on the map) to the Residential Zoned Land Tax mapping you are seeking, as well as provide a justification for the change sought. The submission must state the criteria set out in Section 653B of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 on which you rely in your submission for the land being in or out of scope. Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council may also request additional information after the receipt of your submission (e.g. proof of ownership or further information).

Landowner submissions 

If you are making a submission in respect of land that you own or on behalf of the landowner, please include the following:

• Your name and address
• Submissions from a landowner in respect of their own land must be accompanied by an Ordnance Survey map showing the property at an appropriate scale, 1:1000 (urban areas) or 1:2500 (rural areas) suitable to identify the land in question. Please note that Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council may request proof of site ownership.
• If your land is on the map, you may wish to bring to the attention of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council matters which demonstrate that the land is not in scope for the tax, or that the date which the land was considered in-scope is not correct and should be changed.
• Reference to criteria in Section 653B of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 – any submission should reference these along with evidence for consideration by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to support any claims regarding the serviced nature of the land or any exclusions which should be applied. These criteria must also be referenced if the submission seeks to include additional land on the map.

• The submission should set out any justification for inclusion or exclusion of land,

with reference to the criteria in the legislation.

• If you are making a submission in relation to zoning, please note that a submission requesting a change in zoning can only be made in relation to land that is already on the map.
• Where a land use zoning change is sought, the submission must be received on or before 31 May 2024 and the landowner should set out why the change in zoning is in the interest of the proper planning and sustainable development of the area, as well as any other circumstances which they wish to bring to the attention of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.

Third Party submissions 

If you are making a submission about land that you don’t own then you are a third-party submitter. Third parties cannot make a submission in relation to zoning.

In your submission you should include:

• Your name and address
• Information to identify the land – either a written description, an Eircode or a map with the area outlined. Where Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council cannot identify the land they may not be able to take the submission into account.
• For land on the map, you may wish to bring to the attention of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council matters which demonstrate that the land is not in scope for the tax, or that the date which the land was considered in-scope is not correct and should be changed.
• Is the land not currently on the draft map and is your submission recommending that it should be considered in scope for the tax?
• Reference to criteria in Section 653B of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 – any submission should reference these along with evidence for consideration by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to support any claims regarding the serviced nature of the land or any exclusions which should be applied. These criteria must also be referenced if the submission seeks to include additional land on the map.
• The submission should set out any justification for inclusion or exclusion of land,

with reference to the criteria in the legislation.

In what format should the submission be made?  

You can make a submission via the following options only:

• A written submission can be made electronically through the dlr Public Consultation Hub via Citizen Space at the link below ‘Make an Online Submission Now’.

• In writing to Senior Executive Officer, Planning Department, Dún Laoghaire – Rathdown County Council, County Hall, Marine Road, Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.

In respect of making any submission, be it by the landowner or a third party, please note the following:

• The personal information (data) collected during the consultation process is collected for the purpose of receiving and dealing with submissions.

• Contact details provided may be used to contact a submitter who claims to be the landowner of a particular site. This will be to request evidence as is necessary to prove their ownership of the site, or request further information from the landowner.
• Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council may, where it considers it necessary for the purposes of making the determination, request further information from Irish Water, the National Roads Authority or from a person referred to in article 28 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001.
• For further information on how Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council processes Personal Data please see our Privacy Statement below.
• Please identify any parts of your submission which contain personal or commercially sensitive data which you do not wish to be published.

Further details can be found in the related documents attached below, or on the website here.

Who can I contact if I have any further questions about the process? 

​Further information on the Draft Map process or on making a submission can be found via the FAQ section below. If the answer is not contained in the FAQs, please contact the Planning Department at Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council on (01) 2054700 or via email at rzlt@dlrcoco.ie. Further information on the process is also available via ‘Residential Zoned Land Tax – Guidelines for Planning Authorities’, the Finance Act 2021 and the Finance Act 2023. Guidance in respect of the administration of the tax may be found on the Revenue.ie website.

Read more and make a submission HERE