COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
Monday, January 16, 2012
QUESTION NO. 21
QUESTION: Councillor E. Tuffy
To ask the Manager if he can indicate the number of households in the County, which he anticipates will be required to pay the new Household Charge in 2012?
REPLY:
The Household Charge is an annual charge introduced by the Local Government (Household Charge) Act 2011 (www.irishstatutebook.ie) which is payable by owners of residential property. It is a matter for owners of residential property to register and pay the household charge after the 1st of January 2012. The 2012 charge is €100 per residential property.
Owners of qualifying properties may claim an exemption from the charge if:
· The residential property is part of the trading stock of a business and has not been sold or been the source of any income since construction,
· The residential property is vested in a Minister of the Government or the Health Service Executive,
· The residential property is vested in a housing authority, including property where households are purchasing their homes under the Shared Ownership Scheme and where the local authority still retains an ownership stake,
· The residential property is vested in a Voluntary housing body or is co-operative housing,
· The residential property is one to which commercial rates apply,
· The residential property is owned by a charity or comprised in a discretionary trust,
· The residential property is home accommodation which a person had to leave due to long-term mental or physical infirmity (e.g. a person that has moved into a nursing home).
The owner of qualifying residential property may be eligible for a waiver from payment of the household charge if:
· He/she is entitled to mortgage interest supplement
· The residential property is located in prescribed unfinished housing estates (see Unfinished Housing Estates section for more detail)
An online system www.householdcharge.ie is in place to enable home owners to pay the household charge by credit card/debit card. In addition, home owners can make the payment by cheque, postal order, etc through the post to the Local Government Management Agency who operate a bureau and administers the charge on a shared service/agency basis for all local authorities. In addition, payment will be accepted in the Council offices.
The number of domestic properties in the county totals approximately 97,540 units but it is not known in full how many of these will qualify for an exemption or waiver.
Exemptions will apply to 9,317 social housing properties and 141 properties eligible as part of shared ownership schemes. In addition there are approx. 1,125 properties in the county which are owned by voluntary housing bodies and are eligible to claim an exemption from the charge. The schedule of Unfinished Housing Estates available on www.householdcharge.ie does not include any estates in South Dublin County Council.
The balance of eligible properties when these specific exemptions have been applied is approximately 86,957 yielding (before additional waivers or exemptions are granted) an income of €8,695,700 for the local government fund.