COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
Monday, February 13, 2012
MOTION NO. 14
MOTION: Councillor W. Lavelle
That this council calls on the Department of Environment, Communities & Local Government and the Local Government Management Agency to reform the payment arrangements for the Non-Principal Private Residence charge such that residents in arrears who wish to pay the full outstanding amount due (including late payment fees) are allowed, subject to local management discretion, to enter an agreed schedule for payment by instalment.
REPORT:
The Non Principle Private Residence Charge was first introduced in 2009 by the Local Government (Charges) Act 2009.( To view the Act please click legislation )
Information about the NPPR Charge is available online at www.nppr.ie but the following is a brief summary of the NPPR charge and related obligations on individuals to declare and pay the charge and on local authorities to enforce the legislation.
- Section 5 of the Act provides that persons who on the liability date are liable to pay this charge shall make and provide to the relevant local authority concerned a declaration to that effect.
- The charge is set at an annual rate of €200 per non principal private residence
- The liability date for the purposes of ownership of qualifying property is 31 March - property owners have until 30 June to pay the charge before incurring penalties. Charges paid after 30th June attract a late payment fee of €20 a month.
- Section 7 of the Act provides that any charge or late payment fee due and unpaid by the owner shall remain a charge on the property to which it relates.
- Section 12 provides that persons found to be guilty of the offence of non payment and non declaration can be held liable to a conviction or a fine not exceeding €2,000.
The Charge is based on self declaration. A declaration of ownership of the property in question by way of registration is necessary when a Householder is paying the charge for the first time on a property. Payment can be made online at www.nppr.ie.
The following exemptions in relation to liability,
1. Principal Private Residences
2. Where a person partly occupies a dwelling as his or her sole or main residence and avails of the Revenue Commissioners’ Rent-a-Room Scheme
3. Discretionary trusts or corporate bodies that are accorded charitable status
4. Where a person is moving house and, in the process, owns two houses for a relatively short period.
5. Joint ownership of a property after a divorce or separation agreement where the second residence becomes the primary residence of one party.
6. Where a person who owns a principal private residence vacates the dwelling in question because he or she is long-term incapacitated as a result of physical or mental illness
7. Where a residence is occupied rent-free by a relative of the owner and the owner resides on the same property or within two kilometres of .the residence in question.
8. Where a landlord and a Local Authority have a signed contract in place under the Rental Accommodation Scheme for a property, on the liability date 31st July 2009 and 31st March 2010 and 2011 the property is exempt from the NPPR charge. This exemption has not been provided for in 2012.
As stated above, and in accordance with the legislation, the liability and charge is based on self declaration. As a result invoices are not issued .
The NPPR Bureau (under the aegis of the Local Government Management Agency ) accepts and processes payments in respect of the NPPR Charge on behalf of Local Authorities in the country. and administers a national media awareness campaign annually about the charge and liability date. In addition the Dublin Local Authorities advertise extensively in the national press about the charge during the April to June period each year.
The foloowing income has been collected on behalf of South Dublin County Council (as at the 1/02/2012 )
| NPPR Income 2009 | NPPR Income 2010 | NPPR Income 2011 | Number of Units 2009 | Number of Units 2010 | Number of Units 2011 |
| €2,516,160 | €2,484,100 | €2,321,040 | 11,646 | 11,432 | 11,135 |
In relation to payment of the charge and penalties which may have been incurred,
Section 6 of the Act states;.—(1) A person liable to pay a charge in respect of a residential property who, after one month immediately following the expiration
of the period prescribed for the purpose of section 3(4), has not complied
with that subsection shall, in addition to his or her liability to
pay the charge, be liable for and pay to the local authority concerned
a further sum of €20 (in this Act referred to as a “late payment fee”)
in respect of each month or part of a month falling after the expiration
of the said one month.
In accordance with Section 6 of the Local Government ( Charges ) Act 2009, a penalty of €20.00 per month accrues if the €200.00 charge has not been paid within three months of the liability date. Payment due for a particular year must therefore be made in full.
If the Motion is passed it will be forwarded to the Minister for the Environment , Community and Local Government