Does fee apply if I live abroad?
Q I have an Irish passport and am non-resident for Irish tax purposes. I own a property in Ireland which I do not let, and in which I reside for about four to five months each year. I do not own any other property, either in Ireland or abroad. I have paid the €100 charge, but am I liable for a €200 charge as well?
AThis charge arises under the Local Government (Charges) Act 2009, the Non Principal Private Residence charge. There are detailed rules for the consideration of residence for tax purposes but, put very simply, if you spend less than 183 days in the year in Ireland, then you are non-resident. As you are non-resident for tax purposes, the house in Ireland therefore cannot be your principal private residence and the charge then applies.
There are very limited exemptions for the charge and I don’t believe any of them would arise in this case. I would recommend, however, that you do seek detailed taxation advice as your non-residence status may have implications in the event you want to sell the house at some stage in the future.
Ed Carey is chair of the Residential Property Professional Group of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland, scsi.ie
Paying property charges without PPS number
Q My son, who lives and works abroad and is likely to stay abroad bought a house in Ireland more than 10 years ago for holidays etc. As he is non-resident, he won’t have a PPS number, so how does he pay this property charge as I understand you have to log on using your PPS number?
AFrom your question it's not clear whether you are referring to the Non Principal Private Residence (NPPR) charge or the new Household Charge. However, your son may be likely to pay both.
The NPPR charge is due on all non-principal private residences and is €200 per year.
The other tax is the Household Charge, which was introduced earlier this year and is part
of the Government’s commitment to the EU/IMF Programme of Financial Support for Ireland. The current charge is €100 per year. This is an interim charge, however, and it is our understanding that a full charge will be introduced by the Government in due course.
An expert group is finalising the details of this charge and how it would be implemented. Revenues from the household charge will support the provision of local services.
If your son cannot pay online, registration forms are also available online via city county councils and libraries, which can be filled out and sent in to Household Charge, PO Box 12168, Dublin 1.
As the deadline was March 31st, he may be liable for late fees/penalties.
For full information, see householdcharge.ie
Aine Myler is a member of the Council of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland, scsi.ie
Access to shared driveway is blocked by wall
Q We should have access to a shared driveway, but the previous owner of our house built a wall around our garden which blocks access to our part of the driveway. We’ve had talks with our neighbour about us knocking the wall and building another one down the centre of the shared driveway as many of our neighbours have done. This would entail the repositioning of pillars so he can access his driveway. We would share the cost, but he has said he cant afford to do this. Also the footpath outside would have to be dished and would involve getting planning permission – although many of our neighbours have dished it without this. In the meantime, he has a wide driveway for one little car and we have to squash our two cars into a small space. What would you advise?
AWhile the removal of the existing wall and its replacement with a new wall along the boundary with your neighbour's property would be exempted development under Class 5, Part 1 of Schedule 2 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as amended, provided that the new wall complies with the conditions and limitations set out therein (eg, must not be higher than 1.2m to the front of the house, and must generally be rendered or plastered), the creation of an access to a public road requires planning permission.
It should also be noted that the consent of your neighbour would be needed to build along the common boundary, and also to demolish an existing common boundary wall. You should also be satisfied that such works would not contravene a condition attached to any previous planning permission, and would not be excluded from benefiting from the exempted development provisions. It is recommended that discussions are held with your local planning authority before any works take place.
Due to the fact that the footpath is in the ownership of the local authority, planning permission is not needed to dish the footpath if this work is carried out by the local authority. An application to this effect should be made to your local authority’s roads department.
John Spain is a member of the Planning and Development Professional Group of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland,
