Planning and Development

Vacant Sites Register

Background:

Under the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act, 2015, (the Act) all planning authorities are required to establish and maintain a Vacant Sites Register (the Register).  The Register must be in place by January 1st, 2017.  An identified vacant site can be entered on the Register when the authority is of the opinion that it has been vacant for a minimum of 12 months preceding its entry on the Register.

The Council has undertaken an assessment and quantification of the number and location of vacant sites, focussing on County Metropolitan Cork in the first instance. Sites suitable for housing were assessed in detail against the criteria set out in the Act which can be summarised as follows:
The site has an area in excess of 0.05 hectares and is zoned for either residential or regeneration purposes.  In the case of residential land the site is:

  1. Situated in an area in need of housing
  2. The site is suitable for the provision of housing, and,
  3. The site or the majority of the site is vacant or idle

And in the case of regeneration land:

  1. The site, or the majority of the site is vacant or idle, and,
  2. The site being vacant has an adverse effect on existing amenities or reduces the amenity provided by existing public infrastructure and facilities

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Identification of Vacant Sites:

In order to form an opinion on whether a site meets the criteria, the site is first inspected, photographed and a report is prepared which includes a general description of the site and previous planning history if same exists. 

It is also a requirement of the Act that for a site to be entered on the Register details of ownership and title to the site are identified, and, the market value pertaining to the site determined thereafter. The statutory process of notifying property owners of the authority’s intention to include their property on the Vacant Sites Register is concluded and the 28 days submission period for notified landowners has expired.

Vacant Sites Register & Levy:

The Register was established on January 1st, 2017.  The authority must notify property owners before 1st June 2018 that their sites, which are on the Register, shall be charged the levy in respect of 2018 in January 2019 and every further year thereafter until the site is no longer vacant.  The levy shall be payable in arrears each year beginning in 2019 by the owner of the vacant site that stands entered on the Register on 1st January of that year. The levy shall be payable on a demand being made by the authority and shall be calculated at 7% of the market value of the site.

Appeals Process:

When notified by the authority of its intention to include a site on the Vacant Sites Register, a property owner has the right to object and can make a submission to the planning authority within 28 days.  If, having considered the submission, the authority is of the opinion that the site was a vacant site for the duration of the 12 months concerned and continues to be a vacant site it shall enter the site on the Register. When a site has been entered on the Register, the authority must notify the property owner of same and the owner may within 28 days (of the date of the notice) appeal the decision to An Bord Pleanala (ABP).  Entry on the Register shall not take effect until the appeal is determined by ABP.

Before 1st June 2018, the authority must notify owners of vacant sites on the Register on 1st January 2018 that the levy shall be charged for 2018 in January 2019.    Property owners may make submissions in respect of the entry on the Register to the authority within 28 days.  If, having considered the submission the authority is still of the view that the property should remain on the Register, it must notify the property owner of same and the owner may within 28 days of the date of the notice appeal to ABP.  If ABP upholds the appeal the entry shall be cancelled on the Register.

The authority must determine the market value of a vacant site as soon as after it is entered on the Vacant Sites Register and notify owner of same.  The owner can appeal the valuation to the Valuation Tribunal within 28 days of the notice.  Subject to the right of appeal on a point of law, the decision of the Tribunal is final.

An owner of a vacant site who receives a demand for payment of the levy may appeal against same to ABP within 28 days of the date of the demand on grounds that the site is no longer vacant or that the calculation of the levy is incorrect.  If ABP upholds the appeal, then either the entry shall be removed from the Register and the demand cancelled or it will advise the authority of the correct amount of the levy and an amended demand shall issue.

Document Summary