Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT)
Residential Zoned Land Tax
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 (RZLT) 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 2024.
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.
A brief overview of the RZLT can be viewed on our online storeymap:
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 draft and supplemental maps – see below.
2. Administration of the tax, which is to be undertaken by the Revenue Commissioners from 2024 onwards.
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Identification of land liable to RZLT
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown has prepared a draft map of the land considered to be in scope for the RZLT as of October 1, 2022.
The draft map is available to view 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 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. 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 draft map from November 1st 2022 until January 1st 2023. These submissions can challenge the inclusion of particular lands on the draft map on the basis that those lands do not meet the criteria set out within the relevant legislation; the date on which the land is considered to meet this criteria; or can request a change of zoning. During the draft map stage, submissions can also identify additional land which appears to meet the criteria and so falls into scope and which may be placed on the supplemental map which will be published on 1st May 2023.
A final map of land meeting the relevant criteria for the tax will be published on 1 December 2023. This land will be subject to the tax unless it is exempt as a residential property, as outlined above.
The RZLT map as prepared and published by Dun 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.
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Supporting documentation
- 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 on the Revenue website.
- Section 28 “Residential Zoned Land Tax Guidelines for Planning Authorities” can be viewed here.
- Revenue Commissioners “Tax and Duty Manual - Guidance on the Residential Zoned Land Tax” can be viewed here.
You can find answers to some frequently asked questions about the RZLT and how to make a submission here and here.
Making a submission
Submissions can be made in relation to:
- 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.
- The date the land is considered to be in scope.
- Requesting a change of zoning.
- Identifying additional land which may fall into scope.
Please note your submission should clearly identify the site and outline what change (i.e. inclusion or 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 should 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. The local authority 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 note the following:
- Submission should include your name and address
- Submissions should include 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 the local authority may request proof of site ownership.
- Submissions should reference the criteria in Section 653B of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 along with evidence for consideration by the local authority to support any claims regarding the serviced nature of the land or any exclusions which should be applied. These criteria should 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 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 local authority’s attention.
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.
Please note the following:
- Submission should include your name and address
- Submission should include information to identify the land - either a written description, an Eircode or a map with the area outlined.
- Submissions should reference criteria in Section 653B of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 along with evidence for consideration by the local authority to support any claims regarding the serviced nature of the land or any exclusions which should be applied. These criteria should 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?
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, as per 653D(4) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 or request further information from the landowner as per 653E(2) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997.
- A local authority may, where it considers it necessary for the purposes of making the determination, within 21 days from the date referred to in 653D(1) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, 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 Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council processes Personal Data please see our Privacy Statement here.
Further details can be found here.
What Happens Next?
All written submissions will be evaluated. A written determination will be made by the Local authority regarding submissions by landowners. Key steps the local authority will take prior to publishing a final map include, but are not limited to the following.
Draft Map
- Submissions received in relation to the draft map will be published on the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council website by 11th January 2023 (note: personal data, i.e. name, address of submitter and contact details of the submitter, are redacted, but location of lands to which the submission relates are published along with the grounds of the submission).
- Where a landowner requests the exclusion of their site from the draft map on the basis that it does not meet the criteria for being in scope, or challenges the date from which land on the map met this criteria, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council must notify the owner of its decision not later than 1st April 2023.
- An appeal of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council decision on a landowner’s submission on the draft map, must be lodged by the landowner with An Bord Pleanála by 1st May 2023.
- Where a person has requested the addition of a site to the draft map and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown considers that sites in respect of which submissions have been made or based on the information available to the local authority, constitute lands satisfying the relevant criteria then these sites will be identified on a supplemental map of land which meets the relevant criteria which will be published by the local authorities on 1st May 2023.
- Where a landowner has requested a change to the zoning of their land, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council shall evaluate the submission and consider whether to propose the making of a variation. (An initiation of the variation process will only take place after evaluation of any requests for change of zoning made in relation to the draft and supplemental maps in order to allow all requests for changes to zoning to be considered together).
RZLT Mapping