Only half of the vacant sites in Dublin city centre are likely to be hit by a planned levy designed to combat land hoarding, new research from Dublin City Council has found.
The council last year identified 282 sites in central Dublin, which could be developed for homes or commercial buildings, but were being left unused.
However, the levy, subsequently introduced under the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act, will only apply to land over 0.05 of a hectare in size.
A fresh audit, due to be published shortly by the council, has indicated that just 143 of the 282 sites are above the minimum size threshold to be subject to the levy, set at 3 per cent per year and payable by site owners from 2019.
These sites will be surveyed and mapped in the next two months, the council said. “This vacant land audit will form the initial basis for the surveys which are required to implement the vacant land levy and will then be extended to the rest of the city.”
This work is to be carried out by a new division which is being set up in the council. “The city council now intends to become more pro-active in targeting underutilised, vacant and derelict lands and buildings through the establishment of an Active Land Management Unit.”
The unit will also assess the potential for the council to buy derelict buildings in the city. Derelict properties worth a combined total of €15 million have been identified at 54 locations in Dublin city.
Register
The Derelict Sites Register, set up under legislation in 1990 to stop property owners from neglecting their buildings and sites, allows the council to take action against property owners including the imposition of an annual levy of 3 per cent of the market value of the site, and compulsory purchase of the site.
The derelict sites unit carried out 744 inspections in 2015, sent 245 warning letters to property owners, and placed 21 sites on the register. At the same time 20 sites were removed from the register, having been rendered “non-derelict”, the council said. “The fact that a site is on the Derelict Sites Register does not mean an end to the problem. Sites can, and do, remain on the Derelict Sites Register for quite some time despite the imposition of a levy and interest.”
There is €1,817,521 outstanding in unpaid levies. Speaking to The Irish Times last December, council chief executive Owen Keegan said the council has been "too deferential" to property owners and "unduly tolerant" of sites that are a blight on the city.
