‘There’s no escape from tax on second homes’

Tens of thousands of households who still have not paid the so-called second-home tax have been warned "there is no escape".

Property owners who are liable for the full five years of the Non-Principal Private Residence charge now owe their local authority just over €4,200, when late penalties are added to the €200 annual charge. That will jump alarmingly to €7,230 from Monday unless outstanding charges are cleared by Sunday.

While the exact number of households owing charges levelled between 2009 and last year is unknown, the Local Government Management Agency said it believed “tens of thousands” of second-home owners owed some or all of the current maximum €4,220.

Anyone who has not paid by September 1 still faces having to make the maximum payment, with the Department of the Environment confirming that local authorities have the power to bring enforcement proceedings. According to guidance from the department to local authorities: “Where hardship is not accepted by the local authority, the claimant should be notified accordingly as soon as possible and any necessary follow-up action initiated.”

Yesterday, the department said: “Local authorities can bring enforcement proceedings against owners of residential property where, in the opinion of the authority, a liability to pay the NPPR has not been discharged.”

Paul McSweeney, LGMA chief executive, warned there would be no escape for people who owed money, with increased co-operation between the LGMA, Revenue, local authorities, and the Private Residential Tenancies Board, while unpaid charges will also appear in the conveyancing process or by other means for anyone selling their house over the next decade.

However, he stressed that anyone with a liability should contact their local authority today to avoid paying higher amounts from next week.

There has been an outcry among homeowners, some of whom said they had been unaware they owed money. It also emerged that one local authority, Meath County Council, said it would consider a 50% waiver for people living abroad “where certain criteria is met”.

People who let properties in similar circumstances but who were not living overseas, however, are unlikely to have that option open to them. There has also been accusations that Government did not keep people informed as to their level of liability. Other people claimed they had been sent a letter regarding NPPR charges, but they were exempt or did not owe the charge.

Mr McSweeney said: “The thing people forget is it is a self-declaration charge. The onus is on the individual to declare it.”

He said each local authority had “discretion” regarding sending letters seeking payment or regarding possible waivers, as well as the steps they might consider after September 1.