Enclosed order of nuns in Cork lose appeal against lands being subject to new property tax

The Poor Clare Colettine Order maintained that the buildings and associated lands are all used by the nuns as ancillary to their monastery

The Poor Clare Convent in College Rd. Cork. The order, which has been based in the monastery on College Road since 1914, maintained that the buildings and associated lands are all used by the nuns as ancillary to their monastery. Picture: Des Barry

An enclosed order of nuns based in Cork city have lost their appeal against lands attached to their monastery being subject to a new property tax.

An Bord Pleanála has ruled that a site owned by the Poor Clare Colettine Order at College Road in Cork is not exempt from the residential zoned land tax (RZLT).

The new land hoarding tax will charge landowners an annual rate of 3% of the value of land which is zoned for residential use which has access to services.

Property owners have to make their first tax return in relation to the new tax by May 23, 2024, based on a self-assessed value of their lands.

The enclosed order had appealed the decision by Cork City Council that the site was liable for the new tax and sought to have it removed from a draft map which identified lands that meet the criteria for the tax.

Under the Cork City Development Plan, the site is zoned for a sustainable residential neighbourhood which is located in a designated architectural conservation area.

The local authority said it meant the site was solely or primarily for residential use or mixed use including housing.

The lands are comprised of buildings, gardens, vegetable patches and a burial ground.

The Poor Clare Colettine Order, which has been based in the monastery on College Road since 1914, maintained that the buildings and associated lands are all used by the nuns as ancillary to their monastery.

They also stated there would be no residential development on the lands.

The order pointed out that the lands are already subject to local property tax which meant they should not be liable for the RZLT.

However, a planning inspector with An Bord Pleanála said lands which are zoned residential are liable for the new tax with exemptions only applying to homeowners of residential properties within such sites.

An Bord Pleanála said the nuns’ appeal had not raised any issue that warranted the exclusion of the lands from the new tax.

The board said it was restricted to considering whether the lands meet the qualifying criteria for the new property tax.

The Government has introduced the RZLT as a measure to incentivise landowners to activate existing planning permissions for housing on identified lands or to engage with planning authorities and seek planning permissions on suitably zoned serviced lands.