Mayo holiday homes tax would be ‘extremely difficult’ to implement, council told

LEGAL advice given to Mayo County Council has cast doubt on the viability of a proposed levy on holiday homes.

The council’s Special Policy Committee on Housing has discussed imposing a €2,000 levy on properties that are vacant for more than six months of the year.

However, the local authority have been told that identifying houses liable for the annual levy and enforcing it could prove ‘extremely difficult’.

It was initially suggested that the levy apply to houses in Louisburgh on a pilot basis. Cllr Peter Flynn, chairman of the Housing SPC, has said it should apply to every liable household in the county.

“In the absence of any movement by the Government on this issue, I believe it is beholden on us to at least start the debate and to see if it is something that could be done in Mayo,” the Fine Gael councillor said.

The Housing SPC is to consider the legal advice it received on the matter before proceeding any further.

Dermot Hewson, a solicitor with King & McEllin, said that the council could impose such a levy under Sections 109 and 110 of the Local Government Act 2001.

“No change has been made to the 2001 Legislation and it is in force as the law continues to provide for it and it, potentially, could be implemented.”

However, Mr Hewson said that enforcement and identification of liable properties would be ‘very difficult’. He added that the local authority’s only recourse for non-payment would be issuing legal proceedings through the district court.

“There are, in my view, several other difficulties about the proposal. First, how does one know whether a dwelling is, or is not, a holiday home. How is this going to be ascertained?” he wrote.

Mr Hewson said the county council could potentially impose a levy on holiday homes through the Non-Principal Private Residence Charge but said there was ‘no provision in the 2001 [Local Government] Act for the contribution to be a charge on property’.

“And more particularly, as said above, I think it would be extremely difficult to draft a Scheme which the Council could stand over in terms of definitions of affected properties and recovery of contributions,” he continued.

Mr Hewson said imposing such a levy would be ‘politically difficult’ given that holiday homes are already liable for Local Property Tax.

Cllr Flynn said that liable households could be identified through the electoral register. The Fine Gael councillor added that the property owner should carry the burden of proof if legal proceedings are issued by the council over non-payment.

“Even the fact that the discussion [over vacant houses] is happening would be, in my view, a positive and get people thinking about the whole thing of having houses sitting empty for nine-ten months of the year while others are in desperate need of accommodation,” he said.

Cllr Flynn admitted to The Mayo News that there would be ‘nothing to stop’ a property being used a holiday home after being bought from a homeowner who sold the property to avoid the levy.

“But any house they free up is a bonus, put it that way,” added the Westport-based councillor.

“Because right now there’s hundreds of houses in this area alone that are vacant as we speak. Any percentage that we get back into commission, be it for long-term letting or for long-term for someone to have it as permanent residence, would be a win.”