Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 March 2026
588. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether local authorities that own land for house building are liable for the residential zoned land tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16457/26]
View answerThe Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) is a tax introduced in Finance Act 2021 which seeks to increase housing supply by encouraging the activation of development on lands which are suitably zoned and appropriately serviced. It aims to bring those lands which have benefitted from investment in services and are capable of being developed forward for housing. The ongoing implementation of the tax is an action contained in Delivering Homes, Building Communities, the Government’s plan for housing, to increase housing supply and is supported in the Programme for Government.
The tax applies to land that is:
• zoned suitable for residential development whether it be solely or primarily for residential use, or for a mixture of uses, including residential use, and
• serviced (that is: reasonable to consider may have access, or be connected, to public infrastructure and facilities, including roads and footpaths, public lighting, foul sewer drainage, surface water drainage and water supply, necessary for dwellings to be developed and with sufficient service capacity available for such development)
Deferral of the tax is available upon gaining of planning permission and commencement of development, thereby achieving the policy aim of increasing home building and overall supply across all areas of the State. All land identified on a final map published on 31 January each year, including land owned by a local authority, is therefore liable to the tax unless it benefits from exemptions or deferrals stated in the relevant legislation, being Part 22A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997.
