Q&A

Your property questions answered

Do I have to pay levy on ‘unsuitable’ home?

Q Thirty years ago I bought a roofless ruin of a two-room stone house in Cavan. I got planning permission to roof it and did so with corrugated iron. It has concrete floors and can be pretty damp in winter. There is a sink with one tap supplied from a tank which is filled from the gutter. There is no electricity and it has an outside earth privy.

In the past we have camped out in it but in view of it being unsuitable for continuous habitation I got an architect to confirm this and the county council last year accepted that it appeared to be exempt .

I wish I could be sure. I do not wish to be liable for arrears and penalties if, for instance, the council decides to inspect properties at some time in the future and decides the property should not be exempt.

AYour letter just proves that one man's "unsuitable for continuous habitation" is another man's bang-up-to-the-minute, eco-friendly, sustainable home – right down to the earth privy. Well done on having such a low carbon footprint in your holiday home!

We admit to being slightly flummoxed by your mention of “unsuitable for continuous habitation” and your architect’s role in this. Holiday homes are often not regarded as suitable for continuous occupation by the people who own them – either because they’re too small or too basic, not insulated and so on. Local authorities tend not to be too interested in involving themselves with this sort of categorisation.

We talked to a planner in a local authority and she had never come across a request from a homeowner for such a declaration. The housing units in local authorities do assess properties when a landlord seeks to get local authority tenants and they do reject some on the basis that they do not meet their criteria but yours is a different situation.

Local authorities are also interested in “dangerous buildings” – and keep a register of them, and these are buildings that are so dilapidated that something must be done to make them safe. They are usually in the cities or main towns and, as well as being dangerous, are eyesores. But again yours is clearly a different situation as it sounds as if it is in a remote area and, as you say, it has a roof and can be lived in for short periods of time at least.

Have you got it in writing that, as you state, “the county council last year accepted it appeared to be exempt”? If so, you have something to show the NPPR levy gatherers. It sounds unusual though. If you look on the NPPR.ie site you will see a list of exemptions and none relate to the comfort standards of the house.

You have a Dublin address which is presumably your principal private residence. So your house in Cavan, no matter how uncomfortable and basic it is in your view, is your second or holiday home.

If you put it on the market tomorrow it would be sold as a house, plain and simple. As such, it’s hard to see how you can get out of paying the €200 a year levy.

You have missed a year of it now so your arrears are building up. That’s unless you have a letter from the local authority in Cavan supporting your case.

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