About the Residential Zoned Land Tax

Residential Zoned Land Tax

The Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) is a tax aimed at activating serviced and residentially zoned land for housing. Local authorities are responsible for identifying the land that is subject to RZLT.

Introduction

The Residential Zoned Land Tax was introduced in the Finance Act 2021. The objective of the tax is to activate land that is serviced and zoned for residential use or mixed use, including residential use, in order to increase housing supply and to ensure regeneration of vacant and idle lands in urban areas. These areas have been identified within statutory land use plans as appropriate locations for housing and they have benefitted from investment in the key services to support the delivery of housing.

Local authorities are responsible for identifying the land that is subject to Residential Zoned Land Tax.
Residential Zoned Land Tax is administered by Revenue.

Land subject to RZLT

The process to identify and map land that is subject to RZLT is undertaken annually by local authorities.

Leitrim County Council has prepared an annual draft map of the land considered to be in scope for the RZLT as of January 1 2024.

The annual draft map is available by following the link below as well as Áras an Chontae, Carrick-on-Shannon and at Ballinamore, Drumshanbo, Manorhamilton and Mohill libraries.

Click here to view the RZLT map and additional information online

The map includes lands that meet the relevant criteria for inclusion on the map as set out in the current legislation.

Residential Zoned Land Tax will be charged annually from 1 February 2025 onwards (subject to the passing of Finance (No.2) Bill 2023). The tax will be administered by the Revenue Commissioners and landowners will have to register for the tax – further information regarding the administration of the tax by Revenue is available here.

Making submissions on the RZLT map

Submissions on the draft maps may be made as follows:

a) By writing to: Planning Department, Leitrim County Council, Áras an Chontae, St. George's Terrace, Carrick on Shannon, Co. Leitrim, N41 PF67.

(b) In electronic format on the dedicated consultation portal by following this link: Consultation Portal

Please note submissions that are emailed cannot be considered and will be returned.

Submissions should be in ONE medium only i.e. online or hard copy. Please label submissions “RZLT”.

Submissions can be made by the public on the annual draft map from 1 February 2024 until 1 April 2024. These submissions can:

propose a correction to the annual draft Residential Zoned Land Tax map if they feel that the land included on the map does not meet the criteria;
propose a correction to the date on which land first met the criteria;
support of the exclusion of their land where it is identified on the map that the local authority proposes to exclude such land from the final annual map for 2025, to be published on or before 31 January 2025; and/or
propose the inclusion of land, not identified on the map, if it is considered such land meets the criteria.

Landowners may request a change of zoning of their land by 31 May 2024, where such land is identified on an annual draft map.

Please note your submission must clearly identify the site and outline what change (i.e. exclusion of land on a local authority map, or the date on which the site first met the criteria for inclusion on the map) to the Residential Zoned Land Tax mapping you are seeking, as well as provide a justification for the change sought. The submission must state the criteria set out in Section 653B of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 on which you rely in your submission for the land being in or out of scope. The local authority may also request additional information after the receipt of your submission (e.g. proof of ownership or further information).

Landowner submissions

If you are making a submission in respect of land that you own or on behalf of the landowner, please note the following:

Your name and address
Submissions from a landowner in respect of their own land must be accompanied by an Ordnance Survey map showing the property at an appropriate scale, 1:1000 (urban areas) or 1:2500 (rural areas) suitable to identify the land in question. Please note the local authority may request proof of site ownership.
If your land is on the map, you may wish to bring to the local authority’s attention matters which demonstrate that the land is not in scope for the tax, or that the date which the land was considered in-scope is not correct and should be changed.
Reference to criteria in Section 653B of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 – any submission should reference these along with evidence for consideration by the local authority to support any claims regarding the serviced nature of the land or any exclusions which should be applied. These criteria must also be referenced if the submission seeks to include additional land on the map.
The submission should set out any justification for inclusion or exclusion of land, with reference to the criteria in the legislation.
If you are making a submission in relation to zoning, please note that a submission requesting a change in zoning can only be made in relation to land that is already on the map.
Where a land use zoning change is sought, the submission must be received on or before 31 May and the landowner should set out why the change in zoning is in the interest of the proper planning and sustainable development of the area, as well as any other circumstances which they wish to bring to the local authority’s attention.

Third Party submissions

If you are making a submission about land that you don’t own then you are a third-party submitter. Third parties cannot make a submission in relation to zoning.

In your submission you should include:

Your name and address
Information to identify the land - either a written description, an Eircode or a map with the area outlined. Where the local authority cannot identify the land they may not be able to take the submission into account.
For land on the map, you may wish to bring to the local authority’s attention matters which demonstrate that the land is not in scope for the tax, or that the date which the land was considered in-scope is not correct and should be changed.
Is the land not currently on the draft map and is your submission recommending that it should be considered in scope for the tax?
Reference to criteria in Section 653B of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 – any submission should reference these along with evidence for consideration by the local authority to support any claims regarding the serviced nature of the land or any exclusions which should be applied. These criteria must also be referenced if the submission seeks to include additional land on the map.
The submission should set out any justification for inclusion or exclusion of land, with reference to the criteria in the legislation.

Residential properties

Please note that although they are included on the map, residential properties are not subject to RZLT if they are subject to Local Property Tax. It is not necessary to make a submission to remove this type of residential property from the map.

What Happens Next

All written submissions will be evaluated. A written determination will be made by the local authority regarding submissions by landowners. Key steps the local authority will take prior to publishing an annual final map include, but are not limited to the following.

Annual Draft Map

Submissions received in relation to the annual draft map will be published on the local authority website by 11 April 2024 (note: personal data, i.e. name, address of submitter and contact details of the submitter, are redacted, but location of lands to which the submission relates are published along with the grounds of the submission).
Where a landowner requests the exclusion of their site from the annual draft map on the basis that it does not meet the criteria for being in scope, or challenges the date from which land on the map met this criteria, the local authority must notify the owner of its decision not later than 1 July 2024.
An appeal of the local authority decision on a landowner’s submission on the annual draft map, must be lodged by the landowner with An Bord Pleanála by 1 August 2024.
Rezoning submissions are considered by the local authority. A decision on whether to progress with an intended variation to the statutory land use plan or not is to be communicated in writing to the relevant landowner by 31 July 2024. There is no appeal regarding rezoning requests to An Bord Pleanála.

Where a person has requested the addition of a site to the draft map and the local authority considers that sites in respect of which submissions have been made or based on the information available to the local authority, constitute lands satisfying the relevant criteria then these sites will be identified on the next annual draft map which will be published by the local authority on 1 February 2025.

Can I appeal a decision of the local authority?

A landowner has until 1 August 2024 to appeal the local authority decision regarding submissions made in respect of the exclusion of their site from the annual draft map on the basis that it does not meet the criteria for being in scope, or challenging the date from which land on the map met this criteria date to An Bord Pleanála. Appeals must be made in writing setting out the grounds of appeal. There are no provisions for a third party to appeal a local authority decision to retain or remove land from an annual draft map.

More information

The legislation underpinning the RZLT may be found at Part 22A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997

Guidance in respect of the administration of the tax may be found at Revenue Guidance