Question to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (Mr Brendan Howlin, TD)
To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the mechanism and procedures to have non-rated buildings and developments rated by the Valuation Office; the length of time the process takes; if there is any process for the rating of newly constructed buildings and developments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. – Jerry Buttimer.
For WRITTEN answer on Wednesday, 20th November, 2013.
REPLY
As I already mentioned in a previous reply, the procedures for making an application for a determination of valuation are prescribed in section 27 of the Valuation Act, 2001.
Under section 28 (4) of the Act, a Revision Officer appointed by the Commissioner may carry out a revision of valuation in relation to a particular property only if a material change of circumstances (MCC) has occurred since the property was last revised. MCC is defined in section 3 of the Act as a change of circumstances, which consist of a new building, a change in value due to structural alterations of an existing building, total or partial demolition of a building or a sub-division or amalgamation of relevant property.
Should the foregoing MCC criteria be satisfied, the appointed Revision Officer will consider the application and determine and issue a valuation for the subject property within a period of six months from the date of his appointment. If dissatisfied with the outcome of the representations, there is an extensive appeal system available which the ratepayer may avail of and to which I referred in my earlier reply.
As regards the levying of rates, I wish to reiterate the position as previously outlined, that under rating law, rates can only be collected by the rating authority on property which has been valued under the Valuation Act, 2001 and there is no mechanism to otherwise collect rates pending the determination and issue of the valuation under the Act.