The owner of a property is now obliged to advise the local rates office of any change in occupation of a rated commercial property, e.g. sale, new lease. They have 14 days to inform the local authority.
This law was announced to Kilkenny residents via the Kilkenny People newspaper last week. Kilkenny County Council have a specific form on their website that can be used.
Local Government Reform Act 2014
The Local Government Reform Act, 2014 provides for a wide range of reforms to local authority functions, structures and funding, and includes a number of changes in respect of commercial rates.
New duty on owners/ratepayers in relation to a transfer of property
Section 32 of the Act places –
● An obligation on property owners, or their agents, to notify the Local Authority where an interest in a rateable property is transferred and the person liable for rates changes.
● The person transferring the property, either the owner or occupier, must discharge all rates for which he/she is liable at the date of transfer.
Failure to notify Kilkenny County Council of a change in interest within 14 days of the transfer date, may result in a penalty for non-compliance in that, the owner becomes liable for an amount which is equivalent to the level of outstanding liabilities (up to a maximum of 2 years liability).
This obligation comes into effect on 1st July, 2014
– an update on Irish Law from Kilkenny Solicitors Holland Condon
