NPPR New Build

Conveyancing 07/09/2018

The imposed on owners of certain residential properties a liability to pay an annual charge (known as NPPR) to the local authority in whose area the property was located.

The charge applied from July 2009 to March 2013 inclusive.

Section 2(1) of the Act defined 鈥渞esidential property鈥 as a building situated in the State used or suitable for use as a dwelling but does not include per Section 2(1)(b):

  1. A building that forms part of the trading stock of a business,
  2. From which, since its construction, no income has been derived, and
  3. Which has not, at any time since its construction, been used as a dwelling.

In accordance with an earlier practice note, the Committee recommended in cases where a new dwelling was sold that was not a residential property for the reasons set out in Section 2(1)(b) above, that the vendor should provide a statutory declaration confirming the position.

It has come to the attention of the Committee that in many instances such a declaration was not obtained at the time of the first purchase of the property. In such circumstances where on a second sale of that property such a statutory declaration is not available, the Committee is of the view that a declaration from the first purchaser of the property would be acceptable provided the declarant is in a position to declare that the requirements of Section 2(1)(b) have been complied with and is in a position to exhibit in the declaration documentary evidence, such as, for example, a building agreement, an assurance with a building covenant with confirmation of compliance therewith, evidence of first connection to an electricity provider, or other evidence corroborating that the property had not, prior to the first purchase, been used as a dwelling.

The Committee is of the view that, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, if the building had not been used since construction as a dwelling, it is reasonable to assume that no income had been derived from the property.

In addition, the declaration must deal with the issue that the building formed part of the trading stock of a business. This should not be a practical problem if the dwelling is in a building estate where there is a booklet of title with an extract from the memorandum of association of the original vendor/ developer, but care would be needed in the case of a one-off house.