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    Tuesday 17 January 2012

    Residents of 62 estates eligible for waiver of household charge says Labour Councillor

    Homeowners in over 60 unfinished housing estates throughout Mayo will be eligible for a waiver of the €100 household charge according to Westport based Labour councillor, Keith Martin.

    According to Cllr Martin the new legislation "provides that an owner of residential property which is situated in an unfinished estate is entitled to a waiver from payment of the Household Charge in respect of that property for that year." 

    The wavier only applies to estates where the developer is still in place but is effectively inactive, or where the development has been effectively abandoned and is posing serious problems for residents. 

    A national survey of unfinished housing developments was carried out in 2011 by officials from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, in conjunction with the Planning Departments of the various local authorities. As part of this survey, all unfinished developments were examined and categorised along the following lines:

    Category 1: the development is still being actively completed by the developer; 
    Category 2: a receiver has been appointed; 
    Category 3: a receiver has not been appointed and the developer is still in place but effectively inactive;  and 
    Category 4: the development has been effectively abandoned and is posing serious problems for residents. 

    An owner of a residential property in an unfinished development contained in the prescribed list is entitled to a waiver from payment of the household charge in 2012. This prescribed list consists only of developments under Categories 3 and 4.

    According to the Westport based Cllr Martin "A list of such estates has been published by the Dept of the Environment which has identified 62 such estates in Mayo.

    This new charge, of EUR 100 per year in 2012, is unfortunately a condition of the EU/IMF bailout that was necessitated by the disastrous economic mismanagement of the previous FF/Green Government.

    The charge will fund essential local services such as libraries, road cleaning, public lighting and so on that councils such as Westport Town Council and Mayo County Council provide to all citizens. 

    The charge has been carefully framed so as to make owners liable rather than occupiers.  Social housing and houses of the elderly who are living in nursing homes etc are included in the exemptions.  Those in receipt of mortgage interest supplement and in these particular unfinished estates are also exempt."

     
    Westport
    Cedar Park,
    Cluain Abhain
    Sli Na Misean

    Castlebar
    Carrabeg
    Heather Vale
    College Woods
    Sean Abhain
    The Waterway

    Ballina
    Belleek Manor
    Church Manor
    Friars Court
    Glen Ri
    Lansyn
    Quignalecka
    Quignalecka Apartment
    Un-named estate  Church Road

    A full list of the qualifying unfinished estates is available at www.householdcharge.ie

    https://www.householdcharge.ie/UHE/Mayo.pdf