Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT)

The Government’s Housing For All – A New Housing Plan for Ireland proposed a new tax to activate vacant land for residential purposes as a part of the Pathway to Increasing New Housing Supply.  

The Residential Zoned Land Tax was introduced in the Finance Act 2021. The process to identify land to which the tax applies is now underway and the tax will be payable from 2025. 

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 locations. These locations have been identified within statutory land use plans as being appropriate locations for housing and they have benefitted from investment in the key services to support the delivery of housing.  

The RZLT process has two parts 

1) Identification and mapping of the land in scope for the tax. This is undertaken by local authorities through the publication of annual draft and annual final maps – see below.  

2) Administration of the tax, which is to be undertaken by the Revenue Commissioners from 2025 onwards.   

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council prepared an annual draft map of the land considered to be in scope for the RZLT as of January 1 2024. The total area of land included on the map was 3,289.29 hectares. 

The annual draft map is available here    

Interested individuals or parties were invited to make submissions in respect of land on the annual draft map from 1 February 2024 until 1 April 2024. 

Submissions are available here. 

Even though residential properties are included on the map, they are not subject to RZLT if they are subject to Local Property Tax. It was not necessary to make a submission to remove this type of residential property from the map.

Landowners could also request a change of zoning of their land by 31 May 2024, where such land is identified on an annual draft map. However, no rezoning submissions were received.

Land appearing on the annual draft maps, as amended to take into account the outcome of submissions and rezoning requests made in respect of the land on these maps, will be included on the annual final map of land in scope for the tax in the local authority area to be published on 31 January 2025. This land will be subject to the tax in 2025 unless it is exempt as a residential property, as outlined above, or qualifies for any other exemption, as provided for in the legislation. 

The RZLT map as prepared and published by the local authorities includes lands that meet the relevant criteria for inclusion on the map as set out in Section 653B of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (as amended). 

Guidance on the Residential Zoned Land Tax, as prepared and published by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, to assist planning authorities in publishing the maps can be viewed here. 

The administration of the RZLT is a matter for the Revenue Commissioners. Guidance in respect of the administration of the tax may be found here. 

All written submissions have been evaluated and written determinations have been 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 were 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).  

• Landowners that requested 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 challenged the date from which land on the map met this criteria, were notified by the local authority by 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. There are no provisions for a third party to appeal a local authority decision to retain or remove land from an annual draft map.  

Where a person requests 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. No such submissions were received during the 2024 annual map display. 

​If further information is required on the annual draft map process or on making a submission please check ‘Your Questions Answered’ which can be found below. If your query relates to a particular area of land or if the answer is not contained in the FAQs, contact the Planning Department. 

Further information on the process is also available on the Gov.ie/RZLT website here.  

As outlined above, the RZLT process has two parts. Local authorities are required to undertake the mapping which identifies the land which is subject to the tax, including an annual final map which will be first published on 31 January 2025, and revised annually. Thereafter, the administration of the tax will be undertaken by the Revenue Commissioners.  

As the local authority do not administer the tax, we are unable to answer any queries regarding the administration of the tax. All queries regarding the administration of the tax should be directed to the Revenue Commissioners  

Having regard to the respective roles of local authorities and the Revenue Commissioners in the RZLT process, queries on the mapping should be made to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. This includes queries on; 

• Criteria for inclusion on annual draft map 

• Submissions on annual draft map 

• Determinations on annual draft map 

• Zoning submissions 

• Appeals (which must be submitted to An Bord Pleanála)  

• Annual final map 

The Revenue Commissioners website–provides details on the general administration of the tax and links to a comprehensive guide to the tax. The Revenue website also provides details on 

• Liable persons 

• Amount of residential zoned land tax 

• Obligation to register 

• Obligation on liable person to prepare and deliver return  

• Deferral of, or exemptions from, Residential Zoned Land Tax 

• How to contact Revenue with queries on the administration of RZLT 

My house and garden is contained on the map. What is the consequence?  

Your house and garden is identified on the map because it meets the criteria for the tax, which is based on residential led zonings and servicing by infrastructure suitable for provision of housing.  The house and garden are not liable for the tax, as long as the house is subject to Local Property Tax (LPT).  

Do I need to make a submission?  

It’s not necessary. Even if your house is identified on the maps, residences are not liable for the tax where they are subject to LPT.   

What if my garden is greater than 0.4047ha (1 acre)  

If your garden is greater than this size, then you need to register for the RZLT with the Revenue Commissioners, however your house and garden will not be liable for the tax. You will be able to register for RZLT from December 2024 onwards. No action needs to be taken to register at this time.  Please see revenue.ie for details regarding the registration process closer to the time.