Owners of land or property which is entered on a local authority derelict sites register may have to pay a levy.
All sites entered on the Derelict Sites Register can be considered for acquisition. The Council will only acquire compulsorily as a last resort in circumstances where all efforts to secure the carrying out of improvement works by property owners have been exhausted.
Sites entered on the Register are subject to an annual derelict sites levy of 7% of market value which will continue to apply until the site is rendered non-derelict. Unpaid levies also attract interest of 1.25% per month. Outstanding levies automatically become a charge on the land and will remain a charge until the full amount is paid. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage may prescribe a higher percentage, which cannot be more than 10% of the market value.
Fines are payable to the local authority for non-compliance with statutory notices about derelict sites, and for failing to carry out work required by the local authority. The rates of fine were set in the Derelict Sites Act 1990 and have been increased in accordance with the Fines Act 2010. Read more about how fine rates are calculated.
On summary conviction for all offences: a fine not exceeding €2,500, also a fine not exceeding €500 for every day on which the offence continues and not exceeding €2,500, in total. (This figure does not include the original fine of €2,500 for committing the offence in the first place.) You could also be sentenced to imprisonment for up to 6 months. If the court decides, you could be subject to both a fine and imprisonment.
On conviction or indictment of failing to carry out the measures required by the local authority to prevent a property from being classed as derelict within an allotted time: a fine not exceeding €55,562.50, with a fine not exceeding €4,445 for every day the offence is continued, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years. If the court decides, you could be subject to both a fine and imprisonment.
Laois County Council can recover the cost of necessary work on a derelict site from its owner.