Residential Zoned Land Tax – Final Map 2025

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Residential Zoned Land Tax – Final Map 2025

31st January 2025

The Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) is a tax aimed at activating serviced and residentially zoned land for housing. Local authorities are responsible for identifying the land that is subject to RZLT.

Introduction

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 ongoing and the tax will be due from February 2025 and payable from 23 May 2025.

The tax aims to activate serviced, zoned land for residential or mixed use. This is to boost housing supply and regenerate vacant, idle urban land. 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.

2) Administration of the tax. This will be undertaken by the Revenue Commissioners. 

Land Subject to RZLT 2025

Carlow County Council has prepared a final map of the land considered to be in scope for the RZLT 2025. 

An interactive final map is available below on this website, in addition to downloadable pdf maps in the 'Materials' section.  Alternatively, the Final Map can be viewed in hard copy format during normal opening hours (excluding public holidays) at the following locations:

 

Public   Display

Address

Carlow County Council

Athy Road, Carlow

Carlow Library

Tullow Street, Carlow

Tullow Library

Inner Relief Road, Tullow

Muinebheag Library

Main Street, Bagenalstown

Borris Library

Lower Main Street, Borris

Please note that lands in:

  •  Carlow Town, Tinnahinch, Tinryland, Ballinabrannagh, and Clonegal, are not currently in scope for the tax due to existing wastewater/water infrastructural constraints in these settlements.
  • Tullow and Muine Bheag/Royal Oak are not currently in scope for the tax due to the status of the current local area plans. These plans are currently subject to review.

The Carlow County Council final map for 2025, is now available below

In addition to the above Interactive Map, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage have also published a National RZLT - Mapviewer, which is available for viewing on the link below.

https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/fced14ec44c44ff5806ee719e4a6d058

Please note that although they are included on these maps, residential properties are not subject to RZLT if they are subject to Local Property Tax. It is not necessary to make a rezoning request or submission to remove this type of residential property from the map. 

Making a rezoning submission on the Final Map 2025

An additional provision was made in the Finance Act 2024, facilitating a further round of rezoning requests to remove land from liability to the tax.  Rezoning requests can only be made for land identified on the final annual map for 2025, published on 31 January 2025.  Rezoning requests for other land will not be considered.

Submissions requesting a change of zoning are considered by the local authority.  The rezoning request must be made to the relevant local authority between 1 February and 1 April 2025.

Landowner Rezoning Requests

If you are making a rezoning request in respect of land that you own, or on behalf of a landowner, please note the following:

  • Your name and address must be included in the submission.
  • Submissions must be accompanied by an Ordnance Survey map showing the property at an appropriate scale, 1:1000 (urban areas) or 1:2500 (rural areas) suitable to identify the land in question. Please note the local authority may request proof of site ownership.
  • Please note that a submission requesting a change in zoning can only be made in relation to land that is already on the final map for 2025, published on 31 January 2025.
  • Where a land use zoning change is sought, the submission must be received on or before 1 April.
  • The landowner should set out why the change in zoning is in the interest of the proper planning and sustainable development of the area, as well as any other circumstances, such as their desire to continue with an ongoing economic activity they wish to bring to the local authority’s attention. Any information to support the claims of ongoing economic use should be submitted as part of the rezoning request.

In what format should the submission be made?

Submissions on the draft map may be made in one of the following ways:

  • Write to: Senior Executive Officer, ‘clearly marked’ – Residential Zoned Land Tax – Final Map 2025, Planning Department, Carlow County Council, Athy Road, Carlow.
  • Online: Via this online consultation portal at https://consult.carlow.ie/ 

         or

In respect of making any submission, please note the following:   

  • The personal information (data) collected during the consultation process is collected for the purpose of receiving and dealing with submissions.
  • Contact details provided may be used to contact a submitter who claims to be the landowner of a particular site. This will be to request evidence as is necessary to prove their ownership of the site.
  • For further information on how Carlow County Council processes Personal Data please see our Privacy Statement on https://carlow.ie/governance-and-administration/data-protection-policy
  • Please identify any parts of your submission which contain personal or commercially sensitive data which you do not wish to be published. 

What Happens Next

  • A rezoning request acknowledgement letter containing details of the recent planning history of the land will be issued by 30 April from the local authority to the landowner.

  • The local authority will communicate in writing to the landowner its decision on whether to progress with an intended variation to the statutory land use plan by 30 June 2025. 
  • Decisions on rezoning requests cannot be appealed to An Bord Pleanála.
  • The rezoning request acknowledgement letter can be used to support a claim for an exemption from the tax for 2025. This claim must be made in the 2025 annual return, which must be made to the Revenue Commissioners on or before 23 May 2025.

How can I find out further information about the mapping and submissions process?

​For more details on the annual final map or submissions, please see 'Your Questions Answered' here in the ‘Materials’ section of this page. For questions about specific land not covered in FAQs, please contact the Planning Department at RZLT@carlowcoco.ie or by phone at 059 9170346.

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