The recent information leaflets issued by the government about the Household Charge have resulted in some property owners realising that they are also liable for the NPPR – Non Principal Private Residence charge.
This NPPR charge was introduced by the Fianna Fail government in 2009 – and is an annual charge of €200 on any residential property in Ireland that someone owns but does not use as their principal residence. More NPPR Information here
There is a €20 a month penalty for late payment – which kicks in 3 months after the liability date each year.
Like the Household Charge – it is a self registration system.
The penalties soon mount up – for example – someone who should have registered for the NPPR back in June 2009 will now owe the grand total of €1720 – made up of €600 NPPR and €1120 penalties.
Someone got in touch with MoneyguideIreland to tell us that they are living in the UK and own some apartments here in Ireland. They only found out about the NPPR this week because a relative posted on a Household Charge leaflet. It appears that their outstanding bill is in the region of €13000 .
As we reported last week – there may be changes that allow for payment by installment in such cases. NPPR Penalty by Installment .
Maybe someone should let the local authority take them to court and see how a Judge will react to such high penalties and the lack of publicity.
Through a ridiculous drafting of this legislation, this charge unfairly catches those who only own one property but decide to rent it out (for whatever reason). It should revert to those who have more than one property which is what it was intended for. The crazy penal rates for late payment are again unfair.
Why are landlords being so victimised in this country. NPPR, household charge and a restriction on the amount of interest that can be expensed. What next?