Derelict sites and dangerous structures

All local authorities in Ireland are responsible for dealing with derelict sites and dangerous structures in their area. The Derelict Sites Act, 1990 and the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act, 1964 can be used by local authorities to force owners to clean up these sites. Both acts allow local authorities to prosecute owners who do not comply with notices served, to keep registers of all derelict sites and dangerous structures, to purchase land compulsorily and to carry out necessary work themselves and charge the owners for the cost.
You are required by law to make sure your property does not become derelict or contain any dangerous structures. If it does, you must take steps to remedy the situation. Otherwise, you are liable for prosecution by your local authority.
Rules
Statutory notices
If you are the owner or occupier of a dangerous structure or derelict site, you are likely to receive a number of statutory notices from your local authority. These notices will tell you what the local authority is doing in relation to your property. You could get a notice to tell you that your property has been added to the Derelict Sites Register or that is has been classed a dangerous structure. You will then get another notice to tell you what the local authority wants you to do to clean up your site or make it safe. If you do not carry out this work within the allotted time, staff from the local authority can enter your property, carry out the work itself and charge you for the cost. Again, if local authority staff plan to enter your property for any reason, the local authority will send you a notice. In some circumstances, a local authority may decide to purchase a derelict site or dangerous structure compulsorily. In this case, a notice will be sent to the owner or occupier and an advertisement will appear in the local newspaper giving details of the land to be purchased. You have the right to respond to any notice the local authority sends you and to make an objection to the compulsory purchase of a site.
Registers of derelict sites and dangerous structures
Your local authority has to keep registers of all derelict sites and dangerous structures in its area. They contain the location of the property, the name and address of the owner and details of any action the local authority may have taken about these sites. If the property is owned or occupied by a local authority, the register must contain details of what it is being used for and what the local authority intends to do with it.
If District Court Orders Under Section 8 of the Local Government Sanitary Services Act 1964 concerning dangerous structures are not entered into the Register of Orders within 10 days after the order was made, they are no longer valid. Declaring a structure dangerous can leave the local authority open to the possibility of litigation if any injury or damage results from a structure that is known by the authority to be dangerous and has been registered as such. Even if the local authority does not own the dangerous structure, it could be liable for failing to ensure that it is made safe.
The Derelict Sites Register must give details of the current market value of the every site it contains. This valuation is done by the local authority, which can authorise any qualified person to act on its behalf. Any valuation approved by the local authority must reflect the value of the land if it were sold in the open market. Details of the valuation are entered into the register and a notice is served on the owner of the derelict site in question. Owners have to right to appeal the valuation. All appeals must be made to the Valuation Tribunal within 28 days of the owner receiving the notice. Appeal forms are available from your local authority.
Local authorities can remove entries from the Derelict Sites Register and the Dangerous Structures Register when they are satisfied that the recommended work has been carried out on the properties. These registers are available to be viewed by the public. For further details, contact your local authority.
Derelict sites levy
The owners of all urban land that has been entered into the Derelict Sites Register must pay an annual levy to their local authority. This levy amounts to 3% of the market value of the land concerned or in respect of any subsequent such year, such amount not exceeding 10%, as may stand prescribed for each urban area or if there is no such amount prescribed, 3% of the said market value. The levy only applies to urban land but under the terms of the Derelict Sites Act, 1990, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government can prescribe any area to be an urban area, as long as it is not part of a county or other borough.
The levy must be paid when a demand is sent out by the local authority. It may be possible to pay the levy in installments if you get the agreement of your local authority. If your local authority decides that the payment of the levy (and any interest due on it) would cause you undue hardship, it can decide to hold off on further action to get payment for the whole or part of the amount due.
However, if the levy has not been paid within two months of receiving the demand and no agreement has been reached with the local authority, interest will be charged on the full amount at a rate of 1.25% a month or part of a month. The local authority can take the owner to court to recover this amount, if necessary.
If the site is removed from the derelict sites register, the local authority will calculate the levy owed based on how many days are left in the financial year and send either a refund or a demand for payment to the owner.
Any change in the valuation of the land means that the levy on that land will also be changed. If the value is decreased, the local authority will re-calculate the amount, according to the new valuation and refund any excess that may have been paid by the owner. If the value of the property is increased, the local authority is entitled to demand the levy on the amount of the increase.
If the local authority is satisfied that the owner of a derelict site has plans to develop the property and planning permission has been granted for this development, the owner can enter into a bond instead of paying the derelict sites levy. This bond is a guarantee that has been secured with a bank or insurance company, agreeing that all derelict site levies due on the property will be paid if the scheme or a similar scheme is not carried out within five years.
Regulations regarding dangerous structures
There are specific regulations about dangerous structures. The local authority can direct that work (including the demolition of the structure and the clearing of the site) be carried out immediately if it considers it necessary. It may also require that all use of the dangerous structure be stopped. In certain cases, the local authority can direct the occupier of a dangerous structure to leave and remove all his or her property. This is done in the interests of the occupier's safety. If it is necessary, the local authority can get a court order, which allows it to use whatever force it considers necessary to remove the person and his or her property from the dangerous structure. The local authority can also ask the Gardai for help in this situation. It is up to the local authority to decide if it should provide other accommodation or give money to a person who has been forced to leave his or her dwelling in this way. This may depend on whether the person carried on any trade or business in the dangerous structure or if the local authority considers that the person will suffer real hardship because of having to leave.
Compulsory purchase
All local authorities can buy derelict sites or dangerous land in their areas (including land that is no longer dangerous because the local authority has carried out work on it), either by agreement with the owner or compulsorily. Compulsory purchases have to be advertised in the local newspaper, with details of the land in question, and a notice must be sent to the owner or occupier of the land giving information about how and where he or she can make an objection to the purchase. In the case of a dangerous place, a notice must be posted either on or near the land, giving details of the local authority's intentions. If an objection is made to the compulsory purchase, the local authority cannot buy the land without the consent of An Bord Pleanala..
Vesting orders
If An Bord Pleanala approves the compulsory acquisition and the local authority has dealt with any objections it may have received about the purchase, the land can be bought by the local authority using a vesting order. If there is any money due on the land to the Irish Land Commission or the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland, the local authority has to inform these bodies of its intention to make the vesting order. If there is any charge due to the Revenue Commissioners on the death of any person who has an interest in the land, the local authority should inform the Revenue Commissioners of its plans. When the vesting order has been made, the local authority is responsible for paying the Irish Land Commission and the Commissioner of Public Works in Ireland whatever annuities or payments are due. Any money due to the Revenue Commissioners should be paid by the beneficiary of the deceased. Within two weeks of making the order, the local authority must publish a notice in the local newspaper, stating that a vesting order has been made and giving details of the land in question. It must also serve a notice on the owner or anyone who has an interest in the land stating that a vesting order has been made.
Compensation
If you have any right to or interest in land that has been compulsorily acquired by a local authority, you can apply to it for compensation within 12 months of the vesting. The local authority will then pay you an amount equal to the value (if any) of the land. The value of the land will be negotiated under the Acquisition of Land (Assessment of Compensation) Act, 1919. If there is any money due to the local authority on the property (in the form of a derelict sites levy or a court order for payment), the local authority can subtract this from the compensation. If the amount owed on the property is more that the compensation that has been agreed, no compensation will be paid.
Use of land acquired through compulsory purchase
Local authorities can use land they acquire through compulsory acquisition orders for any purpose connected with their powers and duties. If they no longer need the land or any part of it, they can sell, let, transfer or exchange it, subject to regulations under the Derelict Sites Act, 1990. Any money they get from the sale or lease of this land is used to carry out their powers and duties. It is common practice among local authorities to offer land acquired compulsorily to their housing departments for use in local authority housing projects. If the land is not wanted or required, it can be put up for public tender.
Offences under the Derelict Sites Act, 1990
Under this Act, it is an offence to:
Remove, damage or deface a notice posted by the local authority regarding a derelict site.
Fail to carry out the measures required by the local authority to prevent a property from being classed as derelict within an allotted time.
Fail to notify the local authority of the transfer of land or interest in land (other than by will or on an intestacy) from one person to another. Both parties must notify the local authority in writing within four weeks of the transfer.
Fail to notify the local authority of the transfer of land or interest in land by will or on an intestacy. The new owner must notify the local authority in writing within six months and the representative of the person under whose will or upon whose intestacy the transfer occurred must notify the local authority in writing within two months.
Prevent an authorised person from entering or carrying out authorised business on the derelict site.
Anyone who commits an offence under this Act can be prosecuted by the local authority in whose area the offence was committed.
On summary conviction for all offences: a fine not exceeding 1,270 euro, also a fine not exceeding 127 euro for every day on which the offence continues and not exceeding 1,270 euro in total. (This figure does not include the original fine of 1,270 euro for committing the offence in the first place). You could also be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not longer than six 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 31,750 euro, with a fine not exceeding 2,540 euro 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.
Offences under the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act, 1964
Under the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act, 1964, if is an offence to:
Obstruct a sanitary authority that is carrying out its duty under the Act.
Obstruct anyone attempting to comply with the Act.
On summary conviction for these offences: a fine not exceeding 63.50 euro.
Under the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act, it is an offence to:
Fail to carry out the measures required by the sanitary authority to prevent a structure or place from being classed as dangerous within an allotted time.
Fail to comply with an order of the District Court under the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act 1964
On summary conviction for these offences: a fine not exceeding 127 euro.
Under the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act, 1964, it is an offence to:
Fail to give information or knowingly give wrong information to the local authority about the ownership of a dangerous structure.
Obstruct an authorised officer of the local authority while he or she is exercising a power conferred by the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act, 1964.
On summary conviction for these offences: a fine not exceeding 12.70 euro.
Rates
Fines are payable to the local authority for non-compliance with statutory notices about derelict sites and dangerous structures. The derelict site levy is also payable to the local authority if the site is entered into the Derelict Sites Register. This levy amounts to 3% of the market value of the land concerned or in respect of any subsequent such year, such amount not exceeding 10%, as may stand prescribed for each urban area or if there is no such amount prescribed, 3% of the said market value. The local authority can recover the cost of necessary work on both derelict sites and dangerous structures from the owners.