Challenges to ‘land hoarding tax’ decisions have become moot, High Court told

High Court challenges to the imposition of Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) on certain undeveloped lands have become moot, lawyers for An Bord Pleanála have said.

The court on Tuesday heard that 25 judicial review actions were initiated over the planning appeals board’s endorsement of local council decisions to find that particular sites that are primed for residential development should be subject to the tax.

The levy, set at 3 per cent of a site’s value, was introduced in Budget 2022 in a bid to encourage “the use of land for building homes”.

The RZLT was due to apply to eligible lands from last February, but the Minister for Finance has delayed its activation by one year and directed local authorities to draw up a fresh list of sites for which it will apply.

An Bord Pleanála’s barrister, Conor Quinn, said 13 of the 25 cases remained before the court, but these are affected by a recent judgment dismissing a lead challenge by O’Flynn Construction Company over the…