Homeowners may be faced with shock €5,000 bill

Date Published: 14-Feb-2013

BY ENDA CUNNINGHAM

More than 260 homeowners in the city could be billed for almost €5,000 each by the local authority in estates where builders have failed to pay development contributions, a Galway City Tribune investigation has found.

The City Council is owed in the region of €1.25 million in unpaid levies on residential units. It is expected that the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government will instruct all local authorities in the country to pursue homeowners for the fees, where they have been unpaid by developers.

The levies – which are charged by local authorities towards the cost of providing services such as lighting and sewerage – traditionally had to be paid prior to a house or apartment being occupied.

The system changed in 2003/4 when the levies then had to be paid prior to construction commencing. It has not yet been determined if the Government will instruct councils to pursue the units which fall under the ‘prior to occupation’ or ‘prior to commencement’ stipulations, or target both.

In Galway City, this newspaper is aware of several developers who still owe large sums of money on a total of 266 houses and apartments. The figure totals €1,247,792.

That means that the owners of each of the homes could be liable for an average of €4,700 each.

The crux comes about because of a decision by Wicklow County Council to bill residents of an estate built 10 years ago for levies that should have been paid by the developer.

It is believed that if a precedent is set in Wicklow, the Department will instruct all local authorities to follow suit.

A spokesperson for Galway City Council said the matter is “up in the air”. “The development levy is on the house, and it can carry forward. It’s a case of ‘caveat emptor’ in a way. If you buy a house from a developer, one of the things your solicitor should make sure of is that everything is in check.

"Some people may have proceeded without the levy having been paid. We continue to pursue developers for levies,” the spokesperson said.

The homes which may fall liable for the levies – which are mainly in the Doughiska area – include houses, townhouses and apartments. The Doughiska units include Fionnuisce and Maigh Rua which were developed by Stephen Harris and Harrmack (on which more than €1m is outstanding).

For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.