Living City Initiative (LCI)

Conditions for claiming and use of the property

Conditions for claiming

There are some common conditions for claiming all three reliefs under the Living City Initiative (LCI). These are:

• your property must be located within a Special Regeneration Area (SRA)
• the work must be carried out during the qualifying period
• and
• your refurbishment or conversion expenses must be above €5,000.

Owner-Occupier Residential Relief

Specific conditions for claiming:

• Your property must have been built before 1915.
• You must have a Letter of Certification from your Local Authority for the property.
• You must be the first occupier after the work has been completed.
• and
• The property must be your sole, or main, residence.

You can make your first claim for relief after the work has been completed.  You must be using the property as your main residence before you can claim.  If your first use of the property is not as your main residence, you cannot claim the relief. You can claim the relief over a period of ten consecutive years only.  This ten-year period starts in the year you first use the property as your main residence after refurbishment or conversion.

If you move, but do not sell the property within the ten year period, this can affect your claim. You can claim the relief for the year you moved provided it was your main residence during that year. You can claim relief for the year you moved back provided it is within the ten years and it is your main residence.

If you die during the ten-year period, the relief does not pass to another person. The relief cannot form part of an inheritance. There is no claw-back of relief that has already been given.

Selling a property within the ten-year period

If you sell the property within the ten-year period, your Owner-Occupier Relief will not be clawed back. You cannot claim any more relief from the time that the property stops being your sole or main residence. However, you can claim the relief for the year you sold provided it was your main residence during that year.

Only the first owner-occupier of a property can claim relief after it has been converted or refurbished. If you are the second, or further, owner of a qualifying property, you cannot claim any relief.

Rented Residential Relief

Specific conditions for claiming:

• Your property must have been originally built before 1915.
• Your property must be rented out, after refurbishment or conversion, to be used as a home by the tenant.
• and
• You must have a Letter of Certification from your Local Authority.

Commercial Relief

The property must be used, after refurbishment or conversion, either:

• for retail purposes
• for the provision of services within Ireland
• or
• rented out on commercial terms for the purposes above.

Grants

You may be entitled to a grant or money towards the cost of refurbishing or converting your property. If you are, this will affect the amount you can claim under the LCI.

Owner-Occupier Residential Relief

When calculating the qualifying costs to claim the LCI, you must deduct any grants or money you receive, or can receive, from:

• the State
• any board established by law
• or
• any public authority.

Rented Residential Relief and Commercial Relief

When calculating the qualifying costs, you must reduce your LCI claim by three times the amount of the grant you received, or will receive.

Next: Rented Residential Relief and Commercial Relief