Are you exempt from the household charge?

Homeowners throughout Ireland have until March 31st to register for the controversial new household charge.

However, you could be entitled to a waiver and not even know it with houses in certain unfinished housing estates exempt from the €100 charge.

Homes on two categories of estates will qualify for a Household Charge waiver in 2012. Category 3 unfinished estates – where a receiver has not been appointed and the developer is still in place but is effectively inactive;

Category 4 unfinished estates – where the development has been effectively abandoned and is posing serious problems for residents.

There are about 1,325 unfinished estates in category 3 and 4 that are to be granted a waiver from the Household Charge. It is estimated that there could be as many as 73,000 completed houses and apartments on these unfinished estates. Owners of these houses will not have to pay the household charge (in 2012 at least).

Note: – owners of homes on these estates are supposed to register for the Household Charge onwww.householdcharge.ie and claim the waiver for 2012.

The full lists of unfinished estates in the various counties to be granted a waiver can be found below. These are all the category 3 and 4 unfinished estates.

Carlow County Council

Cavan County Council

Clare County Council

Cork City Council

Cork County Council

Donegal County Council

Dublin City Council

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council

Fingal County Council

Galway City Council

Galway County Council

Kerry County Council

Kildare County Council

Kilkenny County Council

Laois County Council

Leitrim County Council

Limerick City Council

Limerick County Council

Longford County Council

Louth County Council

Mayo County Council

Meath County Council

Monaghan County Council

North Tipperary County Council

Offaly County Council

Roscommon County Council

Sligo County Council

South Tipperary County Council

Waterford City Council

Waterford County Council

Westmeath County Council

Wexford County Council

Wicklow County Council

South Dublin Council say that there are no category 3 or 4 unfinished estates in South County Dublin Council area.

Residents nationwide in the following types of unfinished estates will have to pay the Household Charge:

Category 1: where the developer is still actively completing the development.

Category 2: where a receiver has been appointed.

The household charge website states that if anyone has a query in relation to the estates which qualify for the waiver, they need to contact the Planning and Housing Policy Section of the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government on one of the following phone numbers:

(053) 911 7398; (053) 911 7402; (053) 911 7397; (053) 911 7399