Vacant Commercial Property - Rates

Some family members have a commercial property which has now become vacant. It is up for sale or rent for the last month or two. The business that was in the property had the rates paid up to the day that they left, I was of the opinion that once a premises was vacant and was up for sale or rent that they were no rates due on it (that you had to pay the rates and then claim them back), but I was told by the council that bacause the property was being used at the date that the rates bill was issued that the rates have to be paid for the full year - no refund.

Has anyone else come across this.

Please feel free to move if in wrong catagory

This is wrong. You are not liable for rates for a vacant commercial property for the year or part thereof. You must however pay the council for the full years and THEN seek a refund. That' the way it works unfortunately.

We just had a battle with the council over an empty unit which the city valuer said we hadn't made a bona-fide attempt to let and so they wanted to keep a full years rates for a unit that was empty! We appealed and the rates were refunded. The rate collector for the county even supported our claim-just make sure you have a sign up and have placed regular ads in the newspaper or have given it to an agent to let and keep the newspaper ads etc. as proof that you have been trying to let it.

Thats as I thought also but I just wanted to double check in case things had changed in the last few years, but when I asked about claiming the refund he said that because the premises was open/trading on 26th Feb 2009 that rates must be paid for the full year with no refund. I assume you have to wait until after the 31/12/2009 to claim refund (hopefully place will be rented out by then and then there won't be a need for a refund - we live in hope).

The premises has signs up on it for rent/sale with an auctioneer and he also has it on daft.ie

NHG said:

Thats as I thought also but I just wanted to double check in case things had changed in the last few years, but when I asked about claiming the refund he said that because the premises was open/trading on 26th Feb 2009 that rates must be paid for the full year with no refund. I assume you have to wait until after the 31/12/2009 to claim refund (hopefully place will be rented out by then and then there won't be a need for a refund - we live in hope).

The premises has signs up on it for rent/sale with an auctioneer and he also has it on daft.ie

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Yeah I believe you have to wait until year end to claim. You can always stall paying them until November/december-there's no interest/penalty applied even if it's late or accrues.