Living City Initiative: Tax Relief for Historic Buildings

The Living City Initiative offers tax relief for owners who refurbish or convert buildings built before 1915 in designated regeneration areas of Ireland's six cities — Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford and Kilkenny.

What is the Living City Initiative?

The Living City Initiative is a scheme designed to encourage people to refurbish older buildings and bring life back into historic urban areas. It gives tax relief on qualifying expenditure on the refurbishment or conversion of pre-1915 buildings in specific 'Special Regeneration Areas'.

Who qualifies?

• The building must have been built before 1915.
• It must be located in a Special Regeneration Area in one of the six designated cities.
• The work must be genuine refurbishment or conversion, not routine maintenance.
• You must own the property and carry out qualifying expenditure.

How the relief works

• Owner-occupiers can claim income tax relief on qualifying expenditure, spread over ten years.
• Landlords of rented residential and commercial property can claim capital allowances on qualifying expenditure.
• The relief is claimed on your annual tax return, and the property must be retained for a number of years.

If you are refurbishing an older property and think you might qualify, talk to Bradán Accountants before you start — we will confirm whether your project is eligible and maximise the relief.

Sources

• Revenue.ie – Living City Initiative