Living City Initiative (LCI)

Owner-Occupier Residential Relief

Owner-Occupier Residential Relief is for individuals who:

convert or refurbish a property in a Special Regeneration Area (SRA) during the qualifying period
and
occupy the property as their main residence when the works are completed.

Conditions for Owner-Occupier Residential Relief

To qualify, all of the following must apply:

The property must be in an SRA.
The property must have been built before 1975 (prior to 1 January 2026 the property age requirement was pre-1915).
You must have a Letter of Certification from the local authority.
You must be the first occupier of the property after the refurbishment or conversion.
The property must be your only or main residence.
conversion or refurbishment expenses must exceed €5,000.

How to make a claim

You can claim relief in the year you first occupy the property after works are completed by filing:

Form 12 on MyAccount (if you are a PAYE worker).
Form 11 on ROS (if you are self-assessed).

Rate of relief

The rate of relief depends on the year you first occupy the property.

For qualifying expenditure:

before 2023:
- relief is an Income Tax deduction of 10% of the qualifying expenditure each year for 10 years.
- and
- unused amounts are not carried forward.
from 2023 onwards:
- relief is given over 7 years as an Income Tax deduction of:
  - 15% of the qualifying expenditure in each of the first 6 years
  - and
  - 10% in year 7.
- unused amounts can be carried forward and used in later years for up to 10 years.

Following completion of works

You must live in the property as your only, or main, residence before you can claim relief.

Grants

You may be entitled to a grant towards the cost of refurbishing or converting the property. When calculating the amount of relief you, must subtract the amount of grant received, or receivable, from qualifying costs.

Selling the property within the ten-year period

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

Qualifying period

The qualifying period is the start date of the LCI Scheme, or the start date of the SRA. The qualifying periods for Owner-Occupier Residential Relief started on: