Talsi Municipality will raise the real estate tax from next year on homes in which no person is declared as a resident. Madara Brāle, head of the municipality’s public relations department, informed the LETA news agency.
This week the Talsi council approved new binding rules on how the tax is applied. They set the rates, cover residential outbuildings larger than 25 square metres, and fix the deadline for enforced collection of payment notices. Land treated as belonging to a building is the whole unit that has a cadastral designation, and no more than two hectares.
The main change is a higher rate for houses where, on 1 January of the tax year, nobody is registered. The municipality says the aim is to encourage responsible use of property and declaration of residence in Talsi, and to prompt owners to keep homes in usable condition as places to live. Houses with no declared residents are not used as permanent homes, so the municipality does not receive the personal income tax linked to registration. It also says such properties are often poorly maintained, which harms the surroundings and quality of life, and describes as socially unfair a situation in which the burden on lived-in homes is proportionally lower than on unused ones.
The higher rate is expected to add budget income for infrastructure, education, social care and other public services. A 1.5% rate will apply to the residential part of an apartment property, including its share of common space, and to houses of one, two or more apartments, when nobody is declared there on 1 January of the tax year.
The higher rate will not apply to properties on land for which an area payment for farming has been requested from the Rural Support Service, if the owner or legal holder has submitted an application to the municipality. The council says farmhouses are often used for seasonal work, supervision and running the holding even when nobody is registered. The exception is also meant to preserve the farmstead landscape typical of Talsi: farmland is often acquired or used together with old buildings, and a higher tax could lead owners to abandon or demolish them and lose that rural pattern of building.
Buildings that degrade the environment, have collapsed, or threaten safety will be taxed at 3% of the cadastral value of the attached land or of the building. A 3% rate on the higher fiscal cadastral value will also apply to buildings whose construction has exceeded the total period set by law. The rules are due to take effect on 1 January 2027, while the 3% charge for overdue construction is planned from 1 January 2028. They still need agreement from the Ministry of Smart Administration and Regional Development and, after that, publication in Latvijas Vēstnesis.