Local Property Tax and Remortgaging: What Lenders Check
28 April 2026 · Mary Molloy Solicitors
Local Property Tax is the smallest number in most remortgages and one of the easiest ways to create a delay. Unpaid LPT is a statutory charge on the property — automatically, without registration — so no lender will complete against an untidy LPT record, and no solicitor can certify title over one.
Why a tax bill touches your title
The LPT legislation makes unpaid tax and accrued interest a charge on the property that binds successors and outranks tidiness generally. The remortgage due diligence therefore includes confirming the LPT position: that returns were filed for the property, the valuation band history is in order, and payments are current. Deferred LPT — the statutory deferral for qualifying owners — remains a charge too, and must be disclosed and dealt with in the transaction.
What getting it straight looks like
Almost everything lives in Revenue's online LPT system: your property ID, the payment history, and the facility to bring anything outstanding current in minutes. The friction cases are inherited properties where returns lapsed during an administration, properties with disputed valuation band histories, and owners who cannot locate their property ID — each solvable, each better solved the week you decide to remortgage.
The older cousins: NPPR and household charge
On non-principal residences, lenders' checklists sometimes still raise the historic NPPR charge (2009 to 2013) and the 2012 household charge. These charges carry statutory expiry periods and much of their practical bite has timed out, but where a lender asks, a certificate of discharge or exemption from the local authority answers it. If your property was ever a rental or second home in those years, mention it early so the certificate can be ordered without drama. On any substantive tax question — LPT bands, deferral eligibility, arrears — your accountant or Revenue is the right adviser; our role is making the title side clean.
Read more in our main guide: Title Issues That Delay Remortgages · or back to the blog.
This page contains general information about Irish law and practice. It is not legal advice, it may not reflect your circumstances, and reading it does not create a solicitor–client relationship with Mary Molloy Solicitors. We do not advise on taxation; please speak to your accountant or Revenue. In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.