Talsi Municipality Adopts New Property Tax Rules With Higher Rate for Unregistered Homes
The Talsi Municipality council approved binding regulations on 14 October that set a 1.5% property tax rate for homes with no declared residents at the start of the tax year. The rules take effect on 1 January 2027.
The council of Talsi Municipality in Latvia approved new binding regulations on property tax at its 14 October meeting. The main change is a higher property tax rate for homes in which no person is declared as a resident on 1 January of the tax year. The rules take effect on 1 January 2027 and will affect owners whose houses are not used as a place of residence.
What the rules cover
The regulations set how property tax rates apply in the municipality, how ancillary buildings of residential houses larger than 25 square metres are taxed, and the deadline for compulsory enforcement of tax payment notices. Land belonging to a building is defined as the entire land unit with a cadastral designation in the national cadastre system, up to a maximum of 2 hectares.
The 1.5% rate applies to the residential part of an apartment property, the common areas belonging to it, and to single-, two- or multi-apartment houses, if no person is declared there at 00:00 on 1 January of the tax year.
The municipality's reasoning
The local government says the aim is to encourage responsible use of property and residents' registration of their place of residence in the municipality. In its view, houses with no declared residents are not used as permanent homes, so the municipality does not receive personal income tax revenue linked to registration. Such properties are often poorly maintained, and the extra revenue is intended for infrastructure, education and social services.
Exemptions
The higher rate does not apply to objects registered on land for which an area payment for farming has been requested from the Rural Support Service, provided the owner or legal possessor has submitted an application to the municipality. The municipality explains that homes on farms are often tied to active agricultural work, and the exemption is meant to preserve the rural landscape of farmsteads typical of the area.
The 3% rate
A structure that degrades the environment, is dilapidated or endangers people's safety is taxed at 3% of the cadastral value of the land belonging to it or of the structure, whichever is higher. The same rate is set for buildings where the total construction period set by law has been exceeded; it will apply from 1 January 2028.
The regulations still need to be coordinated with the Ministry of Smart Administration and Regional Development and then published in the official gazette Latvijas Vēstnesis.
