Living City Initiative closing date is extended to 31st December 2027.

The Living City initiative is a tax incentive that encourages people to live in historic inner-city areas.  It offers tax relief for money spent on:

• Refurbishing or converting homes for owner-occupiers or rental properties.
• Upgrading commercial properties, with accelerated tax allowances for refurbishment or conversion.

This scheme helps regenerate older city areas and supports creating more homes in established locations.  It allows you to claim tax relief for the money you spend on refurbishment or conversion of residential property either as income tax relief (for an owner-occupied residence) or capital allowance (for rented properties), see FAQ below. 

• The scheme is extended until 31st December 2027.
• It now covers residential properties build before 1975 in designated areas.
• A new tax relief will support converting "over the shop" spaces into homes.

The aim of the Living City initiative is to bring life back into the heart of the relevant cities by offering tax relief for qualifying expenditure incurred on the refurbishment or conversion of certain buildings where conditions are met.

Download - Kilkenny City Incentive Areas Map 2015.pdf (size 3.2 MB)

Living City Initiative FAQ 27th Jan 2017.pdf (size 472.7 KB)

Download - Special Regeneration Area MAP 1.pdf (size 1.8 MB)

Download - Special Regeneration Area MAP 2 .pdf (size 1.7 MB)

Download in Word format Residential Application Form - Living City.docx (size 1.1 MB)

Download in Adobe PDF format Residential Application Form - Living City.pdf (size 318.1 KB)

Residential element of the initiative

• The residential element of the Living City initiative provides for an income tax deduction for qualifying expenditure incurred on the refurbishment or conversion of a building for use as a dwelling over a ten year period.
• The building must have been constructed before 1915 and be located in a Special Regeneration Area of the city in question.
• The property must be occupied by the claimant as his / her sole or main residence in order to avail of the income tax relief.

Commercial element of the initiative

• The commercial element of the Living City initiative provides for capital allowances over a seven year period in respect of qualifying expenditure incurred on the refurbishment or conversion of a property located in a Special Regeneration Area for use for the purpose of retailing goods or the provision of services within the State.
• The amount of tax relief available under the commercial element of the initiative is effectively capped at €200,000 for any individual project.

The Special Regeneration Area (SRA's) of each city has been designated by Order of the Minister of Finance- see links above to Special Regeneration Area Maps.

For further information, please contact:
Conservation Officer,
Planning Section,
County Hall,
John St, Kilkenny

Telephone: 056-7794010

Email:livingcity@kilkennycoco.ie