The Rates (Payments by Owners by Agreement) (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2011
Under Article 21(1) of the Rates (Northern Ireland) Order 1977 the owner of any hereditament the rent of which becomes payable or is collected at intervals shorter that quarterly may by agreement in writing with the Department of Finance and Personnel (“the Department”) undertake to pay the rates chargeable in respect of the hereditament whether it is occupied or not. The Department may agree, where the owner so undertakes and pays over to the Department on or before the date or dates specified in the agreement the amounts payable by him thereunder, to make an allowance not exceeding 15 per cent. This Order reduces the maximum amount of that allowance to 12.5 per cent. (Article 2(1)). It also provides that for any allowance specified in an existing Article 21(1) agreement in respect of a hereditament owned by—a housing association, there shall be substituted an allowance of 10 per cent. (Article 2(2)(a));a person or body other than a housing association or the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, there shall be substituted an allowance of 12.5 per cent. (Article 2(2)(b)).