Mepa fees up, aimed at raising extra €6m

Fees for building applications have been raised as from the middle of this month, with the planning authority charging developers by the square metre rather than the standard fixed fees that have been in place for the past 17 years.

The new fees are aimed at helping the authority become more financially self-sufficient and collect an extra €6 million annually which, so far, it has received in government subsidies.

Under the old building levies, one apartment – of any size — cost a standard rate of €162.79. Now, developers will be charged €1.24 per square metre, which would add up to €186 for 150 square metres of floor space.

An application for a detached villa used to cost €2,300 per unit but will now be charged €7.29 per square metre – adding up to €2,916 for a 400-square metre property, for instance.

Similarly, filing an application to change a commercial area to a residential unit will no longer cost €162.79 as the new fee has shot up to €595.

The new fees, published yesterday, will come into force on July 16 through a legal notice and fulfil a government promise made in Budget 2010 to make the agency self-financing.

Between 2005 and 2010, the planning authority received around €45 million in government subsidies, it said in a statement yesterday.

“This meant that part of the country’s taxes were subsidising those who used the planning authority’s services,” the authority said.

Since the new rates were calculated on the size of the development and also distinguished between the different types of development, it would “help people pay for what they can afford.

“In fact, the rates per square metre for apartments are cheaper than the rates for villas, bungalows and penthouses,” the authority said.

The new rates can easily be paid online when filing the application – something which was not possible with the previous billing system, it added.