5. (1) In this Part, a site is a vacant site if—

(a) in the case of a site consisting of residential land—

(i) the site is situated in an area in which there is a need for housing,

(ii) the site is suitable for the provision of housing, and

F2[(iii) the site, or the majority of the site is—

(I) vacant or idle, or

(II) being used for a purpose that does not consist solely or primarily of the provision of housing or the development of the site for the purpose of such provision, provided that the most recent purchase of the site occurred—

(A) after it became residential land, and

(B) before, on or after the commencement of section 63 of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2018.]

and

(b) in the case of a site consisting of regeneration land—

(i) the site, or the majority of the site, is vacant or idle, and

(ii) the site being vacant or idle has adverse effects on existing amenities or reduces the amenity provided by existing public infrastructure and facilities (within the meaning of section 48 of the Act of 2000) in the area in which the site is situated or has adverse affects on the character of the area.

(2) In this section—

“site” means any area of land exceeding 0.05 hectares identified by a planning authority in its functional area but does not include any structure that is a person’s home;

“home”, in relation to a person, means a dwelling in which the person ordinarily resides (notwithstanding any periods during which the dwelling is vacant) and includes any garden or portion of ground attached to and usually occupied with the dwelling or otherwise required for the amenity or convenience of the dwelling.