Property tax exemption for affordable housing rental projects

A. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires: "Affordable housing rental project" means real property used for housing which is subject to an enforceable federal, state, or county government regulatory agreement which restricts the property's use to renting to tenants within the very low income, low income, below-moderate income and moderate income groups as defined in chapter 2.96 of this code. B. Owners of affordable housing rental projects may apply to the director for a property tax exemption under this section. The director will prescribe the form of the application. C. If any portion of the property, which might otherwise be exempted under this section, is used for commercial or other purposes not within the conditions necessary for exemption, that portion of the real property shall not be exempt but the remaining portion of the real property shall not be deprived of the exemption if the remaining portion is used exclusively for purposes within the conditions necessary for exemption. In the event of an exemption of a portion of a building, the tax shall be assessed upon so much of the value of the building, including the land thereunder and the appurtenant premises, as the proportion of the floor space of the nonexempt portion bears to the total floor space of the building(s). D. Notwithstanding any provision in this chapter to the contrary, real property exempt from property taxes under this section shall be exempt from property taxes from the date the property is qualified for the exemption; provided, that a claim for exemption is filed with the director within sixty days of the qualification. As used in this section, the date of the qualification shall be the date when the regulatory agreement which restricts the property's use to the exempt purpose is recorded with the registrar of the bureau of conveyances or the assistant registrar of the land court of the state, whichever is applicable. F. After the initial year of qualification, the claim for exemption shall be filed annually on or before December 31 immediately preceding the tax year for which the exemption is claimed. ( Ord. No. 5156 , § 3, 2020)