The Florida Senate

¹193.803  Assessment of eligible rental property used for workforce and affordable housing; classification.--

(1)  Upon the property owner's application on a form prescribed by the Department of Revenue, the property appraiser shall annually classify for assessment purposes all eligible property used for workforce rental housing or affordable rental housing. Eligibility shall be as provided in this section.

(2)  A property owner whose eligible property is denied classification as workforce rental housing or affordable rental housing by the property appraiser may appeal to the value adjustment board. The property appraiser shall notify the property owner in writing of the denial of the workforce rental housing or affordable rental housing classification on or before July 1 of the year for which the application was filed. The written notification must advise the property owner of his or her right to appeal the denial of classification to the value adjustment board and must contain the deadline for filing an appeal. The property appraiser shall have available at his or her office a list, by property owner, of all applications for classification received, and the list must identify whether or not the classification requested was granted.

(3)(a)  Eligible property may not be classified as workforce rental housing or affordable rental housing unless an application is filed on or before March 1 of each year. Before approving a classification, the property appraiser may require the property owner to furnish such information as may reasonably be required to establish that the property was actually used as required by this section. Failure by a property owner to apply for classification of eligible property as workforce rental housing or affordable rental housing by March 1 constitutes a 1-year waiver of the privilege granted under this section for workforce rental housing assessment or affordable rental housing assessment. However, a property owner who is qualified to receive a workforce rental housing classification or an affordable rental housing classification but who fails to file an application by March 1, may file an application for the classification and may file, under s. 194.011(3), a petition with the value adjustment board requesting that the classification be granted. The petition may be filed at any time during the taxable year on or before the 25th day following the mailing of the assessment notice by the property appraiser as required under s. 194.011(1). Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 194.013, the applicant must pay a nonrefundable fee of $15 upon filing the petition. Upon review of the petition, if the person is qualified to receive the classification and demonstrates particular extenuating circumstances judged by the property appraiser or the value adjustment board to warrant granting the classification, the property appraiser or the value adjustment board may grant the classification. An owner of property classified as workforce rental housing or affordable rental housing in the previous tax year whose ownership or use has not changed may reapply on a short form prescribed by the department. A county may, at the request of the property appraiser and by a majority vote of its governing body, waive the requirement that an annual application or statement be made for the renewal of the classification of property within the county as workforce rental housing or affordable rental housing after an initial classification is granted by the property appraiser. Such waiver may be revoked by a majority vote of the governing body of the county. Notwithstanding such waiver, an application must be refiled when any property granted the classification is sold or otherwise disposed of, when the ownership changes in any manner, when the applicant ceases to use the property as workforce rental housing or affordable rental housing, or when the status of the owner changes so as to change the classified status of the property.

(b)  For purposes of granting a workforce rental housing or affordable rental housing classification for January 1, 2008, only, the term "extenuating circumstances" as used in paragraph (a) includes the failure of the property owner to return the application for classification by March 1, 2008.

(4)  The following types of property are eligible to be classified by a property appraiser as workforce rental housing or affordable rental housing property, and shall be assessed based upon their character and use and as further described in this section:

(a)  Property that is funded and rent restricted by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development under s. 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 and that provides affordable housing for eligible persons as defined by s. 159.603 or the elderly, extremely-low-income persons, or very-low-income persons as specified in s. 420.0004

(b)  Rental property for multifamily housing, commercial fishing workers and farmworkers, families, persons who are homeless, or the elderly which is funded and rent restricted by the Florida Housing Finance Corporation under s. 420.5087, s. 420.5089, s. 420.509, or s. 420.5095, the State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program under s. 420.9072, s. 420.9075, or s. 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 26 U.S.C. s. 42; the HOME Investment Partnership Program under the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. ss. 12741 et seq.; or the Federal Home Loan Bank's Affordable Housing Program established pursuant to the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989, Pub. L. No. 101-73.

(c)  Multifamily residential rental property of 10 or more units which is certified by the local public housing agency as having 100 percent of its units used to provide affordable housing for extremely-low-income persons, very-low-income persons, low-income persons, or moderate-income persons as specified in s. 420.0004 and which is subject to a land use agreement or other agreement that is recorded in the official records of the county in which the property is located and which recorded agreement restricts the use of the property to affordable housing for a period of at least 20 years.

(5)  The property appraiser shall remove from the classification of workforce rental housing or affordable rental housing any properties for which the classified use has been abandoned or discontinued, the property has been diverted to another use, or the participation in and eligibility for the programs specified in this section has been terminated. Such removed property shall be assessed at just value under s. 193.011

(6)  In years in which the proper application for classification as workforce rental housing or affordable rental housing has been made and granted, the assessment of such property shall be based upon its use as workforce rental housing or affordable rental housing and by applying the following methodologies, subject to the provisions of subsection (7):

(a)  Property used for workforce rental housing or affordable rental housing as described in subsection (4) shall be assessed under the income approach using the actual net operating income.

(b)  Property used for workforce rental housing and affordable rental housing which has received low-income housing tax credits from the Florida Housing Finance Corporation under s. 420.5099 shall be assessed under the income approach using the actual net operating income and the following applies:

1.  The tax credits granted and the financing generated by the tax credits may not be considered as income.

2.  The actual rental income from rent-restricted units in such property shall be used by the property appraiser.

3.  Any costs paid with the tax credits and costs paid with the proceeds from additional financing under chapter 420 may not be included as income.

(7)  By April 1 of each year, the property owner must provide the property appraiser with a return on a form and in a manner prescribed by the Department of Revenue which includes a rent roll and an income and expense statement for the preceding year. After a review of the rent roll and the income and expense statement, the property appraiser may request additional information from the property owner as may be reasonably required to consider the methodologies in subsection (6). Failure to timely provide the property appraiser with the requested information, including failure to meet any extension that may be granted for the submission of information, shall result in an estimated assessment based on the best available information instead of an assessment based on the methodologies provided in subsection (6). Such assessment shall be deemed to be prima facie correct and may be included on the tax roll, and taxes may be extended on the tax roll in the same manner as for all other taxes.

(8)  It is the duty of the owner of any property used for workforce rental housing or affordable rental housing that has been granted the classification for assessment under this section who is not required to file an annual application or statement to notify the property appraiser promptly whenever the use of the property, or the status or condition of the owner, changes so as to change the classified status of the property. If any property owner fails to so notify the property appraiser and the property appraiser determines that for any year within the prior 10 years the owner was not entitled to receive such classification, the owner of the property is subject to the taxes otherwise due and owing as a result of such failure plus 15 percent interest per annum and a penalty of 50 percent of the additional taxes owed. It is the duty of the property appraiser making such determination to record in the public records of the county in which the rental property is located a notice of tax lien against any property owned by that person or entity in the county, and such property must be identified in the notice of tax lien. Such property is subject to the payment of all taxes and penalties. Such lien, when filed, attaches to any property identified in the notice of tax lien owned by the person or entity that illegally or improperly received the classification. If such person or entity no longer owns property in that county but owns property in another county or counties in the state, the property appraiser shall record in such other county or counties a notice of tax lien identifying the property owned by such person or entity in such county or counties which becomes a lien against the identified property.

History.--s. 20, ch. 2007-321.

¹Note.--Section 34, ch. 2007-321, provides that "[e]xcept as otherwise expressly provided in this act, this act and section 33 of this act shall take effect [June 21, 2007], sections 13 through 32 of this act shall take effect only upon the effective date of amendments to the State Constitution contained in Senate Joint Resolution 4B or House Joint Resolution 3B revising the homestead tax exemption and providing an exemption from ad valorem taxation for tangible personal property and property used for workforce and affordable rental housing, and sections 13 through 32 of this act shall apply retroactively to the 2008 tax roll if the amendments to the State Constitution contained in Senate Joint Resolution 4B or House Joint Resolution 3B are approved in a special election held on January 29, 2008, or shall apply to the 2009 tax roll if the amendments to the State Constitution contained in Senate Joint Resolution 4B or House Joint Resolution 3B are approved in the general election held in November of 2008."