Real property tax: welfare exemption: community land trusts

The law gives community land trusts more time to acquire, build, or rehabilitate permanently restricted affordable housing without property tax during the qualifying period. It also requires statewide tracking of the exemption’s results.

What the law does ​

• Extends the community land trust welfare-exemption program until January 1, 2032.
• Allows qualifying properties acquired from 2022 through 2031 to receive the exemption for the first five lien dates after acquisition, including before construction begins.
• Requires a community land trust to repay property taxes for exempt years if it does not begin development or rehabilitation within the required deadline.
• Requires community land trusts to provide assessors with data on exempt assessed value and housing units created.
• Requires county assessors to provide available data to the State Board of Equalization, which must report statewide results to the Legislature by January 1, 2031.
• Does not require the state to reimburse local agencies for property-tax revenue lost under the extension.

Who it affects ​

• Community land trusts developing or rehabilitating owner-occupied, cooperative, or rental affordable housing.
• Low- and moderate-income households eligible for owner-occupied housing and low-income households eligible for rental housing.
• County assessors administering exemptions and reporting program data.