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Florida Senate - 2025 CS for SB 1512 By the Committee on Finance and Tax; and Senator Avila 593-03609-25 20251512c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to a property tax exemption and 3 assessment limitation on long-term leased property; 4 creating s. 193.1553, F.S.; providing that property 5 that receives a certain tax exemption shall be 6 assessed in a specified manner; providing that 7 changes, additions, and improvements to such 8 properties shall be assessed in a specified manner; 9 providing exceptions and alternative assessments; 10 providing construction; requiring property that no 11 longer meets eligibility requirements to be assessed 12 in an alternative manner; amending s. 196.011, F.S.; 13 requiring the submission of an application containing 14 specified information before receiving a specified tax 15 exemption; amending s. 196.034, F.S.; providing 16 specified tax exemptions for property that meets 17 certain eligibility requirements; providing that 18 certain damaged or destroyed property is eligible for 19 the exemption if specified conditions are met; 20 providing that if such conditions are not met, such 21 property shall be considered abandoned for a specified 22 purpose; amending ss. 193.1554 and 194.032, F.S.; 23 conforming provisions to changes made by the act; 24 providing a contingent effective date. 25 26 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 27 28 Section 1.Section 193.1553, Florida Statutes, is created 29 to read: 30 193.1553Assessment of certain residential property subject 31 to a long-term lease. 32 (1)Property that receives the exemption under s. 196.034 33 shall be assessed under this section. 34 (2)Except as provided in subsection (4), property that 35 meets the conditions of subsection (1) shall be assessed 36 pursuant to this section as of January 1 of any year for which 37 the property is eligible for assessment under this section, 38 using the prior years assessed value as the basis for any 39 change in assessment. Any change resulting from such assessment 40 shall not exceed the lower of the following: 41 (a)Three percent of the assessed value of the property for 42 the prior year; or 43 (b)The percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for 44 All Urban Consumers, U.S. City Average, all items 1967=100, or 45 successor reports for the preceding calendar year as initially 46 reported by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of 47 Labor Statistics. 48 (3)If the assessed value of the property as calculated 49 under subsection (2) exceeds the just value, the assessed value 50 of the property shall be lowered to the just value of the 51 property. 52 (4)Property assessed under this section shall be assessed 53 at just value as of January 1 of the year following a change of 54 ownership, or as of January 1 of the year following abandonment 55 of homestead on a property that becomes eligible for assessment 56 under this section, but no sooner than the January 1 following 57 the certification to the property appraiser required by s. 58 193.155(8)(i)2. Thereafter, the annual changes in the assessed 59 value of the property are subject to the limitations in 60 subsections (2) and (3). For purposes of this subsection, the 61 term change of ownership means any sale, foreclosure, or 62 transfer of legal title or beneficial title in equity to any 63 person, except if any of the provisions of s. 193.155(3)(a) 64 apply. 65 (5)(a)Except as provided in paragraph (b) and s. 193.624, 66 changes, additions, or improvements to property subject to this 67 section shall be assessed at just value as of the first January 68 1 after the changes, additions, or improvements are 69 substantially completed. 70 (b)1.Changes, additions, or improvements that replace all 71 or a portion of property assessed under this section, including 72 ancillary improvements, that are damaged or destroyed by 73 misfortune or calamity shall be assessed upon substantial 74 completion as provided in this paragraph. Such assessment must 75 be calculated using the propertys assessed value as of the 76 January 1 immediately before the date on which the damage or 77 destruction was sustained, subject to the assessment limitations 78 in subsections (2) and (3), when: 79 a.The square footage of the property as changed or 80 improved does not exceed 110 percent of the square footage of 81 the property before the damage or destruction; or 82 b.The total square footage of the property as changed or 83 improved does not exceed 1,500 square feet. 84 2.The propertys assessed value must be increased by the 85 just value of that portion of the changed or improved property 86 which is in excess of 110 percent of the square footage of the 87 property before the damage or destruction or of that portion 88 exceeding 1,500 square feet. 89 3.Property damaged or destroyed by misfortune or calamity 90 which, after being changed or improved, has a square footage of 91 less than 100 percent of the propertys total square footage 92 before the damage or destruction shall be assessed pursuant to 93 subsection (6). 94 4.Changes, additions, or improvements assessed pursuant to 95 this paragraph must be reassessed pursuant to subsection (2) in 96 subsequent years. This paragraph applies to changes, additions, 97 or improvements commenced within 5 years after the January 1 98 following the damage or destruction of the property. 99 (c)Changes, additions, or improvements include 100 improvements made to common areas or other improvements made to 101 property other than to the property by the owner or by an owner 102 association, which improvements directly benefit the property. 103 Such changes, additions, or improvements shall be assessed at 104 just value, and the just value shall be apportioned among the 105 parcels benefiting from the improvement. 106 (6)When property is destroyed or removed and not replaced, 107 the assessed value of the parcel shall be reduced by the 108 assessed value attributable to the destroyed or removed 109 property. 110 (7)Only property that meets the conditions of subsection 111 (1) is subject to this section. Any portion of property that is 112 assessed solely on the basis of character or use pursuant to s. 113 193.461 or s. 193.501, or assessed pursuant to s. 193.505, is 114 not subject to this section. 115 (8)(a)If, after meeting the conditions of subsection (1) 116 and receiving the benefit of the assessment limitation in 117 subsections (2) and (3), the property does not meet the 118 conditions of subsection (1) on January 1 of any subsequent 119 year, the property shall instead be assessed pursuant to s. 120 193.155(1) and (2) or s. 193.1554(3) and (4), as applicable, 121 beginning with such year. 122 1.Any change in assessment in the first year the property 123 is assessed pursuant to s. 193.1554 shall use the most recent 124 years assessed value under this section as the basis for 125 adjustment, and may not revert to just value, unless such 126 property experiences a change of ownership or control as 127 provided in s. 193.1554. 128 2.Any change in assessment in the first year the property 129 is assessed pursuant to s. 193.155 shall use the just value of 130 the property, as adjusted pursuant to s. 193.155(8), if 131 applicable. 132 (b)1.If the property meets the conditions of subsection 133 (1) on January 1 of a subsequent year, this section shall apply 134 beginning with such year, and the application of the limitation 135 in subsection (2) shall use the most recent years assessed 136 value as the basis for adjustment if the property was assessed 137 in the most recent year pursuant to s. 193.1554. 138 2.If the property meets the conditions of subsection (1) 139 on January 1 of a subsequent year and the property was assessed 140 as the homestead of the owner in the prior year pursuant to s. 141 193.155, then the application of the limitation in subsection 142 (2) shall use the just value of the property, rather than the 143 prior years assessment, for the first years assessment 144 limitation in subsection (2). A property that was abandoned as a 145 homestead is only eligible under this section if the property 146 appraiser in the county in which the abandoned homestead 147 property is located provides the certification to the property 148 appraiser in the county in which the new homestead is located as 149 required by s. 193.155(8)(i)2., stating that the property has 150 been or will be reassessed at just value. 151 Section 2.Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 152 196.011, Florida Statutes, is amended, and subsection (14) is 153 added to that section, to read: 154 196.011Annual application required for exemption. 155 (1) 156 (b)The form to apply for an exemption under s. 196.031, s. 157 196.034, s. 196.081, s. 196.091, s. 196.101, s. 196.102, s. 158 196.173, or s. 196.202 must include a space for the applicant to 159 list the social security number of the applicant and of the 160 applicants spouse, if any. If an applicant files a timely and 161 otherwise complete application, and omits the required social 162 security numbers, the application is incomplete. In that event, 163 the property appraiser shall contact the applicant, who may 164 refile a complete application by April 1. Failure to file a 165 complete application by that date constitutes a waiver of the 166 exemption privilege for that year, except as provided in 167 subsection (7) or subsection (9). 168 (14)Notwithstanding paragraph (7)(a), an applicant who is 169 eligible to receive an exemption under s. 196.034 must file an 170 application each year by March 1. Such application must include 171 the address of the property at which the owner currently 172 receives a homestead exemption, and an executed copy of the 173 lease for the property to be exempted under s. 196.034. 174 Section 3.Section 196.034, Florida Statutes, is created to 175 read: 176 196.034Exemption of certain residential property subject 177 to a long-term lease. 178 (1)(a)Property that meets the following conditions is 179 entitled to an exemption from all taxation up to the assessed 180 valuation of $25,000: 181 1.The owner of the property holds the legal or equitable 182 title to a separate parcel that receives the exemption under s. 183 196.031 and such parcel is his or her permanent residence. 184 2.As of January 1 of the taxable year, the property is 185 rented by the owner to one or more persons for residential use 186 under a bona fide written lease that has a duration of 6 months 187 or more. 188 3.The property would otherwise qualify for a homestead 189 exemption under s. 196.031 if the property were the owners 190 primary residence. 191 4.The property is not eligible for assessment under s. 192 193.1555. 193 5.The property is classified under s. 195.073(1)(a)1., 2., 194 or 4. 195 (b)A person is entitled to the exemption provided by this 196 section on one separate parcel of real estate. 197 (c)Every property that qualifies to receive the exemption 198 provided in paragraph (a) is entitled to an additional exemption 199 of up to $25,000 on the assessed valuation greater than $50,000 200 for all levies other than school district levies. 201 (d)Any property that does not meet the conditions of 202 paragraph (a) for a given year may not receive the benefits 203 provided in paragraphs (a) and (c) for such year unless 204 subsection (2) applies, but the property may receive the 205 benefits in paragraphs (a) and (c) in any future year for which 206 all conditions in paragraph (a) are met. 207 (2)For purposes of this section, when property exempted 208 under this section is damaged or destroyed by misfortune or 209 calamity and the property is uninhabitable on the January 1 210 after the damage or destruction occurs, the property shall be 211 considered to be subject to a long-term lease on January 1 and 212 an existing exemption under this section shall continue if the 213 property is otherwise qualified and if the property owner 214 notifies the property appraiser that he or she intends to repair 215 or rebuild the property and the existing or another lessee will 216 resume residency after the property is repaired or rebuilt. 217 Failure by the property owner to commence the repair or 218 rebuilding of the property within 5 years after the January 1 219 following the propertys damage or destruction constitutes 220 abandonment of the property as exempt under this section. After 221 the 5-year period, the expiration, lapse, nonrenewal, or 222 revocation of a building permit issued to the property owner for 223 such repairs or rebuilding also constitutes abandonment of the 224 property under this section. 225 Section 4.Subsection (1) of section 193.1554, Florida 226 Statutes, is amended to read: 227 193.1554Assessment of nonhomestead residential property. 228 (1)As used in this section, the term nonhomestead 229 residential property means residential real property that 230 contains nine or fewer dwelling units, including vacant property 231 zoned and platted for residential use, and that does not receive 232 the exemption under s. 196.031 or s. 196.034. 233 Section 5.Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 234 194.032, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 235 194.032Hearing purposes; timetable. 236 (1)(a)The value adjustment board shall meet not earlier 237 than 30 days and not later than 60 days after the mailing of the 238 notice provided in s. 194.011(1); however, no board hearing 239 shall be held before approval of all or any part of the 240 assessment rolls by the Department of Revenue. The board shall 241 meet for the following purposes: 242 1.Hearing petitions relating to assessments filed pursuant 243 to s. 194.011(3). 244 2.Hearing complaints relating to homestead exemptions as 245 provided for under s. 196.151. 246 3.Hearing appeals from exemptions denied, or disputes 247 arising from exemptions granted, upon the filing of exemption 248 applications under s. 196.011. 249 4.Hearing appeals concerning ad valorem tax deferrals and 250 classifications. 251 5.Hearing appeals from determinations that a change of 252 ownership under s. 193.155(3), a change of ownership or control 253 under s. 193.1553(4), s. 193.1554(5), or s. 193.1555(5), or a 254 qualifying improvement under s. 193.1555(5) has occurred. 255 Section 6.This act shall take effect on the effective date 256 of the amendment to the State Constitution proposed by SJR 1510 257 or a similar joint resolution having substantially the same 258 specific intent and purpose, if such amendment is approved at 259 the next general election.
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