Authorizes municipalities in the county of Suffolk to establish programs for providing real property tax exemptions and abatements to landlords of senior citizens for the units occupied by the senior citizen; such abatements shall be passed through to seniors in the form of rent reductions.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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4282
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 28, 2011
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Introduced by Sens. JOHNSON, LAVALLE -- read twice and ordered printed,
and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Aging
AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in relation to a senior citi-
zen rent exemption and tax abatement program within Suffolk county
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The real property tax law is amended by adding a new
2 section 467-g to read as follows:
3 § 467-g. Tenants sixty-five years of age or over within Suffolk coun-
4 ty. 1. Any municipal corporation within Suffolk county is hereby author-
5 ized to provide a program of senior citizen rent exemption and tax
6 abatement provided the governing board of such municipality, after a
7 public hearing thereon, adopts a local law or ordinance providing there-
8 for. Such program shall apply to persons sixty-five years of age or
9 over, who reside in residential rental premises and who are heads of
10 households whose incomes fall within specified limits to be established
11 by such law or ordinance.
12 2. The eligible head of household shall apply each year, prior to the
13 taxable status date prescribed by law, to the appropriate local assessor
14 for a tax abatement certificate, on a form prescribed by the department.
15 As a required part of the application process, each applicant shall also
16 submit an accessory agreement signed by his or her landlord, attesting
17 to the landlord's willingness to participate in the program. Such agree-
18 ment shall include the landlord's responsibilities to (a) reduce the
19 tenant's rent on a monthly basis by one-twelfth of the amount of the
20 annual exemption granted, (b) reimburse, to the receiver of taxes of the
21 municipal corporation which granted the exemption, a pro-rated portion
22 of the tax abatement if his or her qualifying tenant should move during
23 the taxable period and (c) permit all qualifying tenants to participate
24 in the program.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07069-01-1
S. 4282 2
1 3. A tax abatement certificate establishing the amount of exemption
2 for the taxable period shall be issued to each head of the household who
3 is eligible. Copies of the certificate shall be issued to the owner of
4 the real property containing the rental unit of the head of the house-
5 hold and to the receiver of taxes of each municipality which has granted
6 the abatement of taxes. The exemption for the tax period set in the tax
7 abatement certificate shall be deducted from the total taxes levied by
8 the municipality which granted the abatement on real property containing
9 the rental unit.
10 4. Any conviction of having made a willful false statement in the
11 application for exemption pursuant to this section shall be punishable
12 by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars and shall disqualify the
13 applicant senior citizen and/or homeowner from further exemptions for a
14 period of five years.
15 5. The provisions of this section shall be applicable to all rental
16 units which comply with all relevant housing codes, local laws or ordi-
17 nances.
18 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to real
19 property having a taxable status date on or after such effective date.
