(a) Residential property located in Baldwin County shall include single-family dwellings and the underlying lot which is destroyed or damaged to the extent that the dwelling is uninhabitable. The property shall retain its classification as residential property while the dwelling is being rebuilt or restored to an inhabitable state for a period not to exceed 24 months from the date of the destruction or damage. If the destroyed or damaged dwelling is not rebuilt or restored to an inhabitable state as the owner's single-family dwelling within 24 months from the date of the destruction or damage or the property is converted at any time to a use other than as the owner's single-family dwelling, the property shall lose its classification as residential property.
(b) The owner may request an extension not to exceed an additional 24 months upon submission of proof that the work necessary to rebuild or restore the destruction or damage could not be contracted or if contracted could not be completed within 24 months from the date of the destruction or damage.