District of Columbia Code
Subchapter II - Authority and Procedure to Establish Real Property Tax Rates
§ 47–860. Tax abatement for affordable housing in high-need affordable housing areas

*NOTE: This section includes amendments by emergency legislation that will expire on January 15, 2023. To view the text of this section after the expiration of all emergency and temporary legislation affecting this section, click this link: Permanent Version.*
(a) Real property tax imposed by § 47-811 on real property certified as eligible pursuant to subsection (d) of this section shall be abated annually only up to the amount certified by the Mayor (subject to increases as authorized by subsection (b)(3) of this section) for the period set forth in subsection (c) of this section; provided, that:
(1) The real property is located in a high-need affordable housing area;
(2) The real property is designated by the Mayor pursuant to subsection (b) of this section;
(3) For the duration of the period set forth in subsection (c) of this section, at least one third of the housing units developed or redeveloped on the real property are affordable to and rented by households earning on average 80% or less of the median family income; provided, that during such period no such household earn more than 100% of the median family income;
(4) The developer files a covenant in the land records of the District, binding on the developer and all of its successors in interest with respect to the property, covenanting to comply with the requirements of paragraph (3) of this subsection;
(5) The developer enters into an agreement with the District that requires the developer to, at a minimum, contract with certified business enterprises for at least 35% of the contract dollar volume of the construction and operations of the project, in accordance with [§ 2-218.46];
(6) The developer enters into a First Source Agreement for the operations of the project; and
(7) The developer enters into an agreement with the Mayor setting forth the requirements of this subsection and such other terms and conditions as the Mayor considers appropriate.
(b) The Mayor may, through a competitive process, designate real property to be eligible to receive a tax abatement under this section; provided, that the total amount of the tax abatements associated with real property designated by the Mayor pursuant to this subsection shall not exceed:
(1) $200,000 in Fiscal Year 2024;
(2) $4 million in Fiscal Year 2025; and
(3) $4 million increased by 4% in Fiscal Year 2026 and further increased by 4% in each fiscal year thereafter.
(c) The tax abatement provided for by this section shall begin in the tax year immediately following the tax year during which the certificate of occupancy was issued for the final housing unit counted toward satisfying the affordability requirement of subsection (a)(3) of this section and shall continue until the end of the 30th tax year after the tax year during which such certificate of occupancy is issued; provided, that the Mayor may opt to continue the tax abatement provided for by this section until the end of the 40th tax year after the tax year during which such certificate of occupancy is issued; provided further, that the tax abatement provided for by this section shall not begin before October 1, 2023.
(d)(1) The Mayor shall certify to the Office of Tax and Revenue a real property's eligibility for the abatement provided by this section. The Mayor's certification shall include:
(A) A description of the real property by street address, square, suffix, and lot;
(B) The date the certificate of occupancy was issued for the final housing unit counted toward satisfying the affordability requirements of subsection (a)(3) of this section;
(C) The date the tax abatement begins and ends under subsection (c) of this section;
(D) A statement that the conditions specified in subsection (a) of this section have been satisfied; and
(E) The amount of abatement allocated to the property pursuant to subsection (b) of this section; and
(F) Any other information that the Mayor considers necessary or appropriate.
(2) If at any time the Mayor determines that the real property has become ineligible for the abatement provided by this section, the Mayor shall notify the Office of Tax and Revenue and shall specify the date that the property became ineligible. The entire property shall be ineligible for the abatement on the first day of the tax year following the date when the ineligibility occurred.
(e) The tax abatement provided by this section shall be in addition to, not in lieu of, any other tax relief or assistance from any other source.
(f) The requirements of the First Source Act shall not apply to the construction or development of a project developed on real property designated by the Mayor pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.
(g) For the purposes of this section, the term:
(1) "CBE Act" means [subchapter IX-A of Chapter 2 of Title 2].
(2) "Certified business enterprise" means a business enterprise or joint venture certified pursuant to the CBE Act.
(3) "Developer" means the owner of housing units on real property eligible for a tax abatement under this section.
(4) "First Source Act" means[subchapter X of Chapter 2 of Title 2].
(5) "First Source Agreement" means an agreement with the District governing certain obligations of the Developer pursuant to [§ 2-219.03], and Mayor's Order 83-265, dated November 9, 1983, regarding job creation and employment.
(6) "High-need affordable housing area" means the 4 planning areas identified in the District's Housing Equity Report, published in October 2019, with the highest dedicated affordable housing production goals (Rock Creek West, Rock Creek East, Capitol Hill, and Upper Northeast), plus 1,000 feet in any direction beyond any of those 4 planning area boundaries.
(7) "Median Family Income" has the meaning set forth in [§ 6-1041.01(5)].[]
(h) The Mayor, pursuant to [subchapter I of Chapter 5 of Title 2], may issue regulations to implement this section.
(Dec. 3, 2020, D.C. Law 23-149, § 2062(b), 67 DCR 10493; Nov. 13, 2021, D.C. Law 24-45, § 7132, 68 DCR 010163; Oct. 17, 2022, D.C. Act 24-562, § 2, 0 DCR 0.)
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2 of Tax Abatements for Affordable Housing in High-Need Areas Emergency Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Act 24-562, Oct. 17, 2022, 0 DCR 0).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 7132 of Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2021 (D.C. Act 24-159, Aug. 23, 2021, 68 DCR 008602).

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