ServicesExemption Applications
Live Local Act Exemption Applications in Lake Worth Beach
We review your rent roll, unit mix and rent limits before recommending anything. Then we tell you plainly whether your property qualifies for the Live Local Act property tax exemption, which units count and what the filing will take.
What the exemption is and when it makes sense to apply
The Live Local Act created a property tax exemption in section 196.1978(3) of the Florida Statutes for larger multifamily properties that rent part of their units at income-restricted levels. It works unit by unit. Qualifying units rented to residents at or below 80 percent of area median income can be fully exempt, and units serving residents between 80 and 120 percent can be 75 percent exempt, as long as the property clears the statute's unit threshold and every counted unit stays under its rent cap.
Getting the exemption takes two filings in order: a certification from the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, then the DR-504AFH application with the county property appraiser. The two have to agree. If the unit count, income bands or rents on one don't match the other, or don't match your leases, the appraiser can deny the exemption for that tax year.
That is why we start with your numbers instead of a pitch. If the savings won't justify the record-keeping the exemption requires, we tell you that before any paperwork is prepared.
What our application work includes
Unit-by-unit eligibility review
We compare each unit's contract rent and resident income against the published limits for Palm Beach County. Units that fall outside a band are flagged by unit number, with the reason, so you can see exactly why they don't count.
Rent cap check
A unit only qualifies if its rent stays at or below the lesser of the published affordable rent for its income band and 90 percent of the area's fair market rent. We run both figures for every unit, because a unit can pass one test and fail the other.
Savings estimate
We apply the 100 percent and 75 percent exemption rates to the share of assessed value tied to qualifying units. You get the estimate before deciding whether to file.
Matched application package
We prepare the FHFC certification request and the DR-504AFH together, so unit counts, income bands and rent figures line up across both and with your rent roll.
Written findings
Every client gets a plain summary of what we found, what is missing and what needs correcting before filing. Nothing is submitted until you have read it.
Signs it is time for an exemption review
- No exemption on your tax notice
- Your property has well over 70 units and some leases are income-restricted, but the TRIM notice shows full assessed value on every unit.
- A denial or information request
- The property appraiser denied a prior application or asked for documents you could not produce. That usually traces back to a mismatch between the certification, the rent roll and the leases.
- Renewal rents creeping toward the cap
- Annual increases can push a unit over its limit without anyone noticing. One unit over the cap drops out of the exemption, and enough of them can pull the property under the threshold.
- Income records scattered or missing
- Resident income certifications live in one system, leases in another, and some files are incomplete. Our Resident Income Verification work closes those gaps before an application relies on them.
- You recently acquired the property
- You don't know whether the prior owner applied, which units were counted or whether those records transfer cleanly to you.
How an application moves from first call to filing
- 1
Free eligibility check by phone
We ask about total units, rent ranges and how residents' incomes are documented. That is usually enough to say whether a full review is worth your time.
- 2
Document review and findings
You send the rent roll, sample leases, income certifications and recent tax bills. We work through them unit by unit and give you written findings, including any units that need rent or paperwork corrections.
- 3
State certification, then county filing
We prepare the FHFC certification request first, since the county application depends on it. Once certification is in hand, the DR-504AFH goes to the property appraiser ahead of the March 1 deadline, with January 1 as the date your units' status is measured.
- 4
Follow-through
We answer appraiser questions, track the decision and set up the records you will need for Annual Recertification, since the exemption must be applied for each year.
What moves the cost of an exemption application
Our fee follows the amount of work your records need before they can support a filing, not a fixed package. The free savings estimate puts a number on the potential tax reduction first, so you can judge the fee against a real return. We walk through the fee by phone before any work begins.
- Number of units
- Every counted unit needs its rent and resident income checked against two tests. A 300-unit property takes more review time than a 90-unit one.
- Condition of your records
- Complete, current income certifications and a clean rent roll move quickly. Missing files, expired certifications or rents that don't match the leases add correction work.
- Mix of income bands
- A property with units at both the 80 percent and 120 percent levels needs each band tracked separately on both applications.
- Timing against the deadlines
- Starting in late summer or fall leaves room to correct problems before January 1. Starting close to March 1 compresses the work into a short window.
- Prior denials
- If a previous application was denied, we first trace the cause, which can mean reconstructing records from that year.
What owners ask before filing for the exemption
- Is my building big enough, and are my rents low enough, to be eligible?
- The statute looks for more than 70 units that satisfy the income and rent limits. Each of those units must clear two separate tests: the resident's income band and the rent cap for that band. A few minutes on the phone about your unit count and rent ranges is usually enough for us to say whether a deeper look is worthwhile, and the full review then settles it unit by unit.
- What is the difference between FHFC certification and the DR-504AFH?
- The Florida Housing Finance Corporation looks at the units and issues a certification stating they meet the affordability rules. The DR-504AFH is your request to the county property appraiser for the tax exemption itself, and the appraiser expects that FHFC certification to back it up. We cover each step in more detail on our FHFC Certification Filing and County DR-504AFH Filing pages.
- Do I have to apply every year?
- Yes. The exemption does not carry over on its own. Each year the qualifying units need a fresh FHFC certification and a new DR-504AFH filing with the appraiser. Our Annual Recertification service keeps the records current so each year's filing goes faster.
- What happens to units that go over the rent cap?
- Those units simply don't count toward the exemption for that year. The rest of the qualifying units can still be exempt, provided the property still clears the unit threshold. We flag at-risk units during the review so you can adjust before the January 1 status date.
- How much could the exemption save?
- It depends on your assessed value, the share of units that qualify, the income bands they fall into and the local millage rates. We work that out from your actual tax bills and rent roll in the free savings estimate, rather than quoting a general figure.
Find out what your qualifying units could save
Tell us your unit count and rent ranges, and we'll tell you honestly whether an application is worth filing. Clients from Lake Worth Beach to Boynton Beach start with the same short call.