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SB1520 • 2026

Affordable Housing Property Tax Exemption

Affordable Housing Property Tax Exemption

Housing Taxes
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Calatayud
Last action
2026-03-13
Official status
Senate - Died in Appropriations
Effective date
2026-07-01

Plain English Breakdown

The candidate explanation includes claims that are either unsupported or partially supported by the official source material.

Affordable Housing Property Tax Exemption

This bill revises the conditions under which a taxing authority can choose not to exempt certain affordable housing properties from property taxes and allows multifamily project owners to continue receiving tax exemptions.

What This Bill Does

  • Revises the finding that a taxing authority must make in order to elect not to exempt certain property from ad valorem taxation, requiring evidence of sufficient affordable units relative to renter households over three years.
  • Allows owners of multifamily projects with final site plan approval within one year before new rules take effect to continue receiving tax exemptions.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Taxing authorities in Florida
  • Owners of multifamily housing projects

Terms To Know

affordable housing
Housing that costs less than what low-income families can afford.
property tax exemption
A rule that allows certain properties to not pay some or all of their property taxes.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill only applies to the 2027 property tax roll and later.
  • It is unclear if this will lead to more affordable housing being built in Florida.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-13 Senate

    • Died in Appropriations

  2. 2026-02-13 Senate

    • Now in Appropriations

  3. 2026-02-12 Senate

    • Favorable by Finance and Tax; YEAS 6 NAYS 0

  4. 2026-02-09 Senate

    • On Committee agenda-- Finance and Tax, 02/12/26, 4:30 pm, 301 Senate Building

  5. 2026-01-22 Senate

    • Introduced

  6. 2026-01-16 Senate

    • Referred to Finance and Tax; Appropriations; Rules

  7. 2026-01-09 Senate

    • Filed

Official Summary Text

Affordable Housing Property Tax Exemption; Revising a specified finding that a taxing authority must make in order to elect not to exempt certain property from certain ad valorem taxation; authorizing certain property owners in a multifamily project to apply for and continue to receive an exemption, etc.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
Florida Senate
-
2026

SB 1520

By
Senator Calatayud

38-01062B-26 20261520__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the affordable housing property tax
3 exemption; amending s. 196.1978, F.S.; revising a
4 specified finding that a taxing authority must make in
5 order to elect not to exempt certain property from
6 certain ad valorem taxation; authorizing certain
7 property owners in a multifamily project to apply for
8 and continue to receive an exemption; providing
9 applicability; providing an effective date.
10
11 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
12
13 Section 1. Paragraph (o) of subsection (3) of section
14 196.1978, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
15 196.1978 Affordable housing property exemption.—
16 (3)
17 (o)1. Beginning with the 2025 tax roll, a taxing authority
18 may elect, upon adoption of an ordinance or resolution approved
19 by a two-thirds vote of the governing body, not to exempt
20 property under sub-subparagraph (d)1.a. located in a county
21 specified pursuant to subparagraph 2., subject to the conditions
22 of this paragraph.
23 2. A taxing authority must make a finding in the ordinance
24 or resolution that
annual housing reports

the most recently

25 published
by the
Shimberg Center for Housing Studies
Annual

26
Report, prepared
pursuant to s. 420.6075
,

identify

identifies

27 that a county that is part of the jurisdiction of the taxing
28 authority is within a metropolitan statistical area or region
29 where
, for each of the previous 3 years,
the number of
30 affordable and available units in the metropolitan statistical
31 area or region is greater than the number of renter households
32 in the metropolitan statistical area or region for the category
33 entitled “0-120 percent AMI.”
34 3. An election made pursuant to this paragraph may apply
35 only to the ad valorem property tax levies imposed within a
36 county specified pursuant to subparagraph 2. by the taxing
37 authority making the election.
38 4. The ordinance or resolution must take effect on the
39 January 1 immediately succeeding adoption and shall expire on
40 the second January 1 after the January 1 in which the ordinance
41 or resolution takes effect. The ordinance or resolution may be
42 renewed prior to its expiration pursuant to this paragraph.
43 5. The taxing authority proposing to make an election under
44 this paragraph must advertise the ordinance or resolution or
45 renewal thereof pursuant to the requirements of s. 50.011(1)
46 prior to adoption.
47 6. The taxing authority must provide to the property
48 appraiser the adopted ordinance or resolution or renewal thereof
49 by the effective date of the ordinance or resolution or renewal
50 thereof.
51 7. Notwithstanding an ordinance or resolution or renewal
52 thereof adopted pursuant to this paragraph, property in a
53 multifamily project that received an exemption pursuant to sub
54 subparagraph (d)1.a. before the adoption or renewal of such
55 ordinance or resolution may continue to receive such exemption
56 for each subsequent consecutive year that the same owner or each
57 successive owner applies for and is granted the exemption.
58
8.

Notwithstanding an ordinance or
a
resolution or
a

59
renewal thereof adopted pursuant to this paragraph,
the owner of

60
a
property in a multifamily project that received a final site

61
plan approval
within 1 year
before the adoption of such

62
ordinance or resolution
may apply for and be granted the

63
exemption under
sub-sub
paragraph (d)1.a. after meeting the

64
requirements of this subsection and may continue
to receive such

65
exemption for each subsequent consecutive year that the same

66
owner or each successive owner applies for and is granted the

67
exemption.

68 Section 2.
The amendments made by this act to s. 196.1978,

69
Florida Statutes,
first appl
y
to the 2027
property tax
roll.

70 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.