Live Local Act Exemption Applications in Palm Beach Gardens

What the exemption is and when it makes sense

Florida's Live Local Act gives multifamily projects with more than 70 units a property tax break on units leased to lower and moderate income residents. At least 70 of those units must house residents whose income tops out at 120 percent of the area median. A unit leased to someone at 80 percent of median or less can come off the tax roll entirely, while a unit in the band above that receives a 75 percent exemption. Rent on each qualifying unit also has to stay within the published cap for its income band.

There is no single form that gets you there. The exemption passes through two agencies in a fixed order: the Florida Housing Finance Corporation reviews the property first, and only then does the county property appraiser take the application. Skip a step or miss a date and that tax year is usually gone.

It is worth pursuing when your unit count, rent roll and resident incomes already sit close to the thresholds. If they do not, we will tell you that on the first call and explain what would have to change.

What our application work covers

Eligibility review

We compare your unit count, unit mix and current rents against the statutory thresholds. You get a plain answer on which units qualify and at which tier.

Savings estimate

We apply the 100 percent and 75 percent tiers to the assessed value attributable to qualifying units. That shows you roughly what the exemption is worth before you commit time to filing.

FHFC certification package

We assemble the rent roll, income data and owner information the Florida Housing Finance Corporation needs to approve the property. Our separate FHFC Certification Filing page goes deeper on this step.

County DR-504AFH application

With the state's approval issued, we move on to the DR-504AFH for the property appraiser. The income tier listed for every unit has to agree with what FHFC approved, so we compare the two schedules unit by unit before anything is filed.

Deadline calendar

We map every date for the tax year, including the county's March 1 filing deadline, so nothing depends on memory.

Written explanation

You receive a short summary of what was filed, which units were claimed at which tier and why.

Signs your property should be looking at this exemption

• More than 70 units

  The exemption only applies to projects above 70 units. If you are near that line, unit counting rules matter and we check them carefully.

• Rents already below the limits

  Many owners discover their existing rents already fall under the published caps. In that case the exemption may cost very little to obtain.

• Rising assessed values

  When assessments climb faster than rents, the tax bill eats into operating income. A partial exemption on qualifying units can offset some of that pressure.

• A missed or denied prior year

  Denials often come from a mismatch between the FHFC approval and the county form, or a late filing. We find the cause before the next cycle.

• No one owns the process

  If property management, accounting and ownership each assume someone else is filing, the deadline tends to pass quietly.

The path from your first call to an approved exemption

1. 1

   Free eligibility check

   We start with a few questions: how many units you have, what they rent for and how resident incomes are recorded today. One phone conversation is usually enough to tell whether a full review makes sense.

2. 2

   Document review

   We go through your rent roll and income records by phone, video or at our office. Gaps in income documentation are flagged now, not after FHFC asks.

3. 3

   Certification filing

   We prepare the FHFC certification request, file it on your behalf and follow it until the state issues its approval.

4. 4

   County application

   We file the DR-504AFH with the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser, attaching the state approval and a unit schedule that matches it exactly.

5. 5

   Follow-through

   We watch for the appraiser's determination and explain it. If anything is questioned, we answer with the records already organized.

What affects the cost of an application

Fees depend on how much work your property actually needs, not a flat number pulled from a chart. A clean rent roll with documented incomes takes far less time than one that has to be rebuilt. We talk through the likely scope on the phone first, and nothing begins until you agree to it.

Number of units and bedroom mix

Each additional unit adds an income record to match against the correct tier. Properties with several bedroom sizes also need a separate rent cap check for each size.

State of income records

If resident incomes were never verified at move-in, that work has to happen first. Our Resident Income Verification service handles it.

First year or renewal

A first application sets up every schedule from scratch. Later years build on that file through Annual Recertification.

Timing

Starting close to a deadline compresses the work and leaves less room to fix problems.