Needham assessors flag state clarifications before pursuing local affordable-housing exemption

At the March 13 meeting, a member of the Town of Needham Board of Assessors raised concerns about moving forward with a locally adopted affordable-housing tax exemption without clarifications from state officials.

The assessor who presented the item said in his research he found no community had yet adopted the exemption and that only one other community was considering it. He said the statute appears to apply to multifamily properties only and may not cover unique single-family situations. He also told the board he had asked the Division of Local Services (DLS) for clarifications and expected a response the following week.

"It's only for multifamily only," the presenter said, adding that landlords had asked about relief where rents are at affordable levels but are not part of a government-recognized program. The presenter also raised two administrative problems: the statute's treatment of Chapter 40B projects and the tenant documentation requirement. He said the exemption would apply to 40B projects as written, which could give an additional tax benefit to projects already taxed at reduced values; and that the statute requires landlords to collect tenants' IRS Form 1040s, which many tenants may not wish to provide.

Because of those issues, the assessor said he would probably withdraw the article from the special town meeting warrant if DLS indicates the law cannot be administered locally without state-level changes. "If I find that there is no administrative ability to correct this, we would probably withdraw the article and wait for the state to amend it," he told the board.

No formal vote was taken. Board members asked staff to await written guidance from the Division of Local Services before advancing any warrant article to the special town meeting.