Citizen Portal
Sign In

Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!

Council hearing examines 'good landlord' tax abatement option; administration warns of uncapped fiscal cost

2162720 · January 27, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Councilors discussed a state-authorized "good landlord" local option at the Jan. 27 hearing. The exemption would let landlords receive property-tax relief if they rent units below specified income/rent limits; the city must still define eligibility, caps and fiscal exposure before adopting the program.

Councilors at the Jan. 27 joint hearing reviewed a state-authorized 'good landlord' tax abatement that would let municipalities exempt some property taxes for owners who rent units year-round at affordable levels to income-qualified tenants.

The program originates in state law: municipalities must adopt local rules to define the maximum abatement per unit, tenant income limits, required rent levels (commonly expressed as a fraction of AMI and not to exceed 30% of tenant income), and qualifying owner conditions. Boston officials told the council the state's Division of Local Services (DLS) issued guidelines that purposely leave…

Already have an account? Log in

Subscribe to keep reading

Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.

  • Unlimited articles
  • AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
  • Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
  • Follow topics and more locations
  • 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
30-day money-back on paid plans