Project Owner Failed To Meet Ownership Deadline For Exemption

摘要

The owner of a low-income housing project did not qualify for a property tax exemption under Texas law because it did not have legal or equitable title by the statutory deadline, ruled the Texas Court of Appeals, Corpus Christi-Edinburg. (Hidalgo County Appraisal District v. HIC Texas I, LLC, Number 13-07-083-CV, 2009 WL 620468 (Tex, App.-Corpus Christi, March 12, 2009)rnHIC Texas I, LLC operates a nonprofit corporation organized as a community housing development organization (CHDO). It belongs to a group of Texas nonprofit corporations that own multifamily properties dedicated to providing affordable low- and moderate-income housing.rnThe Hidalgo County Appraisal District appealed the trial court's decision granting HIC an ad valorem tax exemption for 2003 and subsequent years. According to Texas Code Ann. Section 11.182(j), an organization may not receive an exemption for property for a tax year beginning on or after January 1, 2004, unless the organization received an exemption for that property for any part of the 2003 tax year.rnThe court said the dispute centered on whether HIC owned the Keystone Apartments before the end of the 2003 calendar year.rnThe former owner executed an assumption special warranty deed conveying the property to HIC on December 29, 2003. The same day, the deed and related documents were delivered to a title company and held in escrow until April 15, 2004, when state and federal housing authorities finally approved the transaction.