§ 304 — Subject of assessment

* § 304. Subject of assessment. All assessments shall be against the\nreal property itself which shall be liable to sale pursuant to law for\nany unpaid taxes or special ad valorem levies.\n * NB (Effective until ruling by Commissioner of Internal Revenue)\n * § 304. Subject of assessment. 1. All assessments shall be against\nthe real property itself which shall be liable to sale pursuant to law\nfor any unpaid taxes or special ad valorem levies.\n 2. Where real property in whole or part is rented for residential\npurposes pursuant to a lease, or to the same occupant or occupants for\ntwelve consecutive months duration or longer, or if the dwelling unit is\nsubject to the regulation and control of residential rents and the\noccupants' rights and obligations of tenancy are created and protected\nby such regulation and control, a renter has an interest in the real\nproperty and is subject to articles nine and ten of this chapter, or\nlaws of any municipality covering the levy and collection of taxes and\nthe enforcement of collection of delinquent taxes, whichever is\ngoverning. Nothing in this subdivision shall relieve the owner of real\nproperty from the obligation for paying all taxes due on the real\nproperty under his ownership or vitiate the sale of said real property\nfor unpaid taxes or special ad valorem levies. The owner of real\nproperty, or his designated agent, is obligated to apply the first money\nreceived each month from the renter to taxes due on the real property\nunder his ownership.\n 3. As used in this section the term "rent" means the amount paid for\nthe right of occupancy of a dwelling unit excluding charges for heat,\ngas, electricity, furnishings and board. Where such charges are included\nin the amount paid but are not treated consistently among dwelling units\nlocated within the real property and where such charges and the amount\nthereof are not separately set forth in the lease, the amount paid shall\nbe reduced in the following manner:\n (A) Fifteen percent of the rental paid shall be deducted for heat, or\nheat and gas;\n (B) Twenty percent of the rental paid shall be deducted for heat, gas\nand electricity;\n (C) Twenty-five percent of the rental paid shall be deducted for heat,\ngas, electricity and furnishings;\n (D) Fifty percent of the rental paid shall be deducted for heat, gas,\nelectricity, furnishings and board.\n 4. The attorney general shall prepare and submit to the commissioner\nof internal revenue of the United States a request for a ruling that\npayments of real property taxes made by a renter in such municipality\nwith an interest in real property pursuant to subdivision two of this\nsection, with respect to such interest, will be deductible by such\nrenter pursuant to paragraph a of subdivision one of section one hundred\nsixty four of the internal revenue code of nineteen hundred fifty-four,\nas amended.\n 5. Immediately after the effective date of this section and on or\nbefore the tax status date of the ensuing fiscal year and annually\nthereafter, the owner of the real property shall file with the\nappropriate assessment department of the municipality in which the real\nproperty is located the rent roll covering all units of said property,\nincluding names of those renters whose interest is described in\nsubdivision two of this section and those renters who have elected an\ninterest as described in subdivision four of this section. This schedule\nof rents shall include all units whether rented or not, and whether\nresidential or not. The assessors shall assign an assessed valuation to\neach rental unit of said real property by establishing the relationship\nof the yearly rent for the unit to the total yearly rent roll and\napplying this ratio to the assessment established for the real property\nas a whole, less the assessment on that portion of the real property\nwhich the assessor may determine is not held for rental purposes. Taxes\non such real property not held for rental purposes shall be assessed\nsolely against the owner of the real property and shall not be\nconsidered in determining the assessed valuation of each rental unit.\nWhere the residential real property is completed after the first tax\nstatus day after the effective date of this section, the owner of such\nreal property shall file the required information with the assessors\nafter completion. In the event the assessors reassess said real\nproperty, the relationships established for the prior assessments shall\nbe applied to the new assessments. The assessments so established may be\nentered on the assessment roll itself or attached as an appendage to\nsuch assessment roll but in any event the assessments for said real\nproperty shall be deemed a composite of the total of the assessments of\neach individual unit's assessment, and those renters whose interest is\ndescribed in subdivision two of this section and those renters who have\nelected an interest as described in subdivision four of this section\nshall be personally liable for the taxes levied on the assessments\ndeclared for their respective units. It shall be the responsibility of\nthe owner of the real property to notify the assessors of all changes in\noccupancy including notification when a vacant unit is occupied or an\noccupied unit becomes vacant. The assessors on or before tax status day\nwill issue in writing to the owner a listing of the assessments assessed\nfor each unit. This listing shall state the amount of taxes each renter\nwhose interest is described in subdivision two of this section and each\nrenter who has elected an interest as described in subdivision four of\nthis section must pay each calendar month of the assessing unit's fiscal\nyear. The landlord shall make this listing available to each tenant upon\noccupancy and thereafter upon receipt of such listing from the\nassessors.\n * NB (Effective pending ruling by Commissioner of Internal Revenue)\n