§ 421-P*2 — Exemption of capital improvements to residential new construction involving the creation of accessory dwelling units

* § 421-p. Exemption of capital improvements to residential new\nconstruction involving the creation of accessory dwelling units. 1.\nResidential buildings reconstructed, altered, improved, or newly\nconstructed in order to create one or more additional residential\ndwelling units on the same parcel as a pre-existing residential building\nto provide independent living facilities for one or more persons\nsubsequent to the effective date of a local law or resolution enacted\npursuant to this section shall be exempt from taxation and special ad\nvalorem levies to the extent provided hereinafter. After a public\nhearing, the governing board of a county, city, town or village may\nadopt a local law and a school district, other than a school district\nsubject to article fifty-two of the education law, may adopt a\nresolution to grant the exemption authorized pursuant to this section. A\ncopy of such local law or resolution shall be filed with the\ncommissioner and the assessor of such county, city, town or village who\nprepares the assessment roll on which the taxes of such county, city,\ntown, village or school district are levied.\n 2. (a) Such buildings shall be exempt for a period of five years to\nthe extent of one hundred per centum of the increase in assessed value\nthereof attributable to such reconstruction, alteration, improvement, or\nnew construction for such additional residential unit or units that\nprovide independent living facilities for one or more persons, and for\nan additional period of five years subject to the following:\n (i) The extent of such exemption shall be decreased by twenty-five per\ncentum of the "exemption base" for each of the first three years during\nsuch additional period and shall be decreased by a further ten per\ncentum of the "exemption base" during each of the final two years of\nsuch additional period. The exemption shall expire at the end of the\nextended period. The "exemption base" shall be the increase in assessed\nvalue as determined in the initial year of the term of the exemption,\nexcept as provided in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph.\n (ii) In any year in which a change in level of assessment of fifteen\npercent or more is certified for a final assessment roll pursuant to the\nrules of the commissioner, the exemption base shall be multiplied by a\nfraction, the numerator of which shall be the total assessed value of\nthe parcel on such final assessment roll (after accounting for any\nphysical or quantity changes to the parcel since the immediately\npreceding assessment roll), and the denominator of which shall be the\ntotal assessed value of the parcel on the immediately preceding final\nassessment roll. The result shall be the new exemption base. The\nexemption shall thereupon be recomputed to take into account the new\nexemption base, notwithstanding the fact that the assessor receives\ncertification of the change in level of assessment after the completion,\nverification and filing of the final assessment roll. In the event the\nassessor does not have custody of the roll when such certification is\nreceived, the assessor shall certify the recomputed exemption to the\nlocal officers having custody and control of the roll, and such local\nofficers are hereby directed and authorized to enter the recomputed\nexemption certified by the assessor on the roll. The assessor shall give\nwritten notice of such recomputed exemption to the property owner, who\nmay, if such property owner believes that the exemption was recomputed\nincorrectly, apply for a correction in the manner provided by title\nthree of article five of this chapter for the correction of clerical\nerrors.\n (iii) Such exemption shall be limited to two hundred thousand dollars\nin increased market value of the property attributable to such\nreconstruction, alteration, improvement, or new construction and any\nincrease in market value greater than such amount shall not be eligible\nfor the exemption pursuant to this section. For the purposes of this\nsection, the market value of the reconstruction, alteration,\nimprovement, or new construction as authorized by subdivision one of\nthis section shall be equal to the increased assessed value attributable\nto such reconstruction, alteration, improvement, or new construction\ndivided by the class one ratio in a special assessing unit or the most\nrecently established state equalization rate or special equalization\nrate in the remainder of the state, except where the state equalization\nrate or special equalization rate equals or exceeds ninety-five percent,\nin which case the increase in assessed value attributable to such\nreconstruction, alteration, improvement, or new construction shall be\ndeemed to equal the market value of such reconstruction, alteration,\nimprovement, or new construction.\n (b) No such exemption shall be granted for reconstruction,\nalterations, improvements, or new construction unless:\n (i) such reconstruction, alteration, improvement, or new construction\nwas commenced subsequent to the effective date of the local law or\nresolution adopted pursuant to subdivision one of this section; and\n (ii) the value of such reconstruction, alteration, improvement, or new\nconstruction exceeds three thousand dollars; and\n (iii) such reconstruction, alteration, improvement, or new\nconstruction created one or more additional residential dwelling units\non the same parcel as the pre-existing residential building to provide\nindependent living facilities for one or more persons.\n (c) For purposes of this section the terms reconstruction, alteration,\nimprovement, and new construction shall not include ordinary maintenance\nand repairs.\n 3. Such exemption shall be granted only upon application by the owner\nof such building on a form prescribed by the commissioner. The\napplication shall be filed with the assessor of the city, town, village\nor county having the power to assess property for taxation on or before\nthe appropriate taxable status date of such city, town, village or\ncounty.\n 4. If satisfied that the applicant is entitled to an exemption\npursuant to this section, the assessor shall approve the application and\nsuch building shall thereafter be exempt from taxation and special ad\nvalorem levies as herein provided commencing with the assessment roll\nprepared on the basis of the taxable status date referred to in\nsubdivision three of this section. The assessed value of any exemption\ngranted pursuant to this section shall be entered by the assessor on the\nassessment roll with the taxable property, with the amount of the\nexemption shown in a separate column.\n 5. For the purposes of this section, a residential building shall mean\nany building or structure designed and occupied exclusively for\nresidential purposes by not more than two families.\n 6. In the event that a building granted an exemption pursuant to this\nsection ceases to be used primarily for residential purposes, or title\nthereto is transferred to other than the heirs or distributees of the\nowner, the exemption granted pursuant to this section shall cease.\n 7. (a) A county, city, town or village may, by its local law, or\nschool district, by its resolution:\n (i) reduce the per centum of exemption otherwise allowed pursuant to\nthis section; and\n (ii) limit eligibility for the exemption to those forms of\nreconstruction, alterations, improvements, or new construction as are\nprescribed in such local law or resolution.\n (b) No such local law or resolution shall repeal an exemption granted\npursuant to this section until the expiration of the period for which\nsuch exemption was granted.\n * NB There are two § 421-p's\n