The purpose of this article is to exempt, from
real property taxes, property owned by persons who construct or reconstruct
residential structures for the purpose of providing living quarters
for a parent or grandparent of one of the owners, to the extent provided
by this article.
This exemption shall only apply to premises
being constructed or reconstructed for a parent or grandparent who
has attained the age of 62 years or older prior to the application
for the exemption.
Pursuant to the provisions of New York State
Real Property Tax Law § 469, an exemption from taxation
is granted to the extent of any increase in assessed value of residential
property resulting from the construction or reconstruction of such
property for the purpose of providing living quarters for a parent
or grandparent who is 62 years of age or older. Such exemption shall
not exceed the increase in assessed value resulting from construction
or reconstruction of such property, or 20% of the total assessed value
of such property as improved, or 20% of the median sale price of residential
property as reported in the most recent sales statistical summary
published by the State Board for the county in which the property
is located, whichever is less.
No such exemption shall be granted unless:
A. The property is within the geographical area in which
such construction or reconstruction is permitted; and
B. The residential property so constructed or reconstructed
is the principal place of residence of the owner.
Such exemption shall be applicable only to construction
or reconstruction which occurred subsequent to the effective date
of Real Property Tax Law § 469, and this article, and shall only apply during taxable years during which
at least one such parent or grandparent maintains a primary place
of residence in such living quarters.
Such exemption from taxation shall be granted
upon an application made annually, upon a form to be promulgated by
the State Board, by the owner of such property to the Assessor of
the city, town, village or county having the power to assess property
for taxation on or before the appropriate taxable status date of such
city, town, village or county. If the Assessor is satisfied that the
property is entitled to an exemption pursuant to this article, the
Assessor shall approve the application, and such residential improvements
shall be exempt from taxation and special ad valorem levies as provided
in this section.
For the purposes of this article, the term "parent
or grandparent" shall be deemed to include the natural or adopted
grandparents and parents of the owner or the spouse of the owner.
Any conviction of having made any willful false
statement in the application for such exemption shall result in the
revocation thereof, be punishable by a civil penalty of not more than
$100 and shall disqualify the applicant or applicants from further
exemption for a period of five years.
Such exemptions shall apply to improvements
on or after the effective date of this article.