On May 7, 2022, the Governor signed House Bill 7071. In HB 7071, Representative Marie Woodson’s (D-Hollywood) House Bill 71, “Abatement of Taxes for Residential Dwellings Rendered Uninhabitable by Catastrophic Events,” was also included. HB 71 specified the conditions under which persons whose residential dwellings were rendered uninhabitable may receive a reduction of taxes. It also created a formula for determining the tax reduction and allowed a person to file late applications for abatement of their taxes.
“After seeing what happened with the Surfside condominium collapse, I cannot even imagine the suffering of those who lost loved ones. The government should not seek to collect from those suffering after a catastrophic event and I am grateful to the Governor for signing this bill,” said Representative Woodson. “Now that HB 7071 has been signed, the Property Appraiser’s and Tax Collector’s offices can begin the process of implementing the specifics of the bill beginning July 1, 2022. My sincere thanks to Broward County Property Appraiser Marty Kiar for working with me on this bill.”