News

City of Spokane Offering Multi-Family Property Tax Exemptions

Jessica Fisher, Public Information Assistant, 509.625.6749

Thursday, October 19, 2017 at 9:55 a.m.

The City of Spokane has an apartment vacancy rate of 1.4%; we need more housing options.

In an effort to provide more affordable housing options the City of Spokane is offering multi-family property tax exemptions (MFTE) for developers.

In order for a developer to quality for a multi-family property tax exemption, their project must meet a series of requirements. These requirements include:

The property must be located in a designated infill target area.
The development must include at least four new housing units.
The developer must submit the MFTE Conditional Application before applying for a building permit.
If the building is a mixed-use property, at least 50% of the floor area must be dedicated to residential use.
After construction, developers must submit the Final MFTE Application.
For the next 8 or 12 years, depending on the length of the exemption, owners will have to file a form certifying that the property is still in compliance with its contract.
A 12 year exemption requires at least 20% of the units to meet affordability requirements for low and moderate – income tenants.

It is important to note that these tax exemptions only apply to the housing units. For example, if a developer were to build a mixed-use property only the housing units would benefit from this exemption. The rest of the building would not be exempt from property taxes.

Once the 8 year or 12 year exemption expires, the property will be entered on to the tax rolls as new construction and will be required to pay property taxes.

The multi-family property tax exemptions have been used to build townhouses, mixed-use condos, and apartments. This program has seen great success in the lower south hill area as well as our Downtown.