Community Land Trust Property Tax Exemption

Properties used to provide affordable housing to low-income Californians generally are exempt from property taxes. One such type of property is affordable housing built on land owned by a community land trust. Chapter 636 of 2022 (AB 1206, Bennett) modified the rules community land trust properties must meet to qualify for the property tax exemption, making it easier for properties to maintain their exemption when low-income residents experience a modest gain in income. Assembly Bill 1206 also required our office to report data on the use of the exemption by community land trust properties.

County Survey Results. The Board of Equalization has requested information from counties about community land trust properties each year since 2020. Results from this survey are summarized in Figure 1. These results are somewhat limited, as some counties responded in some years and not others and other counties did not respond at all. That being said, the data do not point to any clear trend, either in the number of community land trust properties or the number of such properties claiming a property tax exemption. The data also suggest that these provisions affect an extremely small segment of properties statewide.

Fiscal Effects Likely Limited. While the data is limited, our best estimate is that the effect of AB 1206 on property tax revenues is minor, probably a few million dollars per year at the very most.