(a) For purposes of this section, all of the following apply:

(1) “Owner” includes a person purchasing the dwelling under a contract of sale or who holds shares or membership in a cooperative housing corporation, which holding is a requisite to the exclusive right of occupancy of a dwelling.

(2) (A) “Dwelling” means a building, structure, or other shelter constituting a place of abode, whether real property or personal property, and any land on which it may be situated. A two-dwelling unit shall be considered as two separate single-family dwellings.

(B) “Dwelling” includes the following:

(i) A single-family dwelling occupied by an owner thereof as his or her principal place of residence on the lien date.

(ii) A multiple-dwelling unit occupied by an owner thereof on the lien date as his or her principal place of residence.

(iii) A condominium occupied by an owner thereof as his or her principal place of residence on the lien date.

(iv) Premises occupied by the owner of shares or a membership interest in a cooperative housing corporation, as defined in subdivision (i) of Section 61, as his or her principal place of residence on the lien date. Each exemption allowed pursuant to this subdivision shall be deducted from the total assessed valuation of the cooperative housing corporation. The exemption shall be taken into account in apportioning property taxes among owners of share or membership interests in the cooperative housing corporations so as to benefit those owners who qualify for the exemption.

(b) Any dwelling that qualified for an exemption under Section 218 prior to the commencement dates of the wildfires listed in the Governor’s disaster proclamation of August 2009, that was damaged or destroyed by the wildfires and any other related casualty that occurred as a result of this disaster in the Counties of Los Angeles and Monterey, as declared by the Governor in August 2009, and that has not changed ownership since the commencement dates of these disasters as listed in the proclamations, shall not be disqualified as a “dwelling” or be denied an exemption under Section 218 solely on the basis that the dwelling was temporarily damaged or destroyed or was being reconstructed by the owner, or was temporarily uninhabited as a result of restricted access to the property due to the wildfires.

(c) Any dwelling that qualified for an exemption under Section 218 prior to August 30, 2009, that was damaged or destroyed by the wildfires and any other related casualty that occurred as a result of this disaster in the County of Placer, as declared by the Governor in August 2009, and that has not changed ownership since August 30, 2009, shall not be disqualified as a “dwelling” or be denied an exemption under Section 218 solely on the basis that the dwelling was temporarily damaged or destroyed or was being reconstructed by the owner, or was temporarily uninhabited as a result of restricted access to the property due to the wildfires.

(d) Any dwelling that qualified for an exemption under Section 218 prior to the commencement dates of the severe winter storms listed in the Governor’s disaster proclamations of January 2010, that was damaged or destroyed by the severe rainstorms, heavy snows, floods, or mudslides that occurred as a result of these disasters in the Counties of Calaveras, Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Francisco, and Siskiyou, as declared by the Governor in January 2010, and that has not changed ownership since the commencement dates of these disasters as listed in the proclamations, shall not be disqualified as a “dwelling” or be denied an exemption under Section 218 solely on the basis that the dwelling was temporarily damaged or destroyed or was being reconstructed by the owner, or was temporarily uninhabited as a result of restricted access to the property due to floods, mudslides, rockslides, or washed-out or damaged roads.

(e) Any dwelling that qualified for an exemption under Section 218 prior to July 26, 2010, that was damaged or destroyed by the wildfires and any other related casualty that occurred as a result of the disaster in the County of Kern, as declared by the Governor in July 2010, and that has not changed ownership since July 26, 2010, shall not be disqualified as a “dwelling” or be denied an exemption under this section solely on the basis that the dwelling was temporarily damaged or destroyed or was being reconstructed by the owner, or was temporarily uninhabited as a result of restricted access to the property due to the wildfires.

(f) The exemption provided for in subdivision (k) of Section 3 of Article XIII of the California Constitution shall first be applied to the building, structure, or other shelter and the excess, if any, shall be applied to any land on which it may be located.

(Added by Stats. 2010, Ch. 447, Sec. 4. (AB 1662) Effective September 29, 2010.)