A. The governing body of any county, city or town may, by ordinance, provide for a local real property tax credit equal to certain property tax liens owed on real estate on which any structure or other improvement no less than fifteen years of age has undergone substantial rehabilitation, renovation or replacement for residential use, subject to such conditions as the ordinance may prescribe. The credit shall be used by the owner of the property which has the real property tax liens and can be used to offset real property taxes assessed against such property. The governing body of a county, city or town may establish criteria for determining whether real estate qualifies for the credit authorized by this provision and may require such structures to be older than fifteen years of age, or place such other restrictions and conditions on such property as may be prescribed by ordinance. Such ordinance may also provide for a credit for multifamily residential units which have been substantially rehabilitated by replacement for multifamily use. Such replacement structures may exceed the total square footage of the replaced structures by no more than thirty percent.

B. The local tax credit shall be available only to those property owners who have purchased a structure which at the time of purchase contained property tax liens exceeding fifty percent of the assessed value of the property. The tax credit granted by the locality shall not exceed the amount by which the property tax liens exceeded fifty percent of the assessed value of the property at the time of purchase. The credit may be applied upon completion of the rehabilitation, renovation or replacement or on January 1 of the year following completion of the rehabilitation, renovation or replacement and may be divided over a period of no longer than ten years.

C. The governing body of any county, city or town may assess a fee not to exceed one hundred twenty-five dollars for residential properties, or two hundred fifty dollars for commercial, industrial, and/or apartment properties of six units or more for processing an application requesting the credit provided by this section. No property shall be eligible for such credit unless the appropriate building permits have been acquired and the commissioner of the revenue or assessing officer has verified that the rehabilitation, renovation or replacement indicated on the application has been completed.

D. Where rehabilitation is achieved through demolition and replacement of an existing structure, the credit shall not apply when any structure demolished is a registered Virginia landmark or is determined by the Department of Historic Resources to contribute to the significance of a registered historic district.

1996, c. 765; 2001, c. 489.