Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1504



By Senator Davis





5-01704-24 20241504__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to affordable housing; creating s.
3 166.0452, F.S.; providing definitions; authorizing
4 municipalities to create community land bank programs
5 for a certain purpose; requiring certain
6 municipalities to develop and annually adopt a
7 community land bank plan; providing requirements for
8 such plan; requiring that a public hearing on the
9 proposed plan be held before its adoption; requiring
10 notice to certain entities; requiring that the
11 proposed plan be made public within a certain
12 timeframe before the public hearing; providing
13 requirements for the sale of certain property to land
14 banks; providing that such sale is for a public
15 purpose; prohibiting certain persons from challenging
16 the market value of a property under certain
17 circumstances; requiring that written notice of a sale
18 of such property be provided to certain persons in a
19 certain manner within a specified timeframe;
20 authorizing the owner of certain property to contest
21 the sale of such property and requiring such property
22 to be sold in a different manner; specifying that the
23 owner of certain property is not entitled to proceeds
24 from the sale and is not liable for certain
25 deficiencies; authorizing land banks to buy certain
26 property for less than market value under certain
27 circumstances; conveying the right, title, and
28 interest in certain property to land banks; requiring
29 land banks to offer qualified organizations a right of
30 first refusal to purchase certain property; providing
31 requirements for the right of first refusal; providing
32 conditions for the subsequent resale of property
33 acquired by land banks; requiring certain deed
34 restrictions on certain property; providing
35 requirements for such deed restrictions; authorizing
36 the modification of or addition to deed restrictions;
37 requiring land banks to maintain certain records;
38 requiring land banks to file annual audited financial
39 statements within a certain timeframe; requiring land
40 banks to submit an annual performance report to the
41 municipality by a certain date; providing requirements
42 for such report; requiring that copies of such report
43 be provided to certain entities and made available for
44 public review; providing applicability; creating s.
45 220.1851, F.S.; providing definitions; authorizing a
46 tax credit for certain projects; providing the maximum
47 value of such credit; authorizing the Florida Housing
48 Finance Corporation to allocate the tax credit among
49 certain projects; authorizing the tax credit to be
50 transferred by the recipient; requiring the Department
51 of Revenue to adopt rules; creating s. 420.50931,
52 F.S.; creating the Retail-to-residence Tax Credit
53 Program for a certain purpose; requiring the Florida
54 Housing Finance Corporation to determine which
55 projects are eligible for the tax credit; requiring
56 the corporation to establish and adopt certain
57 procedures and to prepare a specified annual plan;
58 requiring that such plan be approved by the Governor;
59 authorizing the corporation to exercise certain
60 powers; requiring the board of directors of the
61 corporation to administer certain procedures and
62 determine allocations on behalf of the corporation;
63 providing requirements for certain procedures;
64 requiring taxpayers to submit an application with
65 certain information to the corporation; authorizing
66 the corporation to request additional information;
67 providing requirements for the approval of an
68 application for a project; creating s. 420.5098, F.S.;
69 creating the Affordable Housing Construction Loan
70 Program for a certain purpose; providing the
71 corporation with certain powers and responsibilities
72 relating to the program; providing requirements for
73 the program; providing rulemaking authority; providing
74 an effective date.
75
76 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
77
78 Section 1. Section 166.0452, Florida Statutes, is created
79 to read:
80 166.0452 Community land bank program.—
81 (1) For purposes of this section, the term:
82 (a) “Affordable” has the same meaning as in s. 420.0004.
83 (b) “Community housing development organization” has the
84 same meaning as in s. 420.503.
85 (c) “Community land bank plan” or “plan” means a plan
86 adopted by the governing body of a municipality to implement a
87 community land bank program.
88 (d) “Community land bank program” or “program” means the
89 program created by a governing body of a municipality under this
90 section.
91 (e) “Land bank” means an entity established or approved by
92 the governing body of a municipality for the purpose of
93 acquiring, holding, and transferring unimproved real property
94 under this section.
95 (f) “Low-income household” has the same meaning as in s.
96 420.9071.
97 (g) “Qualified organization” means a community housing
98 development organization that meets all of the following
99 criteria:
100 1. Contains within its designated geographical boundaries
101 of operation, as set forth in its application for certification
102 filed with and approved by the municipality, a portion of the
103 property that a land bank is offering for sale.
104 2. Has built at least three single-family homes or duplexes
105 or one multifamily residential dwelling of four or more housing
106 units in compliance with all applicable building codes within
107 the preceding 2-year period and within the organization’s
108 designated geographical boundaries of operation.
109 3. Has developed or rehabilitated housing units within the
110 preceding 3-year period which are within a 2-mile radius of the
111 property that a land bank is offering for sale.
112 (h) “Qualified participating developer” means a developer
113 that meets all of the following criteria:
114 1. Has developed three or more housing units within the 3
115 year period preceding its submission of a proposal to a land
116 bank seeking to acquire real property from the land bank.
117 2. Has a development plan approved by the governing body of
118 the municipality for the property acquired from the land bank.
119 3. Any other requirements adopted by the governing body of
120 the municipality in its community land bank plan.
121
122 The term includes a qualified organization.
123 (i) “Very-low-income household” has the same meaning as in
124 s. 420.9071.
125 (2) The governing body of a municipality may create a
126 community land bank program in which the person charged with
127 selling real property pursuant to a foreclosure judgment may
128 sell certain eligible real property by private sale for purposes
129 of affordable housing developments. The governing body of a
130 municipality that adopts a community land bank program shall
131 establish or approve a land bank for the purpose of acquiring,
132 holding, and transferring unimproved real property under this
133 section.
134 (3)(a) The governing body of a municipality that creates a
135 community land bank program shall operate the program in
136 conformance with a community land bank plan that the
137 municipality adopts annually. The plan may be amended as needed.
138 (b) In developing the plan, the governing body of a
139 municipality shall consider other housing plans adopted by the
140 governing body, including the comprehensive plan submitted to
141 the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
142 and all fair housing plans and policies adopted or agreed to by
143 the governing body.
144 (c) The plan must include, at a minimum, all of the
145 following:
146 1. A list of community housing development organizations
147 eligible to participate in the right of first refusal under
148 subsection (6). The plan must also include the time period
149 during which the right of first refusal may be exercised, which
150 time period must be at least 9 months but not more than 26
151 months after the date of the deed of conveyance of the property
152 to the land bank.
153 2. A right of first refusal for any other nonprofit
154 corporation exempted from federal income tax under s. 501(c)(3)
155 of the United States Internal Revenue Code, provided that the
156 preeminent right of first refusal is provided to qualified
157 organizations as provided in subsection (6).
158 3. A list of the parcels of real property that may be
159 eligible for sale to the land bank during the next year.
160 4. The municipality’s plan for the development of
161 affordable housing on those parcels of real property.
162 5. The sources and amounts of money the municipality
163 anticipates to be available for subsidies for the development of
164 affordable housing in the municipality, including any money
165 specifically available for housing developed under the program,
166 as approved by the governing body of the municipality at the
167 time the plan is adopted.
168 6. The amount of additional time, if any, that a property
169 may be held in the land bank once an offer has been received
170 from a qualified participating developer and accepted by the
171 land bank.
172 (4)(a) Before the adoption of a plan, the governing body of
173 a municipality must hold a public hearing on the proposed plan.
174 (b) The city manager or his or her designee must provide
175 notice of the public hearing to all community housing
176 development organizations and to the neighborhood associations
177 identified by the governing body of the municipality as serving
178 the neighborhoods in which properties anticipated to be
179 available for sale to the land bank under this section are
180 located.
181 (c) The city manager or his or her designee must make
182 copies of the proposed plan available to the public at least 60
183 days before the date of the public hearing.
184 (5)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (f), property that
185 is ordered sold pursuant to a foreclosure judgment may be sold
186 in a private sale to a land bank by the person charged with the
187 sale of the property without first offering the property for
188 sale as otherwise provided in chapter 45 if all of the following
189 apply:
190 1. The market value of the property as specified in the
191 judgment of foreclosure is less than the total amount due under
192 the judgment, including all taxes, penalties, and interest, plus
193 the value of nontax liens held by a taxing unit and awarded by
194 the judgment, court costs, and the cost of the sale.
195 2. The property is not improved with a building or
196 buildings.
197 3. There are delinquent taxes on the property for a total
198 of at least 5 years.
199 4. The governing body of the municipality has executed an
200 interlocal agreement with the other taxing units that are
201 parties to the foreclosure proceeding which enables those taxing
202 units to agree to participate in the program while retaining the
203 right to withhold consent to the sale of the specific properties
204 to the land bank.
205 (b) A sale of property for use in connection with the
206 program is a sale for a public purpose.
207 (c) If the person being sued in a foreclosure proceeding
208 does not contest the market value of the property in the
209 proceeding, the person waives the right to challenge the amount
210 of the market value determined by the court for purposes of the
211 sale of the property under s. 45.031.
212 (d) For any sale of property under this section, the person
213 charged with the sale of the property must provide each person
214 who was a defendant to the judgment, or that person’s attorney,
215 written notice at least 90 days before the date of the sale of
216 the proposed method of sale of the property. Such notice must be
217 given in accordance with the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure.
218 (e) After receipt of the notice required under paragraph
219 (d) and before the date of the proposed sale, the owner of the
220 property subject to the sale may file with the person charged
221 with the sale a written request that the property not be sold in
222 the manner provided under this section.
223 (f) If the person charged with the sale receives a written
224 request as provided in paragraph (e), the person must sell the
225 property as otherwise provided in chapter 45.
226 (g) The owner of the property subject to the sale may not
227 receive any proceeds of a sale under this section and does not
228 have any personal liability for a deficiency of the judgment as
229 a result of a sale under this section.
230 (h) If consent is given by the taxing units that are a
231 party to the judgment, property may be sold to a land bank for
232 less than the market value of the property as specified in the
233 judgment or less than the total of all taxes, penalties, and
234 interest, plus the value of nontax liens held by a taxing unit
235 and awarded by the judgment, court costs, and the cost of the
236 sale.
237 (i) The deed of conveyance of the property sold to a land
238 bank under this section conveys to the land bank the right,
239 title, and interest in the property acquired or held by each
240 taxing unit that was a party to the judgment, subject to the
241 right of redemption.
242 (6) After receiving the deed of conveyance of the property,
243 a land bank must first offer the property for sale to qualified
244 organizations.
245 (a) A land bank must provide notice to qualified
246 organizations by certified mail, return receipt requested, at
247 least 60 days before the beginning of the time period in which a
248 right of first refusal may be exercised according to a
249 municipality’s community land bank plan.
250 (b) If a land bank conveys the property to a qualified
251 organization before the expiration of the time period specified
252 by the community land bank plan, the interlocal agreement
253 executed under subparagraph (5)(a)4. must provide tax abatement
254 for the property until the expiration of the time period.
255 (c) During the right of first refusal time period, a land
256 bank may not sell the property to a qualified participating
257 developer other than a qualified organization. If all qualified
258 organizations notify the land bank that they are declining to
259 exercise their right of first refusal during the applicable time
260 period, the land bank may sell the property to any other
261 qualified participating developer at the same price that the
262 land bank offered the property to the qualified organizations.
263 (d) If more than one qualified organization expresses an
264 interest in exercising its right of first refusal, the
265 organization that has the most geographically compact area
266 encompassing a portion of the property as designated in its
267 application for certification is given priority.
268 (e) A land bank is not required to provide a right of first
269 refusal to qualified organizations under this section if the
270 land bank is selling property that reverted to the land bank as
271 provided under subsection (7).
272 (7) Each subsequent resale of property acquired by a land
273 bank under this section must comply with the conditions of this
274 subsection.
275 (a) Within 3 years after receiving the deed of conveyance
276 of the property, a land bank must sell the property to a
277 qualified participating developer for the purpose of
278 constructing affordable housing for sale or rent to low-income
279 households or very-low-income households. If the land bank has
280 not sold the property within those 3 years, the property must be
281 transferred from the land bank back to the taxing units that
282 were parties to the foreclosure judgment for disposition as
283 otherwise allowed under law.
284 (b) The number of properties acquired by a qualified
285 participating developer under this section on which development
286 has not been completed may not at any time exceed three times
287 the annual average residential production completed by the
288 qualified participating developer during the preceding 2-year
289 pe