The Moratorium Process

1. The moratorium process begins at the office of Metro Inspections, Permits and Licensing.
2. Applications must be made at least 30 days prior to the start of construction.
3. The moratorium or ‘frozen’ value applies only to the local rate.
4. The state, school and non-participating government rates will reflect the annually assessed value of the property’s fair cash value.
5. Moratorium certificates expire 5 years from issuance.
6. Certificates are issued at the completion of scheduled repairs, and a valid inspection has been completed by IPL.
7. The property must be at least 25 years old.
8. The moratorium is transferable from the holder of the certificate to a new owner.

What is it?

The assessment moratorium program is established by the Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government by Ordinance Chapter 154, “Property Assessment and Reassessment Moratorium Programs”.  The moratorium is administered by the Louisville Metro Department of Codes and Regulations/Construction Review Division and the PVA.  Louisville’s Tax Moratorium Ordinance can be found here.

The moratorium program provides an incentive for making improvements to qualifying residential and commercial buildings in Louisville Metro by providing a 5 year moratorium of some of the local tax assessment that would result from the improvements.  The moratorium assessment only applies to Louisville Metro and Urban Service District (if applicable) tax rates.  State and all other non-participating governments (home rule cities) and districts such as school and fire service are exempt from the program and continue to base tax rates on fair cash value.

PVA maintains 2 values on property that has been approved for an assessment moratorium:  a “frozen” value (or moratorium assessment value) and a “current” value (or current fair cash value).  A dual assessment is maintained because tax rates for Louisville Metro and the Urban Service District are applied to the “frozen” value for a 5 year period and all other non-participating taxing districts apply tax rates to the current fair cash value of the property as the improvements are made.

Eligibility Criteria List:

To be eligible, the structure must be at least 25 years old and the improvement must comply with one of the following:

1. The costs of the enhancements made to the structure to repair, rehabilitate, restore or stabilize it is equal to at least 25% of the value of the improvements on the property based on the  latest   PVA assessment.
2. The cost of the enhancements made to the structure to repair, rehabilitate, restore or stabilize it is equal to at least 10% of the value of the Improvement on the property based on the latest assessment made by the Jefferson County Public Valuation Administrator and the property is located within a “Qualified Census Tract” (QCT), designated by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, where at least 50% of households have an income less than 60% of the Area Median Gross Income in Jefferson County AND the property is owner-occupied; or
3. The cost of the enhancements made to the owner-occupied structure to repair, rehabilitate, restore or stabilize it is equal to at least 5% of the value of the Improvement on the property based on the latest assessment made by the Jefferson County Property Valuation Administrator and the property is located within one of the following traditional urban neighborhoods:
   • Algonquin
   • California
   • Chickasaw
   • Park Duvalle
   • Park Hill
   • Parkland
   • Portland
   • Russell
   • Shawnee
   • Shelby Park
   • Smoketown Jackson
4. The qualifying property will, at the conclusion of the plan of improvement, be a LEED Certified property based on the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards in effect at the time of application.

Please download the Application for Assessment/Reassessment Moratorium Certificate from the Louisville Metro Department of Codes and Regulations website @:  https://louisvilleky.gov/government/construction-review/tax-moratorium and click on tax moratorium for more information.

When:

An applicant has 2 years to complete renovations, but extensions not exceeding 2 additional years may be granted by the Department of Codes and Regulations if needed.  Upon completion of the work, the applicant shall notify the Construction Review Division of the Department of Codes and Regulations.  Construction review staff will conduct an on-site inspection to confirm work was completed as proposed and certify the same to PVA.  PVA will then issue the moratorium certificate to the applicant.  The 5 year moratorium will become effective on the next assessment date, January 1, following issuance of the moratorium certificate.  The Assessment Moratorium Certificate is transferable from the holder of the certificate to a new owner.  The moratorium assessment value is based on the “frozen” value that was based on the PVA field inspection made prior to renovations.  The moratorium assessment or “frozen” value is effective for the 5 year period listed on the certificate, and expires January 1 following the end of the period.

Contact Information

Application must be made at least 30 days prior to beginning renovations.  The application can be downloaded from the Louisville Metro Department of Codes and Regulations website @: https://louisvilleky.gov/government/construction-review/tax-moratorium  Applications are to be completed and submitted to the Construction Review Division of Codes and Regulations along with a $40 application fee. The $40 administrative fee may be waived at the discretion of the Director of Code Enforcement and the Property Valuation Administrator for low-income homeowners.  Applications expire 2 years from date of application if no work occurs as proposed on the application.

If you have any questions about the assessment moratorium program, please contact Jason Hancock at (502) 574-6380, ext. 9303  during our weekday office hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.