On June 26, 2019, Michigan’s House Bill 4121 to amend Michigan’s General Property Tax Act was approved and went into immediate effect. The purpose of the Bill was to repeal the June 30, 2019 sunset on a 2014 law that allows county treasurers to enter into tax foreclosure avoidance agreements for a term of up to five years with the owners of property with delinquent taxes. Some provisions of the bill include:
- Section 78(q)(1), which allows a foreclosing governmental unit to create a delinquent property tax installment payment plan for eligible property where the title is held by a financially distressed person;
- Section 78(q)(3), which provides that if a financially distressed person completes a delinquent property tax installment payment plan, interest under section 78g(3)(b) and any additional interest will be waived;
- Section 78(q)(4), which provides that if a financially distressed person does not complete a delinquent property tax installment payment plan, interest under section 78g(3)(b) and any additional interest will apply, and the eligible property will be included in the immediately succeeding petition for foreclosure;
- Section 78(q)(5), which states in part that until June 30, 2026, a county treasurer may enter into a tax avoidance agreement for a term up to 5 years with an owner of property returned as delinquent to the county treasurer if the property is residential, eligible, and if the owner makes an initial payment of 10% of the delinquent taxes owed; and
- Section 78(q)(8), which states that property that is classified as industrial property, is occupied at less than 10% of its facility capacity for more than three years, and is located in a county with a population of more than 1,500,000 is not eligible to participate in a delinquent property tax installment payment plan.
A link to the approved House Bill can be found here: http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2019-2020/publicact/pdf/2019-PA-0035.pdf
This article was written by Emily Honet, Law Clerk
