AJC, September 18, 2019: Legacy Tax Program Could Keep Older Atlanta Residents in Their Homes
In increasingly gentrified cities, residents are often at risk of losing their homes. In Atlanta, senior citizens who’ve lived in neighborhoods for decades are particularly at risk.
To mitigate this problem, the city is asking the Atlanta Board of Education and the Fulton County Board of Commissioners to work with them to create a tax relief program that would help senior residents stay in their neighborhoods.
Gentrification occurs when new investments and other changes to communities lift property values, but also lifts property taxes and other costs to live there. The changes can force long-time residents out of neighborhoods.
Atlanta City Council passed a resolution Monday asking for the tax relief program. The proposed program would be aimed at any resident 65 or older, who has owned their property for at least 30 years and is current on their property taxes, according to the resolution.
The market value of the home must have tripled between the current and previous tax year for homeowners to be eligible. Details of how the program would help those that qualify must be worked out between the city, county and school officials.
