FHFC Certification Filing in Plantation

What FHFC certification does for your exemption

Under section 196.1978(3) of the Florida Statutes, a multifamily property with more than 70 units can exempt the units set aside for residents earning up to 120 percent of area median income. The property appraiser will not grant that exemption on the DR-504AFH alone. The application has to arrive with a certification from the Florida Housing Finance Corporation confirming that the qualifying units and their rents meet the statute.

FHFC looks closely at the request itself: the unit count, which units are set aside, the income band each unit serves, and the rent charged against the limits for that band. A request with a mislabeled unit or a rent a few dollars over the cap can come back for correction, and the January 1 date does not move. That is why we start well ahead of it.

One person on our side handles your request from the first rent roll you provide until the certificate is in hand, so you never have to explain the property twice.

What our certification work covers

Unit-by-unit qualification review

We go through the rent roll and tag each unit by income band: at or below 80 percent of AMI, or above 80 and up to 120 percent. The band matters because it sets both the rent cap and the exemption level, 100 percent or 75 percent of assessed value for that unit.

Rent limit check

We compare each set-aside unit's contract rent with the FHFC limits published for Broward County and with the market rent ceiling in the statute. Any unit priced over the lower figure gets flagged before filing, not after.

Threshold math

The property needs more than 70 units and at least 20 percent of them qualifying. We show you the count and the percentage in writing so you can see how much margin you have.

Preparing and filing the request

We assemble the certification request with its supporting schedules and file it with FHFC on your behalf. You get a copy of exactly what went in.

Answering FHFC follow-up

If FHFC asks about a unit or a figure, the questions come to us. We respond, then tell you what was asked and how we answered.

Signs it is time to start your certification

• January 1 is a few months out

  Gathering leases, income documents and a clean rent roll takes time. Starting in the fall leaves room to fix problems before the deadline.

• Set-aside units with no certificate on file

  Many owners already rent below the caps without claiming the exemption. Without an FHFC certificate on file, the tax savings on those units are never applied.

• Rents changed after a renewal cycle

  Lease renewals can push a set-aside unit over its income-band cap. A unit that qualified last year may not qualify now.

• You are close to the 20 percent line

  If losing two or three qualifying units drops you below the threshold, the whole exemption is at risk. A careful count shows where you stand.

• A previous request came back

  Rejected or returned requests usually trace to a specific cause: a band mismatch, a missing schedule or a rent over the limit. We find it and correct it.

How a certification filing runs

1. 1

   Free eligibility check by phone

   You tell us the unit count, the set-aside plan and current rents. We tell you whether the property appears to qualify and what we will need.

2. 2

   Document collection

   You provide the rent roll, lease terms for set-aside units and income records. Your contact lists exactly what is missing so you gather it once.

3. 3

   Schedules and review

   We build the unit schedule, test every rent against its band limit and walk you through the draft. Nothing is filed until you approve it.

4. 4

   Filing with FHFC

   We file the request before January 1 and track it until the certificate is issued.

5. 5

   Handoff to the county step

   The certificate becomes an attachment to your DR-504AFH, due to the property appraiser by March 1. We can carry that through as part of our County DR-504AFH Filing service.

What moves the price of a filing

Our fee follows the amount of work your file actually needs, so two properties rarely pay the same. On the first call we lay out the scope in plain terms. If you want a sense of the tax value at stake before deciding, ask for the free savings estimate and we will run the numbers for your set-aside units.

Number of units

A 72-unit building and a 400-unit community both need every set-aside unit reviewed, and the larger file takes more hours.

How organized the paperwork is

When the rent roll matches the leases line for line, our review goes fast. If leases live in several places or income records have gaps, we spend extra hours rebuilding the picture before any rent test can start.

Mixed income bands

Properties with units in both the 80 percent and 120 percent bands need two sets of rent tests and a more detailed schedule.

Timing

A request started in late December leaves little room for correction and usually needs more concentrated work than one started in the fall.