ServicesAnnual Recertification
Annual Recertification Services in Miramar, FL
Your property tax break under the Live Local Act lasts one tax year. Each year it has to be earned again with current rents, current resident incomes and fresh filings. We assemble that renewal, file it on time and check back afterward to confirm the exemption landed on your tax roll.
What recertification is and why it comes around every year
Under the Live Local Act, the property tax exemption is granted for a single tax year. To keep it, the owner shows each year that the qualifying units are still leased to residents whose incomes fall within the program's thresholds, and that the rents on those units stay under the published limits. In practice that means obtaining a renewed FHFC certification letter, then submitting a fresh DR-504AFH return to the Broward County Property Appraiser.
The numbers move underneath you. HUD publishes new area median income figures, FHFC updates its rent limits, residents move out and new ones move in, and a routine rent increase can push a unit over the cap. A unit that qualified last year can quietly stop qualifying, and the appraiser will only exempt the units you can document.
Recertification is the right call for any property that already received the exemption, and for owners who filed on their own the first year and want the renewal checked line by line.
What our recertification work covers
Rent roll reconciliation
We compare every designated unit's current rent against the year's published limits, including the comparison to market rent where it applies. Units that drifted over the cap are flagged before anything is filed.
Resident income review
We confirm each qualifying unit has a current income certification at the right percentage of area median income. Gaps go to our resident income verification work so the file is complete.
FHFC certification renewal
We put together this year's certification request for Florida Housing and file it for you. Unit counts and income tiers are matched line for line to your rent roll, so the letter that comes back agrees with what the county will see.
DR-504AFH refiling
Once the certification is in hand, we prepare the county return and file it with the property appraiser ahead of the March 1 deadline.
Post-filing follow-up
After filing, we check back to confirm the exemption appears on your preliminary assessment and walk you through what records to keep for next year.
Signs your renewal needs attention now
New area median income figures came out
When AMI changes, the income and rent ceilings change with it. Your designated units need to be measured against the new numbers, not last year's.
Rents went up at lease renewal
A standard annual increase can put a qualifying unit above the rent limit. One over-limit unit can reduce the exempt value for that tier.
Turnover in designated units
New residents mean new income certifications. If move-in paperwork was not completed to the program's standard, the unit may not count.
Your assessment notice looks wrong
If the exemption is missing or smaller than expected on your notice of proposed taxes, something in last year's filing likely did not match. We can trace the cause before the next cycle.
The person who filed last year has left
Recertification depends on knowing which units were designated and at which tier. When that knowledge walks out the door, the renewal is easy to get wrong.
How a recertification runs with us
- 1
Free Live Local review
On a phone or video call we go over last year's certification, the property's unit mix and any changes since. You leave the call knowing what the renewal requires.
- 2
Document collection and testing
You share the current rent roll, lease terms and resident income files. We test each designated unit against the current income and rent limits and give you a written list of anything that needs fixing.
- 3
Filing with FHFC and the county
We file the FHFC certification request for you, then file the DR-504AFH with the property appraiser once the certification is issued. You get copies of everything filed.
- 4
Check back after filing
We follow up when the assessment notices are published to confirm the exemption was applied. Then we explain how to keep the rent roll and income files current through the year so next year's renewal starts clean.
What moves the cost of recertification
Recertification is usually less work than a first-year application, but the effort depends on how much changed and how clean your records are. We quote by phone after the free review, and the quote reflects the factors below.
- Number of designated units
- More qualifying units means more rent and income lines to test. A property with two income tiers takes more reconciliation than one with a single tier.
- Resident turnover
- Every new resident in a designated unit needs a fresh income certification. High turnover adds verification time.
- Condition of your records
- A current, organized rent roll moves quickly. Missing leases or incomplete income files take time to rebuild.
- Problems carried from last year
- If the prior filing had errors or the exemption was reduced, we spend time finding the cause and correcting it in this year's package.
Annual recertification questions
Something not covered here? (954) 519-7567
Do I really have to refile every year if nothing changed?
Yes. The exemption is granted for a single tax year, so both the FHFC certification and the DR-504AFH have to be renewed annually. Even when your units and residents stay the same, the income and rent limits usually change, and the filing has to reflect them.
What happens if I miss the March 1 deadline?
Missing the property appraiser's deadline can cost you the exemption for that tax year. Florida law allows late filing in some circumstances, but it is not guaranteed. We plan the FHFC step early so the county filing is not squeezed at the end.
A unit went over the rent limit. Do we lose the whole exemption?
Generally no. The exemption is applied to qualifying units, so an over-limit unit typically drops out rather than sinking the property. It still reduces your exempt value, which is why we test every unit before filing.
Do you work with larger development firms?
Yes. Coral Rock Development Group and Terra Group are among the firms we work with. Every designated unit gets tested the same way, whether a building has a few dozen qualifying units or several hundred.
We filed the first year ourselves. Can you take over the renewal?
Yes. We start with your prior certification and DR-504AFH so the renewal stays consistent with what the county already has on record. If we find a problem in the earlier filing, we explain it and how we will handle it this year.
Start this year's renewal before the deadline closes in
A short call lets us look at last year's filing and tell you what needs updating. If your property in Miramar or nearby Pembroke Pines has not been checked for eligibility yet, we can do that on the same call.