PETITION OF:

SECTION 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 5C and clause Fifty-fifth of section 5 of chapter 59 of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the City of Boston may, upon promulgation in accordance with the provisions of this act of rules or regulations, provide for a residential tax exemption for cooperative housing residents to be known as The Cooperative Housing Equitable Tax Exemption, which shall make available to qualifying Cooperative housing corporation residential unit owners an exemption of 30% of the average value of the applicant co-operative corporation’s residential units.

SECTION 2. When used in this act, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

“Applicant,” a cooperative housing corporation organized under chapter 157B of the General Laws.

“Cooperative housing corporation (“Co-op”),” a cooperative housing corporation as defined by section 4 of chapter 157B of the General Laws.

“Shareholder,” a shareholder as defined by chapter 157B of the General Laws.

“Homeowner,” a homeowner as defined by section 5C of chapter 59 of the General Laws.

SECTION 3. The exemption granted under this Act shall be the amount calculated pursuant to Section 1. The assessors shall apply the amount of the exemption to the actual amount assessed to the Co-op. The number of units to be considered shall be those units whose owner(s) have met all requirements set forth in Section 4. It shall be the obligation of the Co-op’s management, representative or board of trustees to distribute the exemption among its qualifying co-op shareholders in proportion to each shareholder’s number of shares as identified in the stock certificate.

SECTION 4. To be eligible for the exemption, the Co-op’s management, representative or board of trustees shall provide the Assessing Department, on or before October 31 of the year in which the exemption is requested, the following information and documentation: First, for each Co-op who wishes to receive an exemption on behalf of its shareholders, proof of all eligible shareholders’ status on January first of the preceding fiscal year, including, but not limited to, Chapter 157B corporate filings with the secretary of state, statement of shares owned by each shareholder and date of share acquisition, statement of share unit representation, and proprietary lease bearing the names of the cooperative housing corporation and the shareholder; Second, proof that the shareholder occupied the co-op unit on January first of the preceding fiscal year as a primary residence for income tax purposes. The City of Boston reserves the right to request additional information as it deems necessary.

An exemption application must be filed with the board of assessors by the Co-op’s management, representative or board of trustees. The application and accompanying proof must be filed every year. The exemption will be granted only if the requirements of this Section 4 are met. All proof requested by the board of assessors shall be received by the board of assessors, on or before October 31 of the fiscal year in which the exemption is sought.

SECTION 5. The amount of the residential exemption granted under this Act shall be based on the average residential value of units of the co-operative corporation applying for this exemption.

The amount of the exemption may equal, but shall not exceed, the residential exemption amount given to homeowners under paragraph one of section 5C of chapter 59.

The exemption provided for in this Act shall not apply to commercial Co-op units, or any residential units let to any third party, under any form of lease agreement.

SECTION 6. A Co-op upon which a tax has been assessed, if aggrieved by such tax, may, on or before the thirtieth day after the date on which the bill or notice was sent, petition in writing to the board of assessors, on a form approved by the commissioner of revenue, for an abatement thereof, and if the board finds the Co-op was taxed at more than its just proportion under this Act, it shall make an abatement in accordance with the provisions of Section 1 of this Act. No individual Co-op shareholder shall have standing to apply for the exemption for his unit, nor shall an individual shareholder have standing to petition for abatement under this section. A Co-op that is aggrieved by the denial of the exemption provided for in this Act may file a notice of appeal with the Appellate Tax Board within sixty days of notice of the assessors’ refusal to grant the exemption.

SECTION 7. This act shall take effect upon its passage.