Landlords are urging lawmakers to reject an Iowa Senate proposal that would raise property taxes for multi-family housing.
The Senate’s property tax bill (SF 2472) would create a new property classification for apartment buildings and assisted living facilities, separate from single-family homes. Landlords and real estate companies said that would raise their property taxes by about 30%, which would cause them to raise rent.
Jeff Stanbrough, who manages rental units in the Des Moines metro, said this would be devastating for Iowa’s housing market.
“In a market that is already lacking affordable rental housing options, and costs at an all-time high for investors, the impact is simple,” Stanbrough said. “This tax increase will ultimately hurt the exact people we are trying to protect: the working-class renters across Iowa, our neighborhoods and Iowa as a whole.”
Debbie Fisher, with the Iowa Assisted Living Association, said assisted living communities provide apartments for thousands of Iowa seniors with an average age of 87.
“We serve the most frail population of our elders,” Fisher said. “It’s critical to prevent a shift in the tax burden for these essential apartment homes for our elders and to keep the cost within reach of most Iowans.”
Some Republican senators said landlords convinced them to cut their property taxes over a decade ago, and that decision should be reversed. House Republicans favor their own property tax proposal that doesn’t have this provision.