Self-help housing bill passes House without REET exemption

“Self-help housing” is most commonly understood as the Habitat for Humanity model, where a low-income home buyer participates in the construction of their home with a nonprofit agency.

As reported last week, two self-help housing bills had diverged in their approach as they proceeded through opposite houses. One contained a sales and use tax exemption, the other a real estate excise tax (REET) exemption. SB 5025, which provides a sales and use tax exemption on eligible purchases related to self-help housing, passed the House unanimously.

The bill also directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC) to use two additional metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of the tax preference in achieving the specific public policy objective provided in the tax preference performance statement.

Because SB 5025 contained only a REET exemption when it passed the Senate, it must now return to the Senate for concurrence with the House-passed version.