The Rochester-Olmsted County 4(d) Affordable Housing Incentive program is a voluntary program that helps rental property owners obtain property tax reductions while preserving affordable housing for income-qualified renters in the community.
Donor Name: United Way of Olmsted County
State: Minnesota
County: Olmsted County (MN)
Type of Grant: Program
Deadline: 01/31/2026
Size of the Grant: Not Available
Grant Duration: 5-10 Years
Details:
The Rochester-Olmsted County Affordable Housing Incentive program is a partnership among the City of Rochester, Olmsted County, and the Olmsted County Housing and Redevelopment Authority (OCHRA).
The Rochester-Olmsted County 4(d) Affordable Housing Incentive program is a voluntary program that helps rental property owners obtain property tax reductions while preserving affordable housing for income-qualified renters in the community. The current Rochester-Olmsted County 4(d) Affordable Housing Incentive Program application is for the Tax Assessment Year 2026 – Tax Payable Year 2027; the tax savings for this application will not be realized until the Tax Payable Year 2027.
Properties taxed under the 4(d)1 classification are at the 0.25% rate, which is approximately an 80% reduction from the general multifamily housing tax rate classification of 1.25%. In return for the property tax reduction, the rental property owner agrees to keep the property affordable to income-qualified renters for 10 years. Eligible properties include any multi-family property that has a valid City of Rochester housing registration certificate with four or more units, 20% of which must meet program rent and income limits.
Categories
There are two categories of projects that can apply for the Rochester-Olmsted County 4(d) Affordable Housing Incentive program. Please see the program guidelines for more information:
- Preservation Projects – 4(d) eligible properties with Certificates of Occupancy
- New Construction Projects – 4(d) eligible properties and has received the original building Certificate of Occupancy after January 1, 2025.
The program is administered by OCHRA staff and applications are accepted annually between November and January. Enrollment documents for eligible properties are sent in February and are due to OCHRA midMarch. To participate in the program, please visit olmstedcountyhousing.com for application materials.
4(d) Property Tax Classification?
Low-income rental property is entitled to valuation and classification as 4(d) property if at least 20% of the rental housing property meets any of the following qualifications:
- Units are subject to a housing assistance payment contract under Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 as amended;
- Units are rent-restricted and income-restricted units of a qualified low-income housing project receiving tax credits under section 42(g) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as amended;
- Units are financed by the Rural Housing Service of the United States Department of Agricultural and receive payments under the rental assistance program pursuant to Section 521(a) of the Housing Act of 1949 as amended; or
- Units are subject to rent and income restrictions under the terms of financial assistance provided to the rental housing property by the federal government, the State of Minnesota, or a local unit of government as evidenced by a documentrecorded against the property.
Grant Period
The agreement will be in effect for 10 years.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible properties
- Any multifamily property with four (4) or more units that has a valid City of Rochester Housing Registration Certificate is eligible for the program. Units applying to enroll in theprogram must be at or below program rent limits. A property may be included in the program if 20% or more of the units are restricted. The tax reduction is only applicable to units included in the program.
- Eligible Tenants
- Existing tenants in units that have program-compliant rents do not need to be incomequalified. As units turnover, income qualification for tenants is determined upon initial occupancy by the property manager and must be at or below 60% area median income, adjusted for household size. Thereafter, increased incomes of tenants in affordable units will not violate the program requirements. Addendum 3 will be annually updated to show updated income requirements at initial occupancy.
For more information, visit Olmsted County.
