This story was produced in partnership with the Rocket Community Foundation to highlight tax relief opportunities through the Detroit Homeowners Property Exemption (HOPE) program.
Brenda Butler started spreading the word after receiving a property tax break on the home she’s owned in the Chandler Park neighborhood since the 1980s. She warns those who need assistance from the city to afford to stay at home that there are assistance programs available.
The 77-year-old Detroit resident said she was granted a property tax exemption based on her income and can now use the free money to upgrade her home’s electrical work, plumbing and landscaping.
Butler carries flyers with her on lunches and evenings out to share information with people who don’t know about HOPE, the Homeowner Property Exemption Program. Homeowners must apply to the program by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 1 to find out if they qualify for the opportunity to reduce or waive their taxes this year.
“This was very helpful to me,” Butler said.
The annual HOPE application is the key to achieving property tax relief for Detroit residents, qualifying for a reduction or elimination of this year’s taxes and helping homeowners avoid paying taxes in the first place. It can be prevented.
Homeowners who owe property taxes from past years pay those back taxes to the Wayne County Treasurer’s Office. If approved by HOPE, it will also be eligible for the county’s Pay As You Stay (PAYS) program, which wipes out these unpaid taxes with help from the Gilbert Family Foundation’s Detroit Property Tax Relief Fund.
The Detroit Property Tax Relief Fund will completely eliminate tax debt for more than 10,000 Detroit households by the end of 2023, said Laura Granneman, executive director of the Rocket Community Foundation. Executive Director of the Gilbert Family Foundation.
“Don’t ignore yourself”
The HOPE program is intended for residents who are unable to pay property taxes, are owners and occupiers of a home, and live there as their primary residence. The application will be reviewed by the City’s Property Appraisal Review Board and a decision will be made. Homeowners can receive a full exemption or a partial exemption of 75 percent, 50 percent, 25 percent, or 10 percent of their property taxes for the current year, depending on their income. Complete income guidelines can be found at this link. This is based on federal poverty guidelines.
Review Board Director Willie Donwell said it’s important for homeowners facing hardship to apply for the HOPE program and not make assumptions about whether they qualify.
“Don’t exclude yourself,” Donwell said, explaining that there are requirements the board must follow on how to determine whether an applicant’s income disqualifies the applicant.
For example, the board cannot count non-cash payments. “People who receive Medicaid or Medicare as part of their benefits cannot count it as part of their income.”
Donwell encourages homeowners to submit their applications early so the review committee has time to process them and contact applicants if necessary.
Homeowners can download the application here. Pick up your forms from the Detroit Tax Service Center located in Suite 130 of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center. Call 313-224-3035 and have the form mailed to your home. or email BoardofReview@DetroitMI.gov.
The HOPE application requires the following items:
Michigan Department of Treasury Poverty Exemption Form 5737 and Verification of Ownership and Possession Form 5739. Proof of registered ownership, such as a deed, land contract, probate court order, or divorce decree. Government ID with address and photo of owner; Government ID with address and photo for all residents 18 years of age or older. and proof of residence for all minor children in the household. Income verification for all household members, including minor children. Examples include W2 forms, pay stubs, Social Security income or disability statements, pensions, proof of income received as child support, self-employment, or signed notarized documents. An individual who is financially supporting the applicant. 2022 federal and state tax returns (if filed) and 2023 income verification for all adult household members. If adults are not required to file a tax return, they must complete Michigan Treasury Form 4988, Poverty Exemption Affidavit, and IRS Form 4506. -Submit your W2, Social Security statement, or proof of last year’s income.
The review committee reserves the right to request additional documentation from the applicant.
Donwell said there’s no need to worry if you submit more than the required documents.
“We often get social security cards, bridge cards, passports, things like that, and these are things we can’t do anything about,” he said. “We can’t do anything about the utility bill.”
Resource fair scheduled before HOPE application deadline
A Healthy Home Resource Fair will be held in Detroit ahead of the Nov. 1 HOPE application deadline. At the trade show, Detroit homeowners can find a team that can assist them with their HOPE applications, along with information about more resources such as water affordability, energy savings, and interest-free loans.
“The HOPE waiver is a beginning, but not the end,” Donwell told Outlier. “This is the beginning of the process of building a better quality of life for homeowners.”
A resource fair will be held on the city’s east side on Saturday, Oct. 26 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Perfecting Church, 7616 Nevada Avenue. Donwell said the fair is designed specifically for the elderly and people with disabilities. Residents can call 313-244-0274 to reserve a Lyft ride to HOPE resource information reservations.
Property tax as a quality of life issue
Donwell said he has been in contact with more than 2,000 elderly and disabled Detroit residents regarding tax issues. He said the average senior homeowner the review board studies has a monthly income of $750 to $800. For someone who pays $2,000 in annual property taxes, that means they need two months of income to pay their property taxes.
“That means something else is going to suffer in order for them to meet their property tax obligations. Light, gas, water, food, something is going to be cut off and now they are trying to make up for the shortfall in utility bills and medicine, he said. “We’re really talking about quality of life.”
Donwell said the Gilbert Family Foundation and Lockett Community Foundation are working to reduce property taxes because Lockett “understands the needs of the community and what needs to be done to stabilize the community.” This is because there is a “Their focus and position is not just on helping someone with their property taxes. It’s, ‘How can we get them through or how can we improve their quality of life?’ is.”
Mr. Donwell joined the review board in 2007, just as the wave of foreclosures caused by the Great Recession began. He said he remembers being in what was then Cobo Hall with more than 2,000 Detroit residents who were at risk of tax foreclosure for a hearing before the Wayne County Treasurer.
From 2007 to 2016, he said, Detroit was “devastated to some degree” by foreclosures and vacant properties. “When we start talking about tax foreclosures, what is the actual loss to the city? Is it just the tax amount, or is it the cost of all the fallout that happens after you lose your property?”
The number of property tax foreclosures in the city of Detroit is the lowest this year since 2003, Donwell told Outlier. Since the PAYS program began in 2020, more than 12,000 to 13,000 homes have been removed from the foreclosure process, he said.
“What we’re doing in terms of forgiving an individual’s tax debt through this process is actually helping the community, rather than them being evicted or ultimately having to leave their home. I believe it will save us a lot more money.”
