Cincinnati homeowners behind on their property taxes could get a lifeline.
Applications open July 15 for a city program called "HomeSafe" that provides up to $10,000 in help for low- and moderate-income homeowners who are delinquent on property tax payments.
Cincinnati City Council earlier this year approved $1 million for the program after some parts of the city, like Walnut Hills and Price Hill, saw big property tax increases.
"Due to recent revaluations conducted in 2024, some property owners have seen an unexpected increase in their property taxes, which can especially burden low-to-moderate-income homeowners," a memo from the City Manager's Office to Council reads. "HomeSafe aims to strengthen housing stability in the immediate term
of our changing housing market by helping keep qualified residents in their homes."
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The city's Department of Community and Economic Development is administering the program in partnership with the Hamilton County Treasurer's Office.
Council member Mark Jeffreys proposed the city's Property Tax Task Force. He says delinquencies are growing. About 3,000 people are likely eligible for the city's program right now — up from 1,100 after the first round of tax bills went out. Another round of tax bills going out this month will likely push that number even higher.
A person must reside in a single-family home they own and make no more than 80% of the area median income — $58,700 for a single person — to be eligible for the program.
Applications for HomeSafe are available at the city's HomeSafe website.
Lawmakers in Ohio's General Assembly have signaled they're working on longer-term solutions for the drastic increases some homeowners have seen on their property tax bills, but haven't passed legislation to that end yet.
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Jeffreys says the Property Tax Task Force is also working on longer term ways to address the tax spikes.
"Obviously this is a temporary relief," he says. "We're looking at other, longer term relief efforts even within our control ... to help people with some of the costs associated with their homes, especially energy costs. That should provide some relief. Because we want to make sure that we don't just provide the relief and a year from now people are back in the same situation."