(a) Property is within the exemption provided by Sections 4 and 5 of Article XIII of the California Constitution if that property is owned and operated by a nonprofit corporation, otherwise qualifying for exemption under Section 214, that is organized and operated for the specific and primary purpose of building and rehabilitating single or multifamily residences for sale at cost to low-income families, with financing in the form of a zero interest rate loan and without regard to religion, race, national origin, or the sex of the head of household.
(b) (1) In the case of property not previously designated as open space, the exemption specified by subdivision (a) may not be denied to a property on the basis that the property does not currently include a single or multifamily residence as described in that subdivision, or a single or multifamily residence as so described that is in the course of construction.
(2) With regard to paragraph (1), the Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(A) The exempt activities of a nonprofit corporation as described in subdivision (a) qualitatively differ from the exempt activities of other nonprofit entities that provide housing in that the exempt purpose of a nonprofit corporation as described in subdivision (a) is not to own and operate a housing project on an ongoing basis, but is instead to make housing, and the land reasonably necessary for the use of that housing, available for prompt sale to low-income residents.
(B) In light of this distinction, the holding of real property by a nonprofit corporation as described in subdivision (a), for the future construction on that property of a single or multifamily residence as described in that same subdivision, is central to that corporation’s exempt purposes and activities.
(C) In light of the factors set forth in subparagraphs (A) and (B), the holding of real property by a nonprofit corporation described in subdivision (a), for the future construction on that property of a single or multifamily residence as described in that same subdivision, constitutes the exclusive use of that property for a charitable purpose within the meaning of subdivision (b) of Section 4 of Article XIII of the California Constitution.
(Added by Stats. 1999, Ch. 927, Sec. 2. Effective October 10, 1999. Applicable from January 1, 2000, as prescribed by Sec. 6 of Ch. 927.)