Affordable Housing Special Assessment Program

How does the program work? 

The program offers three levels of assessed value (AV) reductions depending on the percentage of dwelling units rented to households with an income at or below 60% of the area media income (AMI) and paying an affordable rent as published annually by the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA), among other criteria.

The tiers and level of reductions are listed below. 

Tier 15

• Provides a 25% AV reduction. 
• Properties in which 15% to 34% of the dwelling units rent at or below 60% of AMI.
• Taxpayer must commit for a period of 10 years with 2 ten-year renewals available for total of 30 years

Tier 35 

• Provides a 35% AV reduction.
• Properties in which 35% or more of the dwelling units rent at or below 60% of AMI.
• Taxpayer must commit for a period of 10 years with 2 ten-year renewals available for total of 30 years

Low Affordability Community

• This is for new housing developments in designated Low Affordability Communities (LACs). 
• At least 20% of dwelling units maintained as affordable units in the property having income and rents at or below 60% of AMI. 
• Taxpayer must commit for a period of 30 years. Review the FAQs in the left-hand column for more information about the graduated benefit.   

The statutory definition of “low affordability community” includes: (1) municipalities or jurisdictions with less than 1,000,000 inhabitants in which 40% or less of its total year-round housing units are affordable, as determined by IHDA during the exemption process under the Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal Act; (2)  "D" zoning districts according to Chicago Zoning Ordinances; and, (3) jurisdictions located in the City that are designated as a low affordability community by local ordinance. See the full legislation below. 

https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=003502000K15-178
https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=2477&ChapterID=29

Visit Chicago Cityscape to located Low Affordability Communities: https://help.chicagocityscape.com/lowaffordabilitycommunity

Review the FAQs in the left hand column for more in-depth information.

Program Eligibility 

• Must be a multifamily rental building with 7 or more units or part of a qualifying development. 
• Owners must show that they have engaged in new construction or substantial rehabilitation to the existing residential real property. The applicant must apply for the reduced valuation within 2 years of the property being placed in service.
• Dwelling units in the property must have income and rents at or below 60% AMI. The percentage is dependent on the tier the property will qualify under. The tiers are listed in the "how it works" section and you can find more information in the FAQ section. 
• The property must meet the definition of “Qualifying rehabilitation” under the AHSAP. 
  • Tier 15
    Qualifying rehabilitation is compliance with local building codes and replacement or renovation of at least 2 primary building systems for the 15% to 34% tier. Also, the combined expenditure for making the building compliant and replacing 2 primary buildings systems must exceed $8.16 per square foot for the 2026 tax year. 
  • Tier 35
    To qualify for the 35% tier, there must be replacement or repair of at least 2 primary building systems. Also, the combined expenditure for making the building compliant and replacing the 2 primary buildings systems must exceed $12.75 per square foot for the 2026 tax year. 
  • Low Affordability Community
    For the Low Affordable Community (“LAC”) tier, the combined expenditure for making the building compliant and replacing the 5 primary buildings systems must exceed $61.20 per square foot for the 2026 tax year.  

Application Fees 

Filing Fees will depend on the number of buildings contained in the project. The filing fees are listed below. 

Deadline to Apply 

• Part 1 should be submittted prior to the newly constructed residential real property or improvements to existing residential real property being put in service.
• Part 2 of the application can be submitted only after the building is put in service, meaning that the building is leased up and occupied with qualifying tenants paying qualifying rent.

To apply for the special assessment on the for the 2026 assessment year, eligible applicants should submit part 1 and part 2 of the application no later than September 5th of the 2026 assessment year. 

How to Apply 

There are two parts to the application. 

Eligibility Application Part 1   

Eligibility Application Part 2

Submit Annual Affidavit

The Rental Information/Tenant Household Income Report Form included in Part 2 of the Eligibility has a limit of 25 units. If your project has more than 25 units, download the excel file below and upload the completed list it as part of your attachments corresponding to the Required Documentation section in part 2 of the application. To review an example of a completed Rental Information/Tenant Household Income Report Form, download the excel file below. 
Tenant Household Income Report    Example of Tenant Household Income Report

Have you recently applied for the Affordable Housing Special Assessment Program? 

We appreciate your patience as applications are processed. Our staff must review your application and documents and verify eligibility. When this process is complete the following will happen. 

• You will receive a letter and/or email from our office that will indicate whether the application has been accepted ("Completed") or whether additional information is needed to approve your application.
• If your application is denied, you will receive notice of the deficiencies upon which the denial was based. You will then have 30 days from the date of the email notification to provide supplemental information showing compliance with the requirements of this program. 
• Please note that you can re-access an application you partially or fully completed, via clicking the “resume signing” button in the validation code email you would have received when beginning your application.

If you have comments, questions, or concerns about your application, please send a detailed email to assessor.ahsap@cookcountyil.gov and include the Project Name and 14-digit PIN(s) associated with your application.