Housing series · Councilor Michael-Paul Hart · District 20For builders · one page

Build the homes. Put them where we need them.

A residential property-tax abatement a homebuyer can see on their own tax record, built for Indiana law, aimed at the tracts where Indianapolis is not getting new homes. Working proposal, September 2026.

What I am proposing

  • The abatementBuild or substantially rebuild a 1–4 unit home in a designated tract and the parcel carries a published property-tax abatement, 100% for ten years in Reinvestment tracts and 75% in Growth tracts, that follows the house to its buyer and appears on the parcel record.
  • The mapAll 253 Marion County tracts scored on five federal indicators. Prototype: 67 Reinvestment, 113 Growth, 71 Strong Market. Strong Market gets nothing automatic.
  • The numberModeled against DLGF's pay-2027 rules and the 2026 Warren Township rate, a $325,000 new home saves about $2,885 a year and $24,497 over ten years. The circuit breaker caps the benefit at about 40 percent of face value; it does not erase it.
  • The stickFund receiverships under the Unsafe Building Law, certify the vacant-and-abandoned tax-sale list yearly, and flag nominal transfers from entities not in good standing. Properties that leave unreachable owners land in the land bank, where the abatement picks up.
  • Who decidesThe Metropolitan Development Commission, by resolution. The Council's opening move is a launch resolution requesting a written legal opinion on IC 6-1.1-12.1-3(e) and a zone schedule.

What it means for you

$2,885/yr
modeled saving, $325,000 new home, Warren Twp, pay-2027
  • A published schedule instead of a negotiated deal. You know the incentive before you buy the lot.
  • The land-bank pilot: Vacant to Vibrant parcels already require new construction or rehab and a title-company closing.
  • Owner-occupied 2–4 unit buildings get 100% in any zone. A duplex on a 40-foot lot is the product this is built for.

What I need from you

  • Does a published schedule change which lots you build first? At what price point does it stop mattering?
  • What does your buyer's lender do with an abatement that transfers with the remaining years fixed?
  • Which prototype-map tracts are scored wrong, in your experience?
Still openWritten legal opinion on the consolidated-city language in IC 6-1.1-12.1-3(e). DLGF check of the tax model. One proxy indicator on the map to be replaced with the Assessor's value history.
Full series, map, calculator and sources: michaelpaulhart.com/housing. Nothing here is legal advice; figures from other cities and all Indiana Code citations should be re-verified before being quoted. Updated September 6, 2026.michael@michaelpaulhart.com
200 E Washington St, T441