City of Cleveland - Residential Property Tax Abatement for Green Buildings
Administered by Division of Neighborhood Services, Department of Community Development
You can receive a 10 to 15 year tax abatement on the increased property taxes from your green building project—covering 85 to 100% of the tax increase depending on your project type and location within Cleveland. Your project must meet the Cleveland Green Building Standard (or equivalent LEED Silver or NAHB guidelines), obtain a valid City permit, and be completed within City limits; contact Community Development at (216) 664-4423 to schedule a pre-development consultation to confirm eligibility.
This program incentivizes residential green building projects by eliminating tax increases on improvements for 10 to 15 years, making properties more affordable to your clients and increasing project appeal. All work must be permitted accurately by the City of Cleveland Department of Building and Housing and comply with the Cleveland Green Building Standard; new construction and whole-house rehab require a Certificate of Occupancy, and multifamily projects must meet affordability set-asides (5–25% of units, depending on neighborhood market conditions) or pay $20,000 per required affordable unit.
The program provides 100% tax abatement on increased assessed value for 10–15 years (15 years for new single-family and multifamily, 12 years for major multifamily rehab, 10 years for conversions and smaller rehabs), with abatement percentages ranging 85–100% based on project type, location subarea, and affordability compliance. Cuyahoga County Auditor determines assessed taxes from permit values and conducts appraisals; the City enforces Green Building Standard compliance and affordability requirements through three options (third-party enforcement, self-managed with triennial audits, or $20,000 per-unit payment in lieu). Multifamily projects require Community Benefits Agreements and annual income verification, with audit reviews every three years during the affordability period.
Program details
- Program ID
- 4146
- Effective
- 1/1/2010
- Last updated
- 10/15/2024
Eligibility
- Sectors
- commercial construction residential multifamily residential low income residential
- Technologies
- comprehensive measures/whole building
Program summary
Note: Cleveland's tax abatement was overhauled by Ordinance 482-2022, effective January 1, 2024.
The City of Cleveland, in cooperation with the Cuyahoga County Auditor's Office, provides a 10 to 15 year 100% tax abatement for increases in assessed real estate value for eligible residential projects. All projects are required to be built to the Cleveland Green Building Standard. Abatements are available to both homeowners and developers. The abatement is for 10-15 years depending on the type of project and is for the portion of the increased property tax that results because of the improvement to the property. The following types of projects may qualify:
- New construction of single-family homes or multifamily investor-owned properties: 15 years
- Conversion of nonresidential buildings to residential units with 1 or 2 units: 10 years
- Conversion of nonresidential buildings to residential units with 3 or more units: 12 years
- Rehabilitation of existing 1 and 2-family homes which increases the market value: 10 years
- Rehabilitation of multifamily (3 or more units) structures costing over $15,000 per unit or $500,000 total: 12 years
- Improvements costing over $2,500 of 1 or 20 family homes that increase the assessed value of the property: 10 years
For a complete list and additional information, visit the program website.
Cleveland's Green Building Standard is based on the "Enterprise Green Communities Initiative" and requires that projects meet all mandatory requirements of the Initiative's standards plus 30 points (with one exception, the Environmental Assessment mandatory requirement under Enterprise Green Communities is not required by Cleveland's Green Building Standard for single-family up to 4-unit residential rehab project).
The City of Cleveland also accepts the LEED Silver as well as the National Association of Home Builders "National Model Green Home Building Guidelines" as equivalents and acceptable substitutes. See the Cleveland Green Building Standard Handbook for more information.
Contact & resources
- Contact email
- jmcgowan@city.cleveland.oh.us
- Additional resources
Please verify current program details with the administering agency before making any financial decisions.
