Cities and towns could not require rental licenses for relatives’ homes

Cities and towns would be barred from requiring rental licenses, registration, occupancy certificates, inspections, or similar rental housing documents for these homes. Covered relatives are parents, stepparents, children, stepchildren, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, uncles, aunts, nephews, and nieces, related by blood or marriage. The relative must use the property as a home, and it must qualify for homestead tax status—the property tax classification for a person's home.

An owner's relative living in the property as a home would satisfy the occupancy exception for homestead tax status. This covers property classified as seasonal recreational property during the current owner’s or spouse’s ownership, or that would have received that classification when built. Eligible relatives include parents, stepparents, children, stepchildren, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, uncles, aunts, nephews, and nieces, by blood or marriage. Tax treatment would be limited to what the owner would receive by living there. Neither the owner nor the relative could claim a property tax refund. For a home on farmland, this rule covers the house, garage, and surrounding acre unless separate farm homestead rules apply.