Real estate, like many industries, has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 27, 2021, Governor DeWine signed Senate Bill 57 (SB 57) into law to offer additional help. SB 57 offers property owners a chance to file a “COVID complaint” to request that the county value their 2020 properties not as of January, per usual, but as of October 1, 2020. Valuing properties months into the pandemic could allow businesses to better reflect any negative impact of the past year.

The complaint must be filed by August 25, 2021, with the county in which the property is located. The complaint also must be specific, detailing how the pandemic affected the business and, therefore, resulted in a lower property value. Note that even if a property owner had filed a valuation complaint within the past three years, which normally would restrict the owner from filing a new complaint, owners can still file this special COVID complaint by the deadline.
 
Property owners — especially those whose operations have been greatly impacted by the pandemic — should review their valuations regardless of whether or not the property has been recently revalued. Then be sure to timely file any corresponding complaints with the appropriate count board of revision.

Contact Lisa Metzinger at lmetzinger@cohencpa.com or a member of your service team to discuss this topic further.

Cohen & Company is not rendering legal, accounting or other professional advice. Information contained in this post is considered accurate as of the date of publishing. Any action taken based on information in this blog should be taken only after a detailed review of the specific facts, circumstances and current law.