Franklin County joins with private business to find homestead violators

Franklin County is cracking down on residents who are violating the homestead exemption law.

Homesteaded properties in Florida are protected from major property tax increases by limiting the maximum tax increase per year to 3 percent.

By law, only a person’s primary residence can be homesteaded – if that person owns other homes, those homes are not protected from large property tax increases.

On Tuesday the County commission approved a plan that will allow a private company to go through the county’s property database and compare it with similar databases nationwide.

The company will be able to go back through the last 10 years of property ownership information and if they find people who are breaking the homestead exemption law the county will be able to go after the delinquent money.

The county will be able to collect about 65 percent of the amount owed as interest and penalties – 22 percent of that will pay for the service, the rest will go to the county’s coffers.

Property Appraiser Doris Pendleton said the county will be able to look at each incident on a case by case basis to decide if prosecution is warranted.

Miss Pendleton said the service will be much more efficient than what the county currently does which is to rely on tipsters to alert the county to suspected law-breakers.

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