Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT)
Tax incentive to support the development of affordable housing
On Tuesday October 29, 2024, Detroit City Council voted to amend the City's local Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) ordinance to expand access to PILOT for affordable housing developers following a recent change to State Law. A PILOT is a tax incentive that calculates property taxes as a percent of rental revenue, instead of tying them to property value. This program is being launched in 2025 by the City of Detroit Housing and Revitalization Department.
The City of Detroit began accepting applications for developments seeking a PILOT February 14th, 2025. As of this date, applications will be processed, but cannot be approved, until the Administrative Rules guiding this program are finalized (estimated late April 2025). The proposed Administrative Rules are available on this site and will be published in the Detroit Legal News.
The following are links to the PILOT application, resources and presentations.
APPLICATION MATERIALS:
- PILOT Application (hosted on Neighborly)
- Neighborly Participant Training Video
- Neighborly Getting Started Manual
- Pro Forma Template
- Affordability Agreement Template
- Tenant Authorization Form
- Tenant Retention Plan Template
RESOURCES:
- Proposed Administrative Rules
- Final Ordinance As Adopted with Amendments
- FAQs (Updated Mar 2025)
- Tenant Retention Standards
- Expanded PILOT One-Pager
TRAININGS:
- PILOT Virtual Office Hours - First and Third Thursdays, Mar-May 2025
- PILOT Training Recording - Feb 19 2025
- PILOT Training Deck - Feb 19 2025
PRESENTATIONS:
- PILOT BFA Public Hearing Deck - Oct 16 2024
- PILOT Charter-Mandated Meeting Recording - Sep 17 2024
- PILOT Charter-Mandated Meeting Deck - Sep 17 2024
- PILOT Press Release - Sep 17 2024
Ongoing Communication: If you would like to receive updates about the PILOT program as implementation takes place, please sign up to be part of the distribution list here.