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 by the City of Detroit Housing and Revitalization Department.
Applications are now being accepted via the Neighborly platform. The Administrative Rules guiding this program were published June 2, 2025. Review the resources below for more information.
List of Administratively Approved Projects
APPLICATION MATERIALS:
- PILOT Application (hosted on Neighborly)
- Pro Forma Template for all applicants
- DAH Blight Clearance Request Form for all applicants
- Affordability Agreement Template for housing projects that are not government-aided
- Tenant Authorization Form for tenants of housing projects that are not government-aided
- MSHDA 2025 Income and Rent Limits
- Tenant Retention Policy "Cheat Sheet" for occupied housing projects
- Sample Tenant Retention Plan Template for occupied housing projects
- Investment Summary
POLICY RESOURCES:
- Administrative Rules
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) updated Jun 2025
- Process Map
- Final Ordinance As Adopted with Amendments
TRAININGS:
- Neighborly Participant Training Video
- Neighborly Getting Started Manual
- Virtual Office Hours 1-3pm 1st and 3rd Thursdays - due to the holiday schedule, Thursday, June 19th office hours will be moved to Friday June 20th and Thursday July 3rd office hours will be cancelled
- 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.
