Person A buys a 2-unit building in San Francisco County, CA, and moves
into one unit. Person B moves into the upstairs unit, and helps with
mortgage payments and property taxes, but because the mortgage is held
in Person A's name, only person A is on the title to the property.
Under California law, can person B, a senior citizen, transfer his/her
property tax rate from his/her former residence which they owned? Would 
your answer change if person A filed a grant deed to add person B on the
title of the property?

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Request for Question Clarification by ldcdc-ga on 08 Aug 2002 15:24 PDT

Is this a homework?

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Clarification of Question by scrowder-ga on 08 Aug 2002 16:09 PDT

No, this is not homework.

Hello.

The "over 55" rule that allows seniors who move to transfer their old
property tax assessment to a new residence is the result of two
California propositions: Prop. 60 & Prop. 90.

Proposition 90 which applies to seniors who are selling a residence in
one county and buying a replacement residence in another county is a
"local option law," which means that California counties have the
option of adopting it or not adopting it. Unfortunately, the City and
County of San Francisco has not adopted this law. As a result, there's
no possible way that a senior could sell a home in another county and
buy a replacement home in San Francisco and retain the property tax
from an old residence.

The California counties that have adopted Prop. 90 are:
Alameda    
Los Angeles
San Mateo
San Diego
Orange
Ventura
Kern
Santa Clara
Modoc
Monterey

Sources:
Richland Properties:
http://www.richlandproperties.net/proptaxover55.htm
Law Offices of Weiss & Weissman
http://www.wwlaw.com/prop60.htm


Proposition 60, on the other hand, applies to seniors who buy
replacement homes in the same county as their old homes. This is a
statewide law that applies in all counties, including San Francisco.
The law is codified in California Revenue and Taxation Code section
69.5. To qualify for a Proposition 60 property tax transfer, you must
meet the following criteria:

1) Both the original property (former residence) and its replacement
must be located in the same county.

2) As of the date of transfer of the original property, the seller or
a spouse living with the seller must be at least 55 years old.

3) The original property must have been eligible for the Homeowners'
Exemption or entitled to the Disabled Veterans' Exemption.

4) The replacement dwelling must be of equal or lesser value than the
original property.

5) The replacement dwelling must have been purchased or newly
constructed on or after 11/6/86.

6) Without exception, the replacement dwelling must be purchased or
newly constructed within two years (before or after) of the sale of
the original property.

7) The original property must be subject to reappraisal at its current
fair market value as the result of its transfer, in accordance with
Sections 110.1 or 5803 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.

8) Without exception, a claim for relief must be filed within three
years of the date a replacement dwelling is purchased or new
construction of a replacement dwelling is completed.

Source: Proposition 60 - Questions and Answers (courtesy of Sacramento
County)
(Adobe Acrobat Reader required)
http://www.saccounty.net/assessor/pdf-forms/PROP-60-QA-Handout.pdf

Let's take a look at how this applies to your situation. Your first
scenario of Person A having sole title to the new property simply
wouldn't qualify under the Prop. 60 rules. See Question #3 of the
Sacramento Q&A :
"Is it true that only one claimant, out of several co-owners of a
replacement dwelling, need be at least 55 as of the date of sale of an
original property?
Yes, but the claimant must be an owner of record."

Your second scenario, where Person B is a co-owner, could qualify. See
Question #10 of the Q&A:
"Can I qualify for the benefits of Prop 60 when I sell my original
property (owned by me alone) and purchase a replacement dwelling with
several co-owners? What if I own only a 10 percent interest in the
replacement dwelling?
Yes. The base year value of your original property can be transferred
to your replacement dwelling. As long as you are otherwise qualified,
you may receive the benefits of Prop 60 regardless of how many
co-owners of record there are on the replacement dwelling. However,
you, along with all the other co-owners, will never be able to qualify
again since all of you will have received the one-time benefit
provided under this proposition. In this situation, the total market
value of the original property is compared to the total market value
of the replacement dwelling property regardless of the fact that the
qualified principal claimant may only own 10 percent of both original
and replacement dwelling properties."

Thus, if Person B qualifies for the exemption by selling one residence
in San Francisco and acquiring, as a co-owner, this new property
(which has to be of equal or lesser value), Person B could conceivably
transfer his Prop 60 benefits to the new property.
 
As always, note the disclaimer on the bottom of this page. This answer
contains general information and is not intended as a substitute for
professional advice.

search strategy: property tax, proposition 60, proposition 90, over
55,san francisco

I hope this helps.

Great response, well-documented and thoroughly responded to the question.
Thanks!