The State of Mississippi allows the City of Jackson to forgive liens, fines, and penalties the City has recorded as a result of cleaning of property or demolition of buildings in certain instances.  State Statute Section 21-19-12 was passed as an incentive for inner-city redevelopment.  The City is authorized to issue a conditional lien amnesty until redevelopment has occurred at which time liens are permanently struck from the record.  Only costs of clean up or demolition of buildings are eligible, and cities are not authorized to forgive taxes due.

Eligibility

• The property must be in a blighted condition.
• The liens must have been in existence and declared uncollectible for two years or longer.
• The property must be redeveloped by the new owner within 18 months.
• The sale price cannot exceed 70% of the real property value as determined by the average of two recent appraisals.  

Application

An Application for Conditional Lien Amnesty must be filed with the Land Development Division and accompanied by: (a) the sales contract, (b) two appraisal reports completed within the last six months by licensed appraisers, and (c) acceptable plans for the redevelopment. 

Development Phase

If approved, the developer has 18 months to develop the blighted property in accordance with the development plan previously submitted.  Site plans must be approved and zoning must be in accordance with the Zoning Ordinance.

Extensions and Penalties

The developer may be granted an extension of 6 to 12 months to complete the project for good cause.  If the blighted property remains undeveloped after 18 months and the municipality has not issued an extension, the lien must be paid with interest at the rate if 8% per annum.

If the developer desires to sell or dispose of the property prior to its development, the City must approve and the developer must pay the lien with interest prior to the sale.  If the developer disposes of the real property prior to development without obtaining permission of the City, a penalty of $1,500 will be assessed against the developer.

Conditional lien amnesty may not be sold, conveyed, transferred or assigned.