The City has sent about 17,000 letters to property owners who may have to pay the tax.
The exemption process has become the central issue in a lawsuit filed this month by homeowners who accuse the Department of Finance of improperly shifting the burden of proving a property’s primary-residence status onto homeowners.
The homeowners argue that the City should obtain the records needed to establish whether a property qualifies for the exemption rather than requiring owners to prove it themselves.
Last week, former First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro asked the court to add four homeowners as plaintiffs. The city has since granted exemptions to all four.
Of the lawsuit’s three original plaintiffs, only one received a letter indicating that the City considered him potentially liable for the tax. The city later determined that he qualified for an exemption as well.