Urge members of the House Cities & Counties Subcommittee to SUPPORT HB 1716 that would protect longtime homeowners from losing their homes due to unpaid property taxes while reforming property assessment methods to reflect actual market transactions.

This bill fundamentally reforms how Tennessee residential property is assessed for tax purposes by replacing speculative assessor-driven valuations with an owner-centered metric. Under the new law, the taxable value of any home is capped at the higher of two objective figures: the most recent purchase price paid by the owner or the value assigned when the homeowner refinances or pledges the property as collateral. Existing appraisals performed by county assessors through December 31, 2026, remain in force until a sale or new bank appraisal occurs, preventing retroactive spikes in assessed values.

Beyond shifting valuation authority toward market transactions, the legislation expands Tennessee’s homestead exemption to fully shelter a longtime owner’s primary residence from forced sale over unpaid property taxes. Any U.S. citizen who has occupied a home as their principal place of residence for at least ten years can no longer see that home sold to satisfy a tax debt. After proving citizenship and decade-long occupancy, the homeowner’s outstanding tax debt accrues no further interest and only becomes due upon transfer of title.

Taken together, these changes restrain government power to inflate property tax bills, bolster the inalienable right to keep one’s home, and reinforce the special status of the family homestead. By anchoring assessments to real transactions and protecting long-standing homeowners from losing their homes to tax lien sales, the bill advances limited-government principles and the Judeo-Christian value of secure, stable family life.