Tomás Regalado wants to shake up the value of homes in Miami-Dade County by adding climate change to the calculation.
Regalado returned to public office earlier this month. He served two terms as the mayor of the city of Miami, leaving in 2017. As mayor, he led the charge to have voters okay borrowing hundreds of millions of dollars, some of which is aimed at combating the effects of climate change like sea level rise and flooding.
Now he’s the leader of the office that sets property values to determine property taxes throughout Miami-Dade County. And he said it's time to factor in the impact of climate change to property values.
"It is something that we need to understand that it's real. It's happening. It's part of our life and the property appraisal should be up to the 21st century on this one," he said.
Just as the threat from higher seas and more flooding can mean higher insurance costs, they could lead to a lower property value. That could put tax revenue at risk for local governments and schools.
Regalado dismissed that worry, though.
"It wouldn't be a total Armageddon," he said, expressing confidence that the region will continue attracting people who want to come and those, he said, who need to come, pointing to people escaping totalitarian regimes such as Venezuela.
It is not clear exactly what or how Regalado could incorporate climate risk into figuring out the assessed value of a property. He said he is gathering data and "establishing some kind of directive." His underlying message is one of acknowledging climate risk for property owners. "We have to reduce the property value if we need to," he said.
It’s an idea Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava called "well attuned" to concerns about climate change and the high cost of living. In a statement to WLRN, the mayor also noted efforts to improve infrastructure to protect homes from extreme weather.
"Any effort to alleviate costs for homeowners is welcome, and I share the Property Appraiser’s commitment to tackling rising costs, while continuing to invest in making our community more resilient," said Levine Cava.
Higher sea levels, sunny day flooding and stormwater from wetter rainstorms overwhelming existing drainage systems seem to be impacts Regalado is willing to consider as criteria. He pointed to the King Tide flooding common in Shorecrest, a neighborhood in northeast Miami hugging Biscayne Bay. The city even offered residents a King Tides Parking Pass in 2019 to avoid the bay waters coming ashore.
"I have been there when I was a mayor with the water was to my knees and houses flooded and people had to get their furniture out so it wasn't destroyed," he said.
READ MORE: How condo reform laws sent monthly assessments for condo owners through the roof
Like the old real estate cliché — determining a climate risk cost is about location for Regalado. He also mentioned whether a home uses a septic tank instead of being connect to the county's sewer system.
"What I want to do is start telling the people, 'Look, if you think that this is thinking about 50 years from now, you're wrong,'" he said.
Florida law lists eight factors property appraisers use to set the assessed value of a property, which, along with the local tax rate, determines the property taxes owners have to pay. Among them is the "highest and best use" standard. That factors in the existing zoning for a property and how it could be expected to be used. Other factors include the condition of the property and the income generated from the real estate.
Those criteria may be more heavily considered as Regalado works toward his goal. " We cannot value (a property in a flood zone) just because you have the same square footage as other property that is not in the flood zone," he said.
In land-constrained South Florida, most of a property's assessed value for homeowners comes from the land — not the structure. Sixty to 80% of assessed value may be in the land. That's what Regalado's effort would target because of the vulnerability the space faces from climate change effects.
The land value also has fed an escalating housing affordability challenge across the region. The median price of an existing single family home sold in Miami-Dade County in November was $650,000, according to data from the Miami Realtors Association. That was up 7% from a year earlier and up 75% in five years.
Regalado acknowledged his effort to include climate risk in property assessments is an effort to address housing costs. However, it would direct affect existing homeowners by potentially lowering their property taxes, or slowing their increases.
It targets "the current owner who wants to stay," said Regalado. The assessed value of a property for tax purposes is different than the market value — what a buyer and seller agree a home is worth.
READ MORE: The trillion-dollar hidden threat from climate change: rising groundwater
Changing assessed property values can change the amount of property taxes an owner is responsible for. Two numbers are important for property taxes — the tax rate (often called the millage rate), which is set by local governments, and the assessed value, which is set by the county appraiser's office.
A lower assessed value may lead to a lower property tax bill. That means local governments, including school districts, would collect less money.
" It is what it is because that's the reality." Regalado said.
When could climate risk be reflected in Miami-Dade County property tax assessments?
Regalado said he does not need the permission of the county commission. He said he has the unilateral ability to make this change.
"By next year — the tax rate of 2026 — I think that we'll be able to show that climate change does impact value of the property," he said.
Regalado is a Republican. He ran for county property appraiser as a Republican and was elected with 57% support over his Democratic counterpart. He received more votes than any of the five constitutional elected positions. He is launching the effort to consider climate change in a state where lawmakers have approved legislation to strip the phrase from state regulations.
Still, he said in his conversations with state legislators, they "understand we have to do something" regarding housing affordability. "The politics of this is in line with the new era of giving back to the people as President Trump said (in his inauguration speech)," Regalado said.
