Save Our Homes survives court challenge

An appellate court has rejected a challenge to Save Our Homes, a state law that provides tax breaks for primary residences in Florida.

The 1st District Court of Appeal said in its ruling that it has already “considered and rejected virtually identical constitutional challenges.”

The constitutional amendment, which passed in 1992 and went into effect in 1995, caps the increase in annual assessments of homestead properties in Florida to 3 percent or the Consumer Price Index, whichever is less. It was designed to protect full-time Florida homeowners from skyrocketing increases in property values.

To qualify, a residential property must be a primary residence that meets homestead requirements.