Special Assessing Units - Definitions and Classification of Real Property

N.Y. Real Property Tax Law §§ 1801-1802 (art. 18)

Real Property Tax Law Article 18 applies to "special assessing units" (assessing units with a population of one million or more), which include Nassau County. RPTL § 1801 supplies the governing definitions (including "special assessing unit"), and § 1802 divides taxable real property into four classes: Class 1 (one-, two- and three-family residential property and certain small residential condos/co-ops), Class 2 (all other residential property except hotels/motels and similar commercial property), Class 3 (utility real property), and Class 4 (all other real property, principally commercial and industrial). Each class is assigned its own class ratio, directly affecting how the Nassau County Department of Assessment values residential, rental and commercial property.