Florida Appeals Court OKs Property Tax Homestead Exemption For Non-Permanent Resident Alien Couple Where Their Three Minor Children Are U.S. Citizens

Abstract Appeal reports:

• If two parents are not legal residents of Florida(1) but they own a home in which they and their minor children reside, can the parents claim a homestead exemption for the property under Florida law? Yes they can, said the Third District [Court of Appeal] in this case.

• The decision quotes portions of the father’s affidavit, in which he explains that he and his wife live on the property and that, for their three children, the property is their permanent residence.

• The decision then observes: “Although one might wonder whether his assertions are congruent with the laws of nature, we apply in this court the constitution and laws of the State of Florida.”

Source: Third District: Homestead and Legal Residency Status.

For the court's ruling, see De La Mora v. Andonie, No. 3D09-3427 (Fla. App. 3d DCA, December 15, 2010).

(1) The homeowners in this case are a married couple who are citizens of Honduras, lawfully residing in the United States pursuant to temporary visas issued by the United States Department of Homeland Security. It was undisputed that the couple themselves (as opposed to their three minor children who are all U.S. citizens) are legally incapable of qualifying as “permanent residents” of Miami-Dade County. See Juarrero v. McNayr, 157 So. 2d 79, 81 (Fla. 1963) (finding that a non-citizen present in the United States under a temporary visa “cannot ‘legally,’ ‘rightfully’ or in ‘good faith’ make or declare [himself]” a “permanent resident” of this state for purposes of Article VII, section 6(a) of the Florida Constitution dealing with the property tax exemption for homesteads (the constitutional provisions dealing with the property tax exemption for homesteads under Florida law is to be distinguished from Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution, which deals with the exemption for homesteads against forced sale by judgment creditors)).