State tax credits for the rehabilitation of non-income-producing historic properties require approval of the rehabilitation work through application to the State Historic Preservation Office (HPO) prior to the start of the project work. The application consists of a general project information, a detailed work description, photographs, and, in certain instances architectural drawings. The HPO review of the proposed project may take up to thirty days. In order to facilitate emergency repairs to historic properties following a natural disaster, the HPO has instituted a temporary streamlined process for owners of historic properties in declared disaster areas.

For thirty days following the declaration of a county as a disaster area, owners of historic properties within the declared disaster area may receive verbal approval from the HPO staff for emergency repairs to a historic property which may qualify for the rehabilitation tax credits.

Procedures for Receiving Verbal Approval

The property owner should contact a member of the Restoration Branch of the HPO at the Raleigh office (follow link for phone numbers), the Greenville office, 252/830-6580, or the Asheville office, 828/274-6789.

The restoration specialist will take as much of the required information as possible for the application over the telephone including a description of the emergency repairs required. If the proposed repairs appear to meet the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, the owner will receive verbal approval to proceed with the specified emergency work items. A copy of the partially completed application will be mailed to the property owner who must complete the application and return it, with photographs of the property, to the HPO within thirty days. The HPO will then complete the formal review of the overall rehabilitation project including any additional non-emergency work items.

Please refer to state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credit information sheets for a more complete description of the state tax credits, including property eligibility requirements, available to non-income- producing historic properties. These materials also describe the federal and state tax credits available for the rehabilitation of income-producing historic properties.

August 1998