Mumbai: The civic House passed a notice of motion (NoM) last Friday seeking to increase the exemption limit for property taxes for residential units from 500sqft to 700sqft. BMC officials clarified that an NoM is not binding on the administration, and that the proposal will be sent to the civic administration for deliberation, following which it may be approved, modified, referred to committees or merely noted.Currently, around 3.6 lakh properties in Mumbai are exempt from property tax as their carpet area is under 500sqft—a policy implemented since 2022 by BMC following a state govt directive. Property tax is one of the major revenue sources for the civic body. In 2024-25, the BMC administration collected property taxes of Rs 6,198 crore. The NoM was moved by Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator Yashodhar Phanse, who said middle-class families rehabilitated through slum and chawl redevelopment schemes are finding it increasingly difficult to bear property tax and maintenance costs. While such beneficiaries receive homes free of cost, he said recurring expenses such as society maintenance, repairs, healthcare and education have made living in Mumbai unaffordable, forcing many to sell their flats and move out of the city. The NoM said increasing the exemption limit is necessary to ensure that “original Mumbaikars” are able to continue living in the city. A property tax waiver for residential units up to 700 sqft was one of Sena (UBT) and MNS’s key assurances made in their joint manifesto ahead of the BMC elections. BJP’s former MP Manoj Kotak, who had moved a similar proposal during his tenure as Mulund corporator in 2018, the NoM is redundant since his proposal is still pending with the state govt. He said were Sena (UBT) been serious about the issue, it should have secured approval when it headed the state govt.
