§ 47–895.04. Notices and protests.

(a) The Master Developer shall consent to the levy of the Special Assessment on the lots, following which consent all actions by any owner of a lot to challenge the levy of the Special Assessment, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, shall be forever barred. The Master Developer and any subsequent owner of a lot shall provide notice to the buyer of the lot of the levy of the Special Assessment and any contract for the sale of the lot may be voided without penalty by the buyer prior to purchase of the lot if the buyer does not receive notice of the Special Assessment from the Master Developer or the subsequent owner.

(b) The owner of a lot subject to Special Assessment under this subchapter may contest the amount of the Special Assessment, but not the authority to levy the Special Assessment, by filing a written notice of appeal of the amount with the Chief Financial Officer not later than 180 days after the due date of the payment of the Special Assessment. The Chief Financial Officer, or the administrator if designated by the Chief Financial Officer to hear the appeal, shall promptly review the appeal and, if necessary, meet with the owner of the lot, consider written and oral evidence regarding the amount of the Special Assessment, and decide the appeal. If the result of the appeal requires the Special Assessment to be modified or changed in favor of the owner of the lot, a cash refund shall not be made (except in the last year of the levy), but an adjustment shall be made to the next Special Assessment to be collected from that lot. No interest on the adjustment shall be due to the owner of the lot. A decision of the administrator may be appealed to the Chief Financial Officer. This procedure shall be exclusive and its exhaustion by any owner of a lot shall be a condition precedent to any other appeal or legal action by the owner.

(c) If the Chief Financial Officer learns that a lot subject to the Special Assessment has been omitted from the Special Assessment for any previous tax year or tax years, the Chief Financial Officer shall provide notice to the owner and shall collect the Special Assessment amount in arrears, including penalty and interest, from the date the Special Assessment should have been paid; provided, that no lot that has not been billed for the Special Assessment shall be liable under this section for a period of more than 3 prior tax years.

(d) Special Assessments shall be collected each year for the preceding fiscal year in the same manner and at the same time as real property taxes are collected.

(e)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, an unpaid Special Assessment shall be subject to the same penalty and interest provisions as a delinquent real property tax under Chapter 8 of this title. A lien for an unpaid Special Assessment, including penalty and interest, shall attach to the real property in the same manner as, and with a priority immediately junior to, a lien for delinquent real property tax under Chapter 13A of this title and senior to all other liens. Property sold at a tax sale for the failure to pay real property taxes shall remain subject to the obligation to pay Special Assessments in subsequent years as provided in this subchapter. The unpaid Special Assessment shall be collected in the same manner and under the same conditions and subject to the same penalty as for unpaid real property taxes. A Special Assessment shall not be required to be certified for the purposes of Chapter 13A of this title.

(2) If an interest or use on a lot is subject to the Special Assessment because it would be subject to taxation under § 47-1005.01 but for the exemption provided by § 47-4615(b) [§ 47-4616], an unpaid Special Assessment on such an interest or use shall be subject to the same penalty and interest provisions as a delinquent possessory interest tax imposed under § 47-1005.01, and the unpaid Special Assessment shall be collected in the same manner and under the same conditions and subject to the same penalty as for an unpaid tax imposed under § 47-1005.01.

(3) The Special Assessment shall be deemed a tax within the meaning of 11 U.S.C. §§ 502(b), 505, and 507(a)(8)(B).