Financial assistance. Abatement of real property taxes

(a) An urban homesteading agency may provide financial assistance to urban homesteaders for the purchase and rehabilitation of, or construction on, urban homestead program property. Such financial assistance may be in the form of grants, loans or deferred loans for the community housing development corporation chartered under section 8-218f and in the form of loans for other urban homesteaders. All such loans or deferred loans, if made by the urban homesteading agency, shall be secured by a mortgage naming the municipality as the mortgagee, provided if any such loans are made from funds provided by the state or federal government or any other public or private entity, the state or federal government or the public or private agency may be the mortgagee, and provided further that a municipality may assign any such mortgage to another entity. In the case of a deferred loan, the contract shall require that payments on interest are due immediately but that payments on principal may be made at a later time. (b) An urban homesteading agency may utilize federal, state or other public or private financial assistance, provided that any such assistance requiring local financial participation shall be first approved by the legislative body of the municipality. (c) An urban homesteading agency may recommend to the legislative body the abatement in whole or in part of real property taxes due on urban homestead program property conveyed to an urban homesteader pursuant to sections 8-169s and 8-169t, or the deferral of such taxes for a period not to exceed ten years. Such legislative body may, by resolution, authorize such abatement. All urban homestead program property conveyed to an urban homesteader may be designated by the legislative body of a municipality as property eligible for deferral of increased assessment under the provisions of sections 12-65c to 12-65f, inclusive.