(a)

1. (1) The fire prevention fee imposed pursuant to Section 4212 shall be levied upon the owner of a habitable structure identified by the department as located within the state responsibility area, if that person owns the habitable structure on July 1 of the year for which the fee is due.
2. (2) The department shall notify an owner, upon whom a fire prevention fee is imposed pursuant to Section 4212, through the fee billing process that if the owner sells the habitable structure or structures, the apportionment of the fire prevention fee may be negotiated as one of the terms of the sale. However, payment of the total fire prevention fee liability remains the responsibility of the person who owns the habitable structure on July 1 of the year for which the fee is due.

(b) The board may exempt from the fire prevention fee any habitable structure that is subsequently deemed uninhabitable as a result of a natural disaster during the year for which the fee is due, as well as one subsequent year if the habitable structure has not been repaired or rebuilt. The board shall consider granting an exemption only if both of the following conditions are met:

1. (1) The owner of the habitable structure certifies that the structure is not habitable as a result of a natural disaster.
2. (2) The owner of the habitable structure either documents that the habitable structure passed a defensible space inspection conducted by the department or by one of its agents within one year of the date the structure was damaged or destroyed or certifies that clearance as required under Section 4291 was in place at the time that the structure was damaged or destroyed as a result of a natural disaster.