District 6 City Councillor John M. Tobin, Jr. this week praised his colleagues on the Boston City Council for unanimously passing an order filed by Mayor Thomas M. Menino that allows property owners who live in cooperative housing to receive a residential tax exemption.

“Boston homeowners who live in cooperative housing are entitled to the same residential tax exemptions as residents who own single family homes, condominiums, and other types of housing,” said Councillor Tobin, who represents West Roxbury and Jamaica Plain. “Jamaica Towers in my district is a great example of a successful and thriving co-op. This tax relief is great news for the people who own units there and in co-op buildings like it in neighborhoods across the city.”

Mayor Menino’s order grew out of an earlier order filed by Councillor Tobin in 2003 that asked the Boston City Council to adopt a local option that would ease the property tax burden on co-op owners. Councillor Tobin co-sponsored the bill with District 8 City Councillor Michael Ross and held a public hearing on the issue where representatives of the Menino Administration testified that they had some reservations about the proposal. This week Mayor Menino re-filed the order, which passed at the Council’s weekly meeting April 6.

“We should encourage co-op ownership and not prevent this creative form of home ownership,” said Councillor Ross, whose district includes Back Bay, Beacon Hill, the Fenway, and Mission Hill. “This will allow co-op residents to receive the same benefits as other homeowners.”