How to request a property tax re-assessment

Municipalities use the property values from assessments done by Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) to determine each property owner’s share of the total property taxes required to fund the annual budget. to determine what proportion of the total property taxes needed to fund the annual budget. The higher the assessed value of a property, the more property tax the owner owes.

Property owners who disagree with Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC)’s assessment of their property value or classification, have the right to submit a Request for Reconsideration (RfR) to MPAC:

The owner of a property or a person who has received or would be entitled to receive a notice of assessment under this Act may request the assessment corporation to reconsider the following matters:

1.  Any matter that could form the basis of an appeal under subsection 40 (1).

2.  Any matter that could form the basis of an application under section 46.

A request for reconsideration under subsection (1) must be made no later than March 31 of the taxation year in respect of which the request is made.

Section 39.1 of the Assessment Act

If you’re not satisfied with MPAC’s decision following the RfR, you can appeal to the Assessment Review Board (ARB), an independent tribunal that hears appeals on property assessments, classifications, and taxes in Ontario:

Any person, including a municipality, a school board or, in the case of land in non-municipal territory, the Minister, may appeal in writing to the Assessment Review Board,

(a)  on the basis that,
(i)  the current value of the person’s land or another person’s land is incorrect,
(ii)  the person or another person was wrongly placed on or omitted from the assessment roll,
(iii)  the person or another person was wrongly placed on or omitted from the roll in respect of school support,
(iv)  the classification of the person’s land or another person’s land is incorrect, or
(v)  for land, portions of which are in different classes of real property, the determination of the share of the value of the land that is attributable to each class is incorrect; or
(b)  on such other basis as the Minister may prescribe.  2008, c. 7, Sched. A, s. 11.

Appeal requirements, fee

(2) A notice of appeal shall be delivered or mailed to the Assessment Review Board on or before the applicable deadline under this section, shall state a name and address where notices can be given to the appellant and shall be accompanied by any fee required by the Board. 

Section 40 of the Assessment Act

When to file an property value re-assessment

Ask yourself, “Could I have sold my property on January 1, 2016 for the assessed value stated on my Notice?”

Reasons to file an RfR include:

• You believe that your assessed value is too high or too low.
• The property data on your Notice of Assessment or on AboutMyProperty is incorrect. For example, you may want to update the information we have on file on the size of your building or the area of your land.
• You believe your property classification should be different.
• You have more than one type of property (or “property classification”) listed on your Notice of Assessment, and the portions of assessed value for each class are incorrect. For example, your property may include both commercial and tax-exempt portions.
• You received a Property Assessment Change Notice that you believe is incorrect.

Supporting documentation can include:

• photos that demonstrate the differences between our records and the property in its current condition
• sale information on your property or comparable properties
• the assessed value for comparable properties, which you can find in AboutMyProperty
• recent appraisals
• zoning information
• estimates for significant repairs (e.g. repairs for cracked and leaking foundation walls, water damage due to flooding, termite damage, sagging roof line, etc.)

For residential properties, there are five major factors that generally account for 85% of your property value:

• Location
• Lot dimensions
• Living area
• Age of the property, adjusted for any major renovations or additions
• Quality of construction

Commercial properties requesting and receiving property value reductions in Belleville

Between 2017 and February 2024, Belleville has paid out approximately $12.3M in tax adjustments from Assessment Review Board and Request for Reconsideration Appeals, Post Roll Amendments, Amended Notice Adjustments, and Classification changes:

Between 2016 and February 2024, there were 1,280 properties with Assessment Appeals of which 2 properties for multiple years remain open and unresolved. While the number of unresolved appeals is small, the overall value being appealed is quite significant and would have a large financial impact if successful.

In reaction to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, some large commercial property owners, ineligible for government relief programs, filed claims for Section 357 tax relief due to the emergent issues created by the pandemic.

While these claims were denied by the Assessment Review Board (ARB), the ruling has been challenged in court. Municipalities across Ontario and the ARB are awaiting decision. The remaining assessment at risk in Belleville is approximately $793M:

As a rough estimate, using the Commercial tax rates for the years in question, an appeal decision rendering an average 25% reduction in the remaining assessment at risk would produce a liability for the City of approximately $6.15M.

Sources

• 2024 Property Assessment Analysis – City of Belleville