Application for review

The Act respecting municipal taxation provides for the possibility of an administrative review for any entry on the property assessment roll.

The review process offers a way to correct errors or omissions that may have been overlooked by the assessor of the municipal body responsible for assessment.

Assessors who receive a valid application for review must verify its merits. Depending on the nature and grounds of the reasons given in the application, assessors may proceed with a review by any means as they deem appropriate. In particular, they may:

1. Check the calculation parameters that led to the value being set.
2. Meet with the applicant or visit the building.

Who can apply for a review?

Any person (owner, tenant, taxpayer, etc.) with an interest in challenging the accuracy, presence or absence of a property assessment roll entry related to a unit of assessment owned by that person or another person may apply for an administrative review.

A person required to pay a tax or compensation to the local municipality, or to a school service centre or school board that uses the property assessment roll, is deemed to have the interest required to submit an application.

Situations giving the right to apply for a review 

The Act sets out 4 situations that entitle a person to apply for a review and establishes time limits for each:

Publication of a new assessment roll

The deadline for filing your application is the latest of these deadlines:

• Before May 1 following the date of coming into force of the assessment roll
• 60 days after the sending of the assessment notice

Alteration to the roll made by certificate, followed by the sending of a notice of assessment

The deadline for filing your application is the latest of these deadlines:

• Before May 1 following the date of coming into force of the assessment roll
• 60 days after the mailing of the notice of change of assessment

Although new owners receive a notice of alteration, this does not allow them to request a review of the value of the property on the roll. To do so, it is necessary to wait for the publication of the next roll, unless the prescribed time frame for filing after publication of a new roll has not lapsed.

Notice of ex officio correction sent by the assessor to the owner(s), informing them of a proposed correction

The deadline for filing your application is the latest of these deadlines:

• Before May 1 following the date of coming into force of the assessment roll
• 60 days following the mailing of the notice of ex officio correction

No modification of the roll by the assessor, despite an event provided for by the Act which should have led to such a modification

The deadline for filing your application is as follows:

• Before the end of the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the event justifying the change occurred

Reasons for review

Your application must briefly set out the reasons or arguments in support of your application, such as: 

• Building defects (breakage, construction defects, etc.)
• Existing nuisances (noise, pollution, flooding, etc.)
• Related economic factors (loss of rents, high expenses, sales of comparable properties) 

Before applying, we recommend looking at property sales in your area. 

The amount of taxes to be paid and the comparison with other values on the roll (not to be confused with the sale price of comparable properties) are not considered valid reasons.

Fees, which are non-refundable, are subject to change without notice following the adoption of the Montréal agglomeration by-law concerning fees.

Steps once your application has been submitted

Upon completion of the review process, the assessor will provide the applicant with a written response within the time frames specified below. A time limit also appears in the “For official use only” section on the copy of the Application for Review form sent back to the applicant.

Assessors may propose one or more alterations to the role. Applicants then have 30 days after the response is mailed out to agree or disagree. If an applicant accepts the review, he or she returns it by e-mail or postal mail in order for the proposed alterations to take effect. However, the assessor may not propose any alterations at all.

Response time allocated to the assessor:

Publication of new assessment rolls

September 1 after the assessment rolls come into force. Since this deadline can be extended until the following April 1, it is best to check with the Direction de l’évaluation foncière.

All other cases

On the later of these dates:

• Four months from the filing of the application
• September 1 following the effective date of the assessment roll.

If an agreement is not reached

Any person who has applied for review and who has not reached an agreement with the assessor may appeal to the real estate section of the Tribunal administratif du Québec (TAQ). To be valid, the appeal must:

• Relate to the same matter as the application for review.
• Be made by written application to the TAQ. A copy of the previously filed application for review may then be required.
• Be sent within 60 days of the date the assessor’s response is sent or, if no response is received, within 30 days after the deadline for providing a response. 

In the cases provided for by the Act respecting municipal taxation, an alteration resulting from an agreement between the assessor and the applicant may be challenged before the TAQ by other persons directly affected by the effect(s) of the change.

Interpretation

Municipal body responsible for assessment: means a regional county municipality, or a local municipality in respect of which a regional county municipality does not have assessment jurisdiction, that is responsible for preparing and updating any assessment roll within its jurisdiction and for justifying the contents thereof.

Property assessment roll: A public document that contains information required by law on each piece of property within a municipality.

Unit of assessment: The largest possible group of lots and buildings that are owned by the same property owner or group of owners on an undivided basis; are contiguous or would be contiguous if not separated by a watercourse, highway or public utility system; are used for the same predominant purpose; and can normally and in the short term only be disposed of as a whole and not in parts.

Actual value: The exchange value of a unit of assessment in an open and competitive market, which is the most probable price that can be paid in a private sale under the following conditions:

1. The seller and buyer respectively wish to sell and buy the unit of assessment, but are not obligated to do so
2. The seller and buyer are reasonably informed of the condition of the unit of assessment, the use to which it may most likely be put, and real estate market conditions