Real value (municipal)

Actual value refers to the municipal assessment on your tax bill. Typically, you question when it seems too high in relation to the property’s potential selling price on the market, in which case you may be paying more property taxes than you should. If so, there is a procedure to challenge this assessment.

You must provide proof of your assessment for municipal officials to give serious consideration to your application. If you are unable to present this, our appraisers at HPDG can assist you by providing the necessary tools to support your assessment review application. We can even step in to negotiate with the municipal assessor and, if required, provide expert testimony in the Tribunal administratif du Québec (Quebec’s Administrative Tribunal).

Review application procedure
If you disagree with your property’s municipal assessment, you are entitled to file an application for an administrative review of your property’s value entered on the municipal assessment roll. The main steps and key dates to remember during this process are as follows:

• To apply for a review, you must complete the “Application for Review of the Real Estate Assessment Roll” form and send it by registered mail or submit it in person before May 1 following the date on which the new assessment roll comes into effect. Municipalities charge a review application fee ranging from $40 to $150 for properties entered on the roll at a value of less than $1,000,000. For other properties, this fee ranges from $300 to $1,000.
• Following receipt of your review application, the municipal assessor will send you a reply in writing bySeptember 1 of the year in which the new roll comes into effect.
• If you and the assessor agree on the alterations to be made, you will have 30 days following the mailing of the assessor’s reply to sign a written agreement with the assessor regarding these alterations.
• If there is disagreement regarding the alterations, you will have 60 days following the mailing of the assessor’s reply to lodge an appeal with the Tribunal administratif du Québec. Note that in this case, the above-mentioned fees will again be charged.

Actual value is subject to the Act respecting Municipal Taxation. In order to ensure horizontal equity among all taxpayers in a given municipality, actual value differs from market value in that essentially, the former refers to all rights pertaining to the property, while the latter refers instead to the owner’s rights.

Also note that the actual value entered on your tax statement does not refer to the value on the date of the tax statement, but rather to a fixed establislished 18 months prior to the beginning of the assessment role. Since the value of a building evolves over time, it is important to refer to the market conditions on the date in question. Do not hesitate to consult our appraisers at HPDG. Our experts will be happy to assist you.