In mid-September, the City of Montreal issued its latest revision to the municipal assessment roll. This applies to residential properties in Montreal, including all 15 demerged on-island suburbs that are part of the Montreal agglomeration.

 Assessment values for this current roll for 2023-2025 have increased by 32.4% on the Island of Montreal. This equates to more than double the increase from the previous roll in 2020-2022, which showed a rise of 13.7%. Many homeowners will discover that their new municipal evaluation is actually in line with the current market value of their residence, considering the incredible appreciation our real estate market experienced over the past three years. 

 Municipal assessments are assigned for property taxation purposes. While they are based on historical sales in your neighbourhood, the primary variants used are lot size and building area. They are done every three years, and factors such as landscaping, renovations, and quality of materials are not necessarily taken into account. So, this infrequent and superficial assessment of your home is, at best, an approximation of the value of any given home in your neighbourhood that is similar to yours.

 That being said, some municipal assessments can be way off the mark. If you feel that your most recent assessment falls into this category, then there are actions you can take to apply for an adjustment. 

 But it isn’t enough to simply disagree with the assessed value; you must be able to prove its inaccuracy.

 You must demonstrate that it would have been impossible to obtain the assessed amount in a sale, on the basis of the real-estate market conditions that existed 18 months ago. Although the new roll only came into effect this January, it is calculated based on what your property could have sold for in July of 2021. 

 According to Dominique Ollivier, Chair of the City of Montreal Executive Committee and member responsible for finance, the rapid rise in assessments won’t necessarily mean a corresponding hike in municipal taxes. We’ll let you be the judge of that after you receive your latest tax bill in January!

 If you do decide to contest your property assessment, we encourage you to consider the risk vs. reward. You should figure out the answers to these questions first:

-What percentage of a reduction in your taxes can you realistically expect?

-How much money does that translate into?

-How much time and effort will this require?

-What are the costs involved (fees of about $300 for most homeowners for an application for adjustment, professional fees, etc.)?

You can refer to the following link for information from the city about how to apply:

https://montreal.ca/en/how-to/apply-adjustment-to-municipal-assessment-roll

Once you’ve figured this all out, you can determine whether it’s worth the hassle. Every case is unique! 

If you do decide to go ahead with an appeal, it must be submitted no later than April 30, 2023. Should you have any questions, or if you could use some advice or guidance with regards to this matter, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Team Broady at 514-613-2988 or by email at info@teambroady.ca.