Five organizations call for an extension of the property assessment appeal deadline
The Ordre des évaluateurs agréés du Québec (OEAQ), the Institut du Développement Urbain du Québec (IDU), the Association canadienne de taxe foncière (ACTF), the Institut canadien des évaluateurs (ICA) and the Corporation des propriétaires immobiliers du Québec (CORPIQ) have expressed their concerns to Quebec’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Andrée Laforest, regarding the April 30, 2020 deadline for filing applications to review municipal property assessments for the 2020–2021–2022 assessment rolls.
Under current legislation, applications for review must be submitted either in person or by mail and accompanied by a certified cheque. However, municipal offices are closed due to the pandemic, and both registered mail services and certified cheque issuance require in-person visits.
In addition, taxpayers and their representatives—including accredited appraisers—do not currently have access to municipal assessment files and will not be able to review them before the filing deadline. As a result, property owners and their representatives are unable to complete the analyses necessary to make an informed decision about whether to submit an application for review.
This situation may unfairly prejudice certain taxpayers, especially given that most other statutory deadlines have been suspended.
The OEAQ, IDU, CPTA, AIC, and CORPIQ are therefore proposing that the government grant an extension allowing all parties to be adequately accommodated—specifically, a deadline set 60 days after the lifting of public health confinement measures.
