Lesser-Known Reasons for Contesting a Municipal Assessment

Every three years, each municipality and city in Québec reviews the values of all properties within its territory, organized into assessment units. These values are then used as the basis for calculating municipal and school taxes.

Although the general principle is roll immutability,[1] it is possible, under certain conditions, to request the modification of the value that has been determined for a property. The most frequent (and best-known) cases occur when a new triennial roll is filed. But did you know that you can have the value revised, even downwards, at other times?

In fact, there are situations where the municipal assessor must make changes to the roll. Here are some examples:

• To list a property that should have been listed or remove a property that should not be listed;[2]
• To reflect the decrease in value following a fire or the destruction, demolition or disappearance of a building, in whole or in part;[3]
• To reflect the increase in value after improvement work;[4]
• To reflect the change in exemption status of the property (taxable/non-taxable).[5]
• To account for the fact that part of the building has become or is no longer taxable, or for a change in the non-taxable proportion;[6]
• To reflect the imposition or removal of legal restrictions on the possible uses of a building (e.g., a reserve notice or municipal by-laws).[7]

Municipal assessors are normally quick to amend the roll when the value of the property increases, but slower to do so when the value decreases. In the latter case, they do not always have the information they need to act.

If you believe that a situation has arisen that reduces the value of your property, do not hesitate to contact our Municipal Law team, who will be pleased to advise you.

Reminder: To contest the value of a property entered on a roll that began on January 1, the deadline is April 30, 2025.

[1] Sears Canada Inc. v. Saint-Laurent (Ville), 1996 CanLII 5866 (QC CA), [1996] R.J.Q. 2465 and 2470.
[2] Art. 174 (4) of the Act respecting municipal taxation, RLRQ c. F-2.1 (“AMT”).
[3] Art. 174 (6) of the AMT.
[4] Art. 174 (7) of the AMT.
[5] Art. 174 (9) of the AMT.
[6] Art. 174 (11) of the AMT.
[7] Art. 174 (19) of the AMT.