More and more Montrealers challenging property assessments

An increasing number of Montrealers are contesting the assessed value of their homes, and opposition politicians are warning that will go upeven further once the new municipal assessment roll isreleased next month.

Radio-Canadahas found, through an access-to-information request,a 15.5per cent increase in the number of residents who challenged their 2014 evaluations, compared to the number of requests for review after the release of the previous assessment roll in2011.

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The valuations, which are updatedevery three years, are used to determine property taxes for residences and businesses.

Property taxes accounted for almost 70 per cent of Montreal'srevenues in 2015.

In all, 5,264 Montreal residents submitted requests for review of their 2014 assessment. Of those, 2,651 or slightly more than half succeeded in having their home's assessed value reduced.

Fewer city evaluators

That high success rateconfirmed anecdotal evidence compiled by the citizens' groupMontralpourtous.

"It makes sense," said PierrePag, a spokesman for the group. "The increase in evaluations has been so high."

Pag said the city has reduced thenumber of real estateevaluators over the past 15 years, meaning "they're doing mass analyses," he said.

He encouraged residents to examine carefullythe valuations they will receive in September.

'Expect an explosion'

Projet MontralCouncillorGuillaumeLavoiepredicted that the high valuations in the next municipal assessment roll aregoing to provoke even more backlash than the ones inprevious roll did.

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"Expect an explosion of contestationswith the next assessment roll," Lavoie said.

"It's good news when a home is worth more, but in the meantime you have to pay higher taxes, and you don't have more services."

The increase in requests for review of assessed valueswas highest in the borough of Pierrefonds-Roxboro, which saw an 82per cent jumpfrom 2011 to 2014.

Ville-Marie saw a 58per cent increase. Outremont was next highest, at 31 per cent.