Almost 99% of homeowners do not dispute their assessment
February 27, 2018
VICTORIA – Consistent with past years, less than two per cent of British Columbia property owners have appealed their 2018 property assessments. Overall, appeal rates are down approximately eight per cent as compared to 2017.
January 31 was the deadline for property owners to appeal to have their assessment reviewed by an independent Property Assessment Review Panel. Any person is entitled to file an appeal about an assessment on the grounds set out in Section 32 of the Assessment Act.
Year over year, more than 98 per cent of property owners consistently accept their property assessments without filing an appeal.
For 2018, a total of 25,682 property assessments, or 1.3 per cent of the approximately 2.044 million properties, have been appealed.
| Appeal Rates | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
| Total Number of Properties Appealed | 25,682 | 27,903 | 23,354 | 22,296 | 17,874 | 23,847 |
| % of Total Properties Appealed from Total Property Count* | 1.3% | 1.4% | 1.2% | 1.1% | 0.9% | 1.2% |
*Total number of properties in British Columbia is approximately 2.044 million.
“The 2018 appeal rate is on par with the ten-year average of 1.3 per cent,” says BC Assessment Assessor Tina Ireland. “Following another year of an active real estate market, it speaks to BC Assessment’s consistency in providing fair and accurate property assessments.”
“Appeal rates across the province vary depending on the local market and property type,” adds Ireland. “More than 99 per cent of single detached home and condominium homeowners are not disputing their 2018 assessment. Commercial property appeal rates however continue to be higher than any other property type.”
The table below demonstrates 2018 appeal rates by major property types:
Property Type | 2018 Number of Properties | 2018 Appeals | % of Properties Appealed by Property Type |
| Single Detached Homes | 1,244,094 | 8,861 | 0.71% |
Strata Units (e.g. Condominiums) | 512,499 | 4,848 | 0.95% |
| Commercial Properties | 165,133 | 10,879 | 6.59% |
“Looking at regional markets, appeals of single detached homes for Vancouver Island are generally up while they are down substantially in the Lower Mainland. This is a reflection of the market conditions amongst the regions,” says Ireland.
Total 2018 residential property appeals by region, as compared to 2017:
Region | Single Detached Homes | Strata Units (e.g. Condominiums) |
| | 2018 Appeals | 2017 Appeals | % Change | 2018 Appeals | 2017 Appeals | %Change |
| Greater Vancouver | 1,217 | 3,536 | -66% | 2,309 | 2,043 | +13% |
| Fraser Valley | 1,788 | 4,702 | -62% | 1,352 | 844 | +60% |
| Vancouver Island | 2,585 | 2,479 | +4% | 328 | 327 | 0% |
| Thompson-Okanagan | 1,512 | 1,529 | -1% | 375 | 324 | +16% |
Kootenay Columbia | 802 | 687 | +17% | 252 | 357 | -29% |
Northern B.C. | 957 | 796 | +20% | 232 | 294 | -21% |
BC Assessment values over 2 million properties in nine separate property classes. The value of all real estate on the provincial Assessment Roll is over $1.86 trillion for 2018, an increase of nearly 12 per cent from 2017.
Final appeal numbers will be available at the end of March based on results from the independent Property Assessment Review Panel hearings.
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