Word that thousands of homes in Burnaby will be seeing massive increases in their property assessments for 2016 has prompted local politicians to act.
On Monday, city council endorsed sending a letter to the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development requesting the province freeze property assessments to last year’s levels due to the unprecedented rise in property values.
Mayor Derek Corrigan said the city needed to take action immediately since the municipality is in the process of setting the tax rate for 2016.
“I think they [provincial government] have to hear loud and clear from the citizens that this is big issue, that it has a big impact and they’re not going to accept it,” he told the NOW.
The concern from council is how the rising home values will affect residents, who count on the homeowners grant to help pay their property taxes.
The mayor suggested a large number of homeowners will be losing their grants, which in turn affects the affordability of their home.
Last week, B.C. Assessment sent out 37,000 letters around the region notifying homeowners they could expect a dramatic increase in their property assessments, including in Burnaby where a couple neighbourhoods were pegged for increases of 23 and 27 per cent.
But a city document shows in greater detail the impact of the assessment increases in Burnaby.
In all, there are 7,180 properties with assessment increases at, or over, 20 per cent. The report noted of these properties, 7,012 have increases in excess of 40 per cent.
The vast majority - 6,720 - are single family homes, facing an average increase of 32 per cent.
In at least one case, a homeowner will see their property assessment increase by 68 per cent.
Meanwhile, the maximum threshold for the homeowners grant is $1.26 million and has been set since 2006.
“The property assessment increase across the Lower Mainland puts significant pressure on property owners to find means to meet their property tax obligations,” stated the staff report, which also noted the tax office has received a number of calls from “distressed” property owners requesting the city take action.
The impacts of the large increases will vary, but those at the high end of the scale could be paying much more when they get their tax bill in the spring.
The city has been told the average increase in assessments for properties in Burnaby is 12 per cent.
The report noted as part of the taxation rate setting process, the mill rate per $1,000 of assessed value will be adjusted to take into account the total increase per class in assessments. However, the city does not have any ability to vary rates within a class. “Therefore, those properties that have experienced a significant increase above the average increase in assessment will pay higher taxes in comparison to the average property in 2016,” the report said.
Council didn’t have to look too far to see an example.
Coun. Nick Volkow received one of the letters from B.C. Assessment, which showed his house will see an increase in assessed value to $1.31 million from $956,000 the previous year.
He said it’s a similar situation for his neighbours who have been living in their homes for years.
“We’re living in an alternate universe here, this is completely out of whack,” Volkow said.
“This is not anecdotal, this is mine.”
Corrigan said he’s confident the province will act on the city’s request, suggesting the government will realize how big the issue has become.
There is precedent for the provincial government to freeze assessments.
In 2008, then Premiere Gordon Campbell announced that assessments would be frozen for 2009 to reflect the fact that housing prices dropped in the last few months of the year due to the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the U.S.
