Alex Pletsch

Several property owners and tenants applied for property tax relief under s. 357(1)(d)(ii) of the Municipal Act, arguing that COVID-19 pandemic restrictions 'damaged' their income-producing properties by rendering them substantially unusable.

The Assessment Review Board held a motion to determine the preliminary legal interpretation of the provision.

The Board found that the word 'damage' in the statute requires physical damage to a building, applying the ejusdem generis maxim to restrict the phrase 'or otherwise' to physical causes like the listed 'fire' and 'demolition'.

The Board concluded that 'damage' does not include 'legislative damage' caused by government restrictions on business operations.

The appellant appealed the property assessment for the 2021 and 2022 taxation years, arguing that the current value had decreased due to COVID-19 regulatory restrictions.

The respondent MPAC brought a motion to dismiss the appeals, arguing that the correct valuation day remained January 1, 2016, and that the issue of the property's value as of that date had already been resolved by a settlement agreement for the 2017-2019 taxation years.

The Assessment Review Board found that the correct valuation day was January 1, 2016, and applied the doctrine of issue estoppel to preclude the appellant from re-litigating the property's value.

The appeals were dismissed.