Assessment Review Board
Commission de révision de l’évaluation foncière
ISSUE DATE: March 21, 2019
Assessed Person(s): Pervez Shahid, Bernadette Soto
Appellant(s): Pervez Shahid
Respondent(s): Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (“MPAC”) Region 14
Respondent(s): City of Markham
Property Location(s): 2 Harness Circle
Municipality(ies): City of Markham
Roll Number(s): 1936-030-212-54810-0000
Appeal Number(s): 3265975 and 3303246
Taxation Year(s): 2017 and 2018
Hearing Event No.: 701692 and 709564
Legislative Authority: Section 40 of the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. A.31, as amended
Heard: July 25, 2018 and January 11, 2019 in Markham, Ontario
APPEARANCES:
| Parties | Representative |
|---|---|
| Pervez Shahid | Self-represented |
| MPAC | Tong Li |
| City of Markham | No one appeared |
DECISION OF THE BOARD DELIVERED BY DAN WEAGANT
INTRODUCTION
1The subject property, located at 2 Harness Circle, has an assessment of $781,000 for the 2017 and 2018 taxation years. Pervez Shahid (the “Appellant”) believed this assessment was too high and filed an appeal. The Appellant believes the assessment should be approximately $610,000 when the full impact of the property’s condition is considered.
2For the 2017 and 2018 taxation years, MPAC returned a value of $781,000. Prior to the hearing, MPAC reviewed the assessment with the Appellant through the Request for Reconsideration (RfR) process. As a result, MPAC recommended a value of $741,000. Prior to the hearing, MPAC also reviewed the submissions of the Appellant and agreed to a further reduction in value to $730,000. This reduction reflected the value applied by MPAC for window replacement.
ISSUE
3There are two questions the Assessment Review Board (the “Board”) must answer in making its determination. Firstly, the Board must determine the current value of the subject property, based on the evidence at the hearing. Secondly, the Board must then decide if the current value determined requires a reduction for the purposes of equitable assessment when reference is made to the assessments of similar properties in the vicinity.
DECISION
4The Board finds the current value of the subject property for the 2018 taxation year is $718,000. The Board also finds that there is no evidence to support a reduction in this amount in order to make it equitable with the assessments of similar lands in the vicinity.
5Accordingly, the assessment of 2 Harness Circle Bruce Beach Road for the 2017 and 2018 taxation years is reduced from $781,000 to $718,000 in the Residential property class.
LEGISLATION
6In making its determination of these appeals, the Board must consider the relevant sections of the Assessment Act, R.S.O 1990, c. A.31 (the “Act”).
“current value” means, in relation to land, the amount of money the fee simple, if unencumbered, would realize if sold at arm’s length by a willing seller to a willing buyer.
8Section 19.(1) of the Act states:
19.(1) Assessment based on current value. – The assessment of land shall be based on its current value.
9Section 44.(3) of the Act states:
44.(3) Same, 2009 and subsequent years. – For 2009 and subsequent taxation years, in determining the value at which any land shall be assessed, the Board shall,
(a) determine the current value of the land; and
(b) have reference to the value at which similar lands in the vicinity are assessed and adjust the assessment of the land to make it equitable with that of similar lands in the vicinity if such an adjustment would result in a reduction of the assessment of the land.
What is the Current Value of the Subject Property?
MPAC’s Evidence
10MPAC submitted a valuation report that considered five properties in Markham that it deemed to be comparable with the subject property. These five properties are all on the same street as the subject property. They are all single family, two-storey dwellings, with attached garages.
11MPAC testified that these five comparable properties were selected because of their relative comparability with the