Assessment Review Board
Commission de révision de l’évaluation foncière
ISSUE DATE: February 28, 2020
FILE NO.: DM 2020M06
Moving Party(ies): Simin Khoshand
Respondent(s): Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (“MPAC”)
Respondent(s): Town of Ajax
Property Location(s): 1 McNamara Court
Municipality(ies): Town of Ajax
Roll Number(s): 1805-010-010-03800-0000
Taxation Year(s): 2019
Hearing Event No.: 728785
Legislative Authority: Rule 26(b) of the Assessment Review Board Rules of Practice and Procedure
Heard: by written submission
| Parties | Counsel⁺/Representative | Submissions |
|---|---|---|
| Simin Khoshand | Self-represented | Moving Party |
| MPAC | Sarah Moll | Received |
| Town of Ajax | Not Received |
DISPOSITION OF THE BOARD DELIVERED BY JEAN-PAUL PILON
OVERVIEW
1Simin Khoshand (the “Moving Party”) has been the owner of a residential property, 1 McNamara Court in the Town of Ajax (the “Subject Property”), since September 27, 2019. The Moving Party brings this motion to file a late appeal for the 2019 taxation year pursuant to Rule 26(b) of the Assessment Review Board’s (the “Board”) Rules of Practice and Procedure (the “Rules”).
Issue and Result
2At issue in the motion is whether an appeal should be accepted so that any issues with the assessment can be addressed. For the reasons that follow, this motion is denied.
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
Background
3In support of the motion, the Moving Party filed two affidavits. The first affidavit was sworn on October 24, 2019, and the second was sworn on January 2, 2020.
4In the first affidavit, the Moving Party wrote of taking possession of the Subject Property on September 27, 2019 where the assessment of the Subject Property included what was described in the affidavit as “material inaccuracies.” In the second affidavit, the Moving Party outlined these alleged inaccuracies.
5The Moving Party also filed reply argument dated January 22, 2020. In that document the Board was asked to correct the factual errors alleged.
6The question in the motion, however, is not what, if any, accuracies there might be in the assessment. Instead, the question in the motion is whether an appeal should be accepted so that any issues with the assessment can be addressed in a later proceeding.
7The submission also requested a refund of taxes and an order that MPAC “implement auditable quality management system (like ISO 9001) in their day to day work to ensure errors like this do not occur again.” These too are not relevant to the motion, nor would they be within the Board’s authority to order.
8The Moving Party suggested that the Board has the authority to correct errors in the roll pursuant to section 32(1.1) of the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. A.31 (the “Act”). That is not the case because that provision allows MPAC, not the Board, to correct assessments. Instead, the means by which a taxpayer can initiate process for the correction of errors in assessments is through the creation of appeals.
9In this case, the relevant provisions available include Rule 26(b) and section 40(4) of the Act.
Rules of Practice and Procedure – Rule 26(b) Notice Considerations
10Rule 26(b) provides that the Board can accept late appeals if: first, the appellant was the person entitled to receive notice of the assessment; second, that person did not receive the notice; and third, they filed the appeal within 30 days of becoming aware of the assessment. All three requirements must be met for an appellant to be successful in filing a late appeal.
11The Moving Party does not meet the first requirement of being the person entitled to receive notice of the assessment because the Moving Party did not own the Subject Property on the date of the return of the roll. That date is set out in section 35(2) of the Act as “not later than the second Tuesday following December 1 in the year in which the assessment was made.”
12The Moving Party was not the owner of the Subject Property in December 2018, having acquired it on September 27, 2019. The Moving Party was not, therefore, entitled to notice and does not meet the requirements of Rule 26(b).
Request for Reconsideration (RfR)
13Section 40(3) of the Act provides that if a property is in the residential property class, no appeal may be filed unless an RfR has been submitted to MPAC first.
14The deadline for filing an RfR is set out in section 39.1(1.1) of the Act as “no later than March 31 of the taxation year in respect of which the request is made.” That date in this instance, where the taxation year at issue is 2019, was March 31, 2019, which clearly passed before the presumptive appeal was filed. No RfR was filed.
15Section 40(4) of the Act is the only authority for the Board to extend the time for filing an RfR. It provides that:
If, in the Board’s opinion, there are extenuating circumstances explaining why a request for reconsideration in respect of a property was not made within the time required under section 39.1 by a person who was required to do so as a precondition of appeal….the Board, may, on an application by the person during the taxation year, extend the deadline for making a request under that section.
16The reference to a “person who was required” must be read with reference to section 39.1(1) which identifies that person as “the owner of a property or a person who has received or would be entitled to receive a notice of assessment under this Act…”
17The Moving Party was not entitled to receive a notice of assessment at the time an RfR could have been filed. Therefore, the Moving Party cannot rely on section 40(4) to extend time to file an RfR which they were not entitled to file in any event.
18As a result, the motion to extend time for the filing of an appeal or an RfR is denied.
CONCLUSION
19The motion to file a late appeal is denied because the Moving Party was not entitled to notice of the assessment. In addition, an appeal could not have been filed without filing an RfR first, and the time to file an RfR cannot be extended in this case.
“Jean-Paul Pilon”
JEAN-PAUL PILON
MEMBER
Assessment Review Board
A constituent tribunal of Tribunals Ontario - Environment and Land Division
Website: www.elto.gov.on.ca Telephone: 416-212-6349 Toll Free: 1-866-448-2248