Casual legal: Appealing Property Assessments to the ARB

DISCLAIMER: This article is meant to provide information only and is not intended to provide legal advice. You should seek the advice of legal counsel to address your specific set of circumstances. Although every effort has been made to provide current and accurate information, changes to the law may cause the information in this article to be outdated. 

By Michael E. Swanberg 

Reynolds Mirth Richards Farmer LLP 

Alberta Municipalities Casual Legal Service Provider  

Under Part 11 of the MGA, assessed persons may submit complaints to the Assessment Review Board (“ARB”) to challenge their municipal property assessments, which are used to determine the amount of property tax they must pay. There are two types of ARB, each dealing with different types of property:  

• The Local Assessment Review Board (“LARB”) hears complaints about residential properties with three or fewer dwelling units, farm land, and any tax notice that is not a property tax notice, business tax notice or improvement tax notice; and
• The Composite Assessment Review Board (“CARB”) hears complaints about any other kind of property, except for Designated Industrial Property (s. 460.1).   

The key difference between the LARB and the CARB is that the LARB panel consists of three members that are locally appointed (s. 454.11), while the CARB panel consists of two locally appointed members, plus a Chair appointed by the Province (s. 454.21).  

Each municipality is required to pass bylaws creating a LARB and CARB, and to appoint local members to the LARB and CARB (ss. 454, 454.1). Municipalities can create joint LARBs and CARBs with other municipalities that have jurisdiction to hear assessment complaints across those municipalities (s. 455).  

ARBs only have jurisdiction to deal with complaints pertaining to property assessments, not to the tax rate assigned by Council to any particular property or class of property (s. 460(8)). Complaints can pertain to the assessed value, the assessment class, whether the property is assessable, and whether the property is exempt from taxation, among other issues (s. 460(5)).  

The ARB must not alter any assessment that is fair and equitable, and must take into consideration any prescribed valuation standard or procedures set in the legislation, and assessments of similar properties in the same municipality (s. 467). Otherwise, the ARB has jurisdiction to vary any assessment if it determines that the assessment was incorrect or inequitable.  

ARB decisions must be rendered within 30 days of the hearing, and the unsuccessful party has 60 days to file and serve an application for judicial review with the Court of King’s Bench if they wish to challenge the ARB’s decision (s. 470).  

ARBs play an important role in Alberta’s property assessment regime by providing an independent and locally-based tribunal to hear and decide assessment complaints. This process allows for parties to submit evidence in advance, but still have complaints heard and decided within a short timeframe. 

To access Alberta Municipalities Casual Legal, Alberta Municipalities members can call toll-free to 1.800.661.7673 or email casuallegal [at] abmunis.ca (casuallegal[at]abmunis[dot]ca) and reach the municipal legal experts at Reynolds Mirth Richards and Farmer LLP. For more information on the Casual Legal Service, please contact riskcontrol [at] abmunis.ca (riskcontrol[at]abmunis[dot]ca), or call 310.MUNI (6864) to speak to Alberta Municipalities Risk Management staff. Any Regular or Associate member of Alberta Municipalities can access the Casual Legal Service.