Residential property owners in the City of Toronto will see average assessment increase of approximately 5.5 per cent in 2013

2012 Property Assessment Notices are now in the mail to more than 727,000 property owners in the City of Toronto

TORONTO, Oct. 26, 2012 /CNW/ - City of Toronto homeowners will see the assessed value of their property increase by an average of 5.5 per cent in 2013.

"Residential property values have increased by an average of approximately 22.8 per cent in the City of Toronto since 2008 when the last Assessment Update was delivered," said Joe Regina, Municipal Relations Account Manager in the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation's (MPAC) Toronto office.

Because of the four-year phase-in program, property owners will see an average assessment increase of 5.5 per cent in 2013. The phase-in program does not apply to decreases in assessment which are applied immediately for the 2013 property tax year.

Property Assessment Notices are now being mailed to more than 727,000 area property owners as part of this fall's province-wide Assessment Update.

An increase in assessment does not necessarily mean an increase in property taxes. If the assessed value of a home has increased by the same percentage as the average in the municipality, there might be no increase in the property taxes paid by property owners.

For more detailed analysis of the changes in values that have taken place across Ontario, refer to MPAC's special Assessment Update Edition of MarketSnapshot, available at www.mpac.ca.

"Our values reflect the local real estate market and confirm that most homeowners in the area have seen an increase in the value of their property over the past four years," Regina said.

MPAC's role is to accurately assess every property in Ontario. "Property owners should ask themselves if they could have sold their property for its assessed value on January 1, 2012. If the answer is yes, then their assessment is accurate. If not, we are committed to working with them to get it right," Regina said.

Property owners can check the accuracy of their assessment at www.aboutmyproperty.ca. This website allows owners to easily compare the value of their property to others in their neighbourhood and community.  Registration information is included with every Notice mailed this fall.

If property owners believe their assessment is not correct, they have the option of filing a Request for Reconsideration and MPAC will review their assessment free of charge.

Hours will be extended at MPAC's Toronto office during the Notice mailing period this fall.  Property owners can also call MPAC's Customer Contact Centre toll free at 1-866-296-MPAC (6722).

About MPAC
MPAC (www.mpac.ca, www.aboutmyproperty.ca) is a not-for-profit corporation funded by all Ontario municipalities.  MPAC is responsible for administering a uniform, province-wide property assessment system based on current values.  It provides a range of services, including the preparation of annual assessment rolls for use by municipalities and the Province of Ontario to calculate property taxes and education taxes.  Municipal enumerations are also conducted by MPAC in order to prepare a Preliminary List of Electors for each municipality and school board during an election year.

The last province-wide Assessment Update of Ontario properties took place in 2008 and was based on the legislated valuation date of January 1, 2008.  This fall's province-wide Assessment Update of Ontario's nearly five million properties is based on the legislated valuation date of January 1, 2012. Eligible assessment increases will be phased in over four years (2013-2016).  All assessment decreases are applied immediately. This year's Assessment Update will be the second in Ontario's new four-year assessment and phase-in cycle.

MPAC has 33 local offices located across Ontario.  Its head office is located in Pickering.

SOURCE: Municipal Property Assessment Corporation

Joe Regina 
Municipal Relations Account Manager 
416 250 2150, extension 7004

Cathy Ranieri Sweenie
Communications Specialist
905 837-6152