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As part of our ongoing re-inspection program, a representative with Service New Brunswick has recently completed an inspection of your property. The purpose of the visit was to update and verify existing information on your property.

• What is the re-inspection program?
• How are neighbourhoods selected for re-inspection?
• Why was my property inspected?
• What is an inspection and what information do you gather on my property?
• What does this mean for me?
• What if I don't agree with the assessment?
• May I discuss this further?

WHAT IS THE RE-INSPECTION PROGRAM?

The mandate of Property Assessment Services is to assess all properties in New Brunswick each year at 100% of their real and true value (i.e. market value). In order to do that, each of the 445,000 properties needs to be visited on a rotating cycle over a 10-year period.

So, the objective of our property re-inspection program is simple – we need to update the information we have on your property. We need to gather accurate and complete data on all properties within a given neighbourhood and we achieve this through physical inspections of individual properties. The results of these re-inspections are used to re-calculate the assessed value of these properties to their real and true (or market) value for the next taxation year.

HOW ARE NEIGHBOURHOODS SELECTED FOR RE-INSPECTION?

Each year, re-inspection programs are completed in various neighbourhoods throughout the province. Property Assessment Services selects areas for re-inspection based upon need, activity or date of last re-inspection.

• Neighbourhood selection based upon need:
  • We visit these properties when inequitable assessments, substandard property records, etc. are found throughout a large number of properties within a given neighbourhood.
  
  
• Neighbourhood selection based upon activity:
  • We visit these properties when neighbourhoods are experiencing significant amounts of new construction, increased sales or frequent re-zoning.
  
  
• Neighbourhood selection based upon the date of the last re-inspection:
  • We visit these properties when there have been lengthy intervals between re-inspection cycles. This increases the probability that changes may have occurred to a number of properties and that assessment records may have become outdated.
  
  

The goal of Property Assessment Services is to inspect all residential properties on a 10-year re-inspection cycle.

WHY WAS MY PROPERTY INSPECTED?

As part of our ongoing re-inspection program, our representatives travel door to door in neighbourhoods and communities throughout the province to update and verify existing information on property records. Your property is in an area that was selected for re-inspection. Last year, we re-inspected approximately 35,000 residential properties across the province.

WHAT IS AN INSPECTION AND WHAT INFORMATION DO YOU GATHER ON MY PROPERTY?

Our representatives inspect properties to ensure that the information that we have on your property is accurate. We record any changes that may have been made to the exterior (new siding or windows, an extension added to the house, an addition to the property such as a garage, etc.) and/or the interior (renovations to the kitchen and/or bathroom(s), addition of basement finish, etc.) of your property since it was last inspected.

An exterior inspection is performed in instances where no property owner is present at the time of inspection. An interior inspection takes place when you, the property owner, is present and all relevant information is reviewed and updated accordingly. If you are away at the time of our visit, we rely upon existing records for the interior details of your property.

Our assessment also considers land value and, often the most important factor, recent real estate market activity and values within your neighbourhood.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR ME?

The outcome of a property re-inspection usually results in a new valuation of your property. You will be notified of your property’s amended valuation when you receive your Property Assessment and Tax Notice on March 1st. Legislation prevents the release of property values prior to the March 1st billing. Your notice will reflect the real and true value (market value) of your property for the current year. This valuation is then multiplied by your local tax rate to determine your final property tax bill.

Depending on the property improvements observed and the strength of the resale market within the immediate area, property assessments generally increase after a re-inspection program has been completed within a particular neighbourhood.

WHAT IF I DON’T AGREE WITH THE ASSESSMENT?

As the owner of the assessed property, you have the opportunity to question the assessment by requesting a review of the property within 30 days of the mailing of the Property Assessment and Tax Notice on March 1st. You must include any appropriate reasons for submitting the review. An assessor will review the valuation of your property by comparing it to recent sales of similar properties in your area.

You also may appeal the Request for Review decision to the Assessment and Planning Appeal Board within 21 days of the mailing of the request for review decision.

MAY I DISCUSS THIS FURTHER?

The representative who visited your property included the contact information of the responsible assessor with the door-hanger left behind. Please feel free to contact this person should you have any questions concerning your property re-inspection.

For further information on the re-inspection program or any other assessment-related activities, please contact the regional office nearest you.