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Preparing for your PARP hearing - Step-by-Step

Last updated on January 11, 2024

Organizing Evidence for a PARP Hearing

To prepare for your Property Assessment Review Panel hearing, please watch the following video which will provide important information related to preparing for the hearing and understanding what evidence to present to the Panel.

 

Preparing for PARP

 

Now that you have filed your property assessment complaint and are preparing for your upcoming Property Assessment Review Panel (PARP) hearing, you may have some questions regarding what to prepare and upload to the POESS system.

Please remember that you will have a short period of time to present your evidence during the hearing, so keep you information concise, precise and understandable. A breakdown of how a PARP hearing is conducted can be found by clicking here.

Remember, assessments are based on market value and market evidence; year to year percentage change arguments will not be considered as valid evidence of an assessment value.

Click here to watch a short animated video which will provide you with help in preparing for your upcoming PARP hearing.

You can also find important information and comparable sales evidence by using the resources found on the BC Assessment website by clicking here.

Step-by-Step Guide to your PARP complaint and hearing

The following is a step-by-step outline of a typical Property Assessment Review Panel hearing. For the most part, no matter if the property assessment is a residential property or a commercial property or farm (or any other type) the following process will take place.

Step 1: Review your Assessment Notice

When you receive your Property Assessment Notice, please check all the details on the front page carefully to ensure that:

  • the information on the Notice is correct; and
  • the assessment represents actual (market) value and the classification is correct.

The value on your property assessment notice should reflect the value of the land and improvements as of July 1 of the previous year. The Notice should also show your correct property classification and any exemptions that may apply.

Step 2: Discuss your Concerns

If your believe that the information on your Property Assessment Notice is incorrect, please contact your local BC Assessment office and discussion your concerns with an appraiser. The contact information for your local BC Assessment office is listed on the front of your Assessment Notice and can be found at www.bcassessment.ca.

An appraiser will be pleased to:

  • discuss your property file; 
  • explain how the actual (market) value for your property was determined; and
  • refer you to sales of similar properties in your neighbourhood.

By discussing your questions/concerns with BC Assessment staff you may find that they are addressed/answered and you do not need to request an independent review of the assessment.

Step 3: Request a Review/File a property assessment complaint

If your concerns are not satisfied, you can request an independent review of the assessment by a Property Assessment Review Panel. To request a review, you must file a formal complaint by January 31 with your local BC Assessment office.

if you have access to the internet, your property assessment complaint can be filed online, using the Online Appeal form found on the BC Assessment website at www.bcassessment.ca from January 1st to 31st. Alternatively, you can file your complaint in writing to your local BC Assessment office at the address found on the front of your Assessment Notice. 

Please note that the property assessment complaint MUST be filed with BC Assessment in order to be considered as validly filed.

When filing your complaint in writing, it must include:

  • your reason for requesting a review;
  • the property assessment roll number;
  • the property description (address and legal description), as stated on your Assessment Notice;
  • your full name, mailing address, and a phone number where you can be reached during the day;
  • a statement indicating whether or not you own the property in question;
  • if you are appointing an agent or representative to participate on your behalf, the agent's full name and business phone number; and 
  • a statement outlining the grounds or reasons why you believe the assessment is incorrect.

Once you have filed your property assessment complaint requesting an independent review of your assessment, you will receive a Notice of Hearing in the mail from BC Assessment. The Notice of Hearing will indicate the day the hearing is scheduled for and you are instructed to phone BC Assessment at the number indicated on the form to schedule a specific hearing time.

Note: If you wish to participate in your teleconference PARP hearing, you will need to schedule a specific hearing time for the day indicated on your Notice of Hearing.

Once a hearing time is scheduled, you will receive an email from BC Assessment confirming the hearing time and day as well as other important information including the 1-877 conference call number and participant number. If you do not receive this email, contact BC Assessment immediately.

If you are unable to participate in your PARP hearing, you may appoint a representative or agent to call in on your behalf. Alternatively, you can submit evidence and information in writing and upload it to the PARP Online Evidence Submission System or POESS for the Panel to review.

All evidence and information that you wish the Panel to consider during the hearing must be uploaded to POESS. The Panel can only consider information provided verbally or uploaded in POESS and does not review any information/evidence prior to the hearing.

Step 4: Prepare for your Hearing

You should begin to prepare for Property Assessment Review Panel hearing soon after filing your property assessment complaint (appeal). As noted, you will receive by mail, a Notice of Hearing which will arrive 5-8 days prior to your hearing date. To allow sufficient time to prepare a good package of evidence and information to support your position that the assessment is incorrect, you are encourage to begin preparation early.

You will need to gather and organize information that best supports your position, as the burden of proof rests with the complainant. In other words, you must prove that the assessment is incorrect or inaccurate by presenting market evidence and information. It is important that your present your best evidence, in a concise and organized manner within the time provided in the hearing.

All evidence must be uploaded to the PARP Online Evidence Submission System and your are encouraged to combine your materials into one or two documents and not upload more than 10 documents as there is limited time to review information. Please limit information to the best items that support your position.

Please see the Sample Evidence Package for some examples of good information and sources of evidence. You are also encouraged to watch the videos found on this website which will assist you.

Step 5: Your Hearing Day - Call in to your Hearing

As noted, you will have received a Notice of Hearing and called in to book your specific hearing time. You will have received during that call the dial in information for the conference call as well as receiving a conformation email from BC Assessment with the 1-877 Conference call number and participant code. if you did not receive this information, contact BC Assessment immediately. 

Note: The Panel will not be calling you, you need to dial in to the conference call number.

You are asked to call in to your hearing 5 minutes prior to the start time as you are required to listen to an important pre-recorded message prior to the start of your hearing. Please note that a typical residential property assessment complaint hearing is 30 minutes in total. You will be provided with a portion of that time to present your evidence and ask questions. For a breakdown of what occurs in the 30 minute time-frame, please click here. As some hearing may run late, please ensure that you stay on the conference call line as the Panel will join you shortly to begin the hearing.

Please note that if you filed your property assessment complaint after the January 31 filing deadline, or if your complaint contains a substantive error, the Panel will first need to conduct a validity hearing to determine if it can exercise its discretion and hear the complaint. The Panel may declare the complaint invalid and refuse to hear your complaint.

In a typical property assessment hearing, you will be asked to present your evidence first as the burden of proof rests with you, the complainant. BC Assessment will then be asked to present their evidence and will also be provided the opportunity to ask questions. The Panel may also ask questions of the Parties.

Please note that the Panel can only consider market value evidence. The fact that you do not intend to sell your property is not relevant for assessment purposes. Year-over-year percentage increase arguments cannot be considered by the Panel as each year's assessment reflects the market conditions for that year and year-over-year changes are not relevant. Assessment reflect actual or market value as of July 1 of the previous year and do not reflect current day's market conditions.

Property Assessment Review Panel hearings are open to the public.

Step 6: Panel Decisions

In a typical property assessment complaint hearing, after hearing from both parties and asking questions, the Panel will leave the conference call to deliberate and come to a decision. In some cases, the Panel may declare that it is deferring its decision to a later time although all decisions of the Property Assessment Review Panel must be made by March 15. You will be sent a Notice of Decision by mail from BC Assessment which you will receive on or around April 7.

If the Panel provides its decision at the conclusion of the hearing, it will also provide some reasons for its decision. The Panel does not, and is not required, to provide written reasons for its decision. if you wish to hear the reasons for the Panel's decision you will need to participate in the hearing process and remain on the conference call for the decision of the Panel.

The Panel may decide to dismiss the complaint due to a lack of evidence, change the assessment or information contained on the Assessment Notice, or make no change and confirm the assessment.

Step 7: Appeal a Property Assessment Review Panel decision

If you are not satisfied with the decision of the Property Assessment Review Panel you can file an appeal to the second level of the complaint and appeal process, the Property Assessment Appeal Board.

The deadline to file an appeal with the Property Assessment Appeal Board or PAAB is typically April 30.

Information about the Property Assessment Appeal Board and filing an appeal can be found by clicking here or by emailing office@paab.bc.ca or by calling 604-775-1740 or 1-888-775-1740 toll-free from anywhere in British Columbia.

BC Assessment also has the right to appeal a decision of the Property Assessment Review Panel.

In February 2023, Government announced a change to the filing fee for the Property Assessment Appeal Board (PAAB) – PAAB Fee Increase and PAAB Fee Guidelines - more information can be found on the PAAB website.