Citizens shouldn’t have to pay for faulty BC assessments: Coun. John French

It’s reasonable to expect that real estate property assessments are accurate. But too often in our province, assessments are way off and sometimes for many years. When that happens, the under-assessed property owner pays less property tax than they should be, and property owners with accurate assessments pay more than they should.

For example, the properties in Surrey at 18697 to 18725 96th Avenue were assessed at $5.2 million in 2022. That same year they sold for $10.35 million. In 2023, the assessed value was less than $6.9 million. The difference between the assessed value and the sale price is well over $3 million. This is just one example of an under-assessed property. There are many more examples like it across British Columbia and nobody appeals these assessments.

Here in Squamish, an industrial property near the rail yards was assessed in 2020 by BC Assessment at $506,000. The following year BC Assessment dropped the property value down to $502,000. In 2022 the property was listed for sale at a price of $4.5 million. It didn’t sell that year. BC Assessment dramatically increased the assessed value in 2022 to $1,649,300. The list price was reduced in 2023 to $3.99 million and the BC Assessment value last year was set at $2,356,700.

The property sold last year for $3.5 million. The 2024 BC Assessment assigned value is $3,140,900. The difference between the sale price and the current BC Assessment value is $359,100. This is great news for the property owner because it means a lower property tax bill. But the owners of accurately assessed properties around Squamish will make up the difference. Examples like this can be found from Kamloops to Kelowna and Kalso, from Port Alberni to Port Coquitlam and Port Moody.

This is what has motivated me to reach out, with my council colleagues, to other elected officials in the Lower Mainland Local Government Association region from Pemberton to Chilliwack to consider lobbying the provincial government to update the BC Assessment Act so the number of under-assessed properties is drastically reduced.

This will be discussed at a conference in May. If elected officials in the region agree that this is an issue worth pursuing, it will be debated at the annual Union of BC Municipalities convention in September. And, if elected officials across the province agree that unfair taxation results from under assessments, provincial officials will be pressured to make changes.

John French is a lifelong resident and District of Squamish Councillor first elected in 2018.