Understanding the timeline is the first step to successfully appealing your property assessment.
BC Assessment sends out annual notices. This is your primary window to review the data. Check for errors in your property's basic facts (bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage, etc.) and compare your assessed value to recent neighborhood sales.
If you find discrepancies, now is the time to act. Use tools like our Assessment Health Score to quantify the mismatch and begin compiling "comparables", which are recent sales of similar homes in your immediate area.
Your written complaint (the Notice of Complaint) must reach BC Assessment no later than January 31. When that date falls on a weekend the deadline moves to the next business day, as it did for 2026 (February 2). There is no late filing: miss it and the year's assessment stands. Review Panel hearings then run from early February to March 15.
If the Review Panel's decision does not satisfy you, a further appeal goes to the Property Assessment Appeal Board, and it must be filed by April 30. Panel decisions usually arrive by early April, so this window is short. Your evidence pack should be complete well before the first deadline, not this one.
The market changes. By continuously updating your local comparables, you stay prepared for the next cycle and can react quickly to sudden shifts in your property's value.
Many assessments are wrong simply because of data entry errors. A missing bedroom or an incorrect lot size can significantly inflate your value. Correcting these "factual errors" is often the easiest way to win an appeal.
Your value is determined by what similar homes nearby actually sold for. The closer the match in size, age, and condition, the more weight your evidence will carry with the review panel.
The appeal process can be stressful. Preparing your evidence pack in February or March gives you the breathing room to ensure everything is accurate and submitted well before the rush.
Photos, recent renovation receipts, and detailed notes on property condition are invaluable. A well-organized dossier is much harder to dismiss than a simple verbal claim.
Don't wait for the deadline. Get your free health score today.
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