After a Request for Review: SNB’s decision, the Tribunal and beyond

The Director’s decision

The assessor may call you to confirm details or discuss the value. The Director must then reconsider the assessment and "vacate, confirm or vary the assessment" (Act, s. 25(4)). You receive by mail a copy of the Review Register entries and the Notice of Appeal form. SNB confirms: "Enclosed with the decision will be the Notice of Appeal and the information needed".

The decision takes effect from January 1 of the year concerned (s. 25(6)). If it lowers the value, that year’s tax is recalculated. The local government is also notified of the decision (s. 25(5)).

The appeal to the Tribunal

The second level is the Assessment and Planning Appeal Tribunal (APAT), formerly the Assessment and Planning Appeal Board (APAB); in French, Tribunal d’appel en matière d’évaluation et d’urbanisme. It is linked to the Department of Environment and Local Government for administration only, and the Minister has no decision-making power over appeals.

You appeal by serving the Chairperson with the Notice of Appeal form provided by the Director (s. 29(1)), within 21 days of the decision being mailed. With no decision within 90 days of the request being mailed, the 21 days start when those 90 days end (s. 27(2)). The notice states the facts, the statutory provisions relied on and the reasons (s. 29(2)). Neither the Act nor the Tribunal’s page states a fee.

The hearing

Not every appeal leads to a hearing: the Tribunal can dispose of unsubstantiated appeals, and owners can withdraw. If there is a hearing, a panel hears it: the Chair or a Vice-Chair, who are lawyers, and up to two regional members. The date and place are sent to the appellant and to SNB’s Director of Assessment.

Documentation from both parties must reach the Tribunal "within 15 days of the hearing date", according to its page. At the hearing, each side states its case and answers the panel’s questions. Hearings are open to the public, but decisions are sent only to the parties.

The Tribunal can dismiss the appeal, allow it and direct the Director to vacate the assessment or make specific variations, or refer it back to the Director (s. 34(1)). Its decision takes effect from January 1 of the year concerned (s. 36).

After the Tribunal

The Tribunal’s page is clear: a dissatisfied owner "can only appeal by way of judicial review to the Court of King's Bench of New Brunswick". That is a court proceeding, for which a lawyer is usually needed.

When an accredited appraiser makes the difference

For an ordinary house with good comparable sales, owners can build their own Request for Review. An accredited appraiser (AACI or CRA designation) becomes useful in three cases: an unusual property with no close comparable sales, an income property, and an appeal to the Tribunal, where your report will face SNB’s assessor’s analysis.

The report must target the right date: the market on January 1 of the previous year, and the property’s condition on January 1 of the tax year. Ask for it explicitly. To find a verified professional, see Payotte’s appraiser directory, and for the price, how much a home appraisal costs. To compare with other provinces, see property assessment in Canada and municipal assessment and market value.

Frequently asked questions