MPAC’s Commitment to Getting it Right

MPAC is the world’s largest continually updated assessment jurisdiction. When our staff are out in the community, we often get asked the question – when will assessments be updated? While property values in Ontario continue to be based on a January 1, 2016 valuation date, the truth is our employees are in fact making updates to property data every day.

We recognize that for many people in Ontario, their property is their single largest asset, and so the assessed value of their property is a big deal. We know we need to get it right because we know what is at stake for Ontario property owners.

As Ontario’s property market experts, our role at MPAC is to assess and classify all properties in Ontario in compliance with the Assessment Act and regulations set by the Government of Ontario. Over the past 20 years, MPAC has been on a mission to increase transparency around the property assessment process and how we arrive at our values. 

Our property assessment experts review inputs like building permits and sales and conduct property inspections every day to ensure we are providing accurate and impartial valuations for the more than 5.6 million properties across the province. And we are committed to following the highest industry standards and best practices. 

Our efforts are measured against international standards for property assessment through the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) and are also reviewed by third-party evaluators, including the International Property Tax Institute (IPTI).  We’re incredibly proud of the work we’ve done to ensure that our valuations consistently meet or surpass those standards, further demonstrating our commitment to impartial and transparent property assessments and services. 

We’ve also made a number of documents public (that weren’t before) to help property owners understand their assessment. This includes:

• Methodology guides which are comprehensive documents that explain exactly how we carry out property assessments;
• Market valuation reports that explain how relevant methodology was applied to a specific group of properties; and
• Property-specific information that is available on mpac.ca through the AboutMyProperty portal where property owners can log in to view the detailed information we have on file for their property.

In fact, every property owner in Ontario has free access to AboutMyProperty, where they can also learn more about how their property was assessed, compare their property to others in their neighbourhood or file a Request for Reconsideration if they disagree with their assessed value. Although we work incredibly hard to get it right, we also recognize that sometimes we won’t. That’s why we have a clear and accessible process in place for property owners to ask questions about their assessment or ask us to take a second look at their home. 

There are also proactive steps that a property owner can take at any time to ensure the information we have about their property is accurate. Since assessments are, in part, based on the information we have on record, one of the very simple things a property owner can do is to go online and make sure the information we have on file is up to date. Our assessors consider up to 200 different factors when assessing a residential property, so we welcome input from property owners.

MPAC has transformed as an organization over the past 20 years. We are more transparent and more accessible than ever. We live and breathe this work and are committed to continuing to improve our methodology to deliver equitable and transparent assessments to property owners in Ontario today and well into the future.

Learn more at mpac.ca/understandingyourassessment.