Property assessment and appeals in Quebec

Under the Loi sur la fiscalité municipale (LFM), the roll shows each unit's value "sur la base de sa valeur réelle" (s. 42). Real value is the exchange value on an open, competitive market: "le prix le plus probable qui peut être payé lors d'une vente de gré à gré" between a willing, informed buyer and seller (s. 43).

The work is decentralized. MAMH says rolls are made and kept up to date by the organismes municipaux responsables de l'évaluation (OMRE): the MRCs, and local municipalities with "ville" status outside the rural-designated MRCs. An OMRE can do the work in-house, hire a private firm or delegate it to another OMRE. The Government of Quebec publishes the Manuel d'évaluation foncière du Québec and monitors results. In Montréal, the City's Direction de l'évaluation foncière makes the rolls for all 16 municipalities of the agglomeration.

The OMRE has its assessor prepare the roll "tous les trois ans et pour trois exercices financiers municipaux consécutifs" (s. 14). Values reflect the property and the market as they stood on July 1 of the second fiscal year before the roll's first year (s. 46). The roll takes effect January 1, and the assessor deposits it between August 15 and September 15 of the year before (s. 70). Montréal's 2026-2027-2028 rolls were deposited September 10, 2025, with a reference date of July 1, 2024 and an average value increase of 12.2%.

For how taxes are calculated on these values, see property tax in Quebec.

When a new roll is deposited, the local municipality sends an avis d'évaluation to each person in whose name a unit is entered. The LFM requires it to go out "avant le 1er mars" of the roll's first year (s. 81). For units entered at $3,000,000 or more, the notice must be sent within 60 days of the deposit, unless the roll is posted on the municipality's website within that period. The notice and the first-year tax bill may be combined in one document.

The content of the avis d'évaluation is prescribed by regulation. MAMH says it is meant to inform the taxpayer of the main entries on the roll for the property and to explain how to request a correction. When the assessor changes the roll during its term, for example after construction or a change of owner, the owner receives an avis de modification. It shows the changes and the right to request a review.

Section 81 ties the avis d'évaluation to the first year of each roll; changes made during the roll's term are reported by avis de modification. Montréal notes that only two owner names appear on its 2026-2027-2028 notices, even where there are more owners.

Rolls are public. Within 15 days of deposit, the municipal clerk must give notice that the roll is deposited and that anyone may consult it at the clerk's office (LFM s. 73). Most large municipalities also publish their roll online.

In the Montréal agglomeration, the City's Evalweb service can be searched by address, lot number or matricule. It shows the owners, the land area and the values of the building, the land and the whole property. In Québec City, L'Ancienne-Lorette and Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, the Ville de Québec publishes the 2025-2026-2027 rolls. Elsewhere, the roll is held by the MRC or city responsible for assessment. MAMH publishes a list of these bodies. To see what a value means in dollars, try the property tax calculator.

Quebec has no cap on assessment increases. Instead, a local municipality may spread out (étalement) the change in taxable values caused by a new roll (LFM s. 253.27). It does so by resolution adopted after the roll is deposited and before the budget for the roll's first year. For the first two years, taxes are calculated on an adjusted value: the previous roll value plus one third of the change in year 1, and plus two thirds in year 2 (s. 253.30). The full roll value applies in year 3. Decreases are spread the same way. Montréal applies étalement. Its example: a value of $560,000 on the 2023-2025 roll and $620,000 on the 2026-2028 roll gives a tax base of $580,000 in 2026, $600,000 in 2027 and $620,000 in 2028. MAMH notes that school service centres and school boards must spread value changes over three years for the school tax. Because rolls in different municipalities are at different market levels, MAMH also publishes a median proportion and comparative factor for each roll. The roll value multiplied by the comparative factor gives the uniformized value, which is used for school tax bills among other things.