Delta homeowners that have already received advance notice their property assessments have skyrocketed also stand to lose their homeowner grant.
The B.C. Assessment Authority recently warned there will be significant increases in Delta property values included in assessment notices due to arrive in mailboxes next month. Those increases are in the 30 to 50 per cent range for single-family homes, while strata properties are up in the neighbourhood of 15 to 20 per cent.
B.C. Assessment sent courtesy notification letters to property owners whose assessments are increasing significantly more than the typical range of change.
Homeowners whose assessed values increased higher than the average in their property classes will see a higher property tax bill increase compared to others whose homes fall within the typical increase.
On top of that, some could find themselves losing their eligibility for the provincial homeowner grant.
The $570 grant for a primary residence starts being phased out for properties worth more than $1.2 million and is eliminated entirely when the property value reaches just beyond $1.3 million.
The red hot real estate market earlier this year has pushed many homes above that threshold, which means they’ll lose the grant unless the province increases the limit.
Metro Vancouver, Delta Mayor Lois Jackson and Delta South MLA Vicki Huntington are all calling on Victoria to take action.
“A great many people are calling and writing about the shock they have just received,” Huntington said of the letters from B.C. Assessment. “The province let this situation get out of control and they shouldn’t make homeowners pay for an unnatural demand in the housing market. They will have to look at how to give some relief, especially to those seniors who have lost the homeowner grant.”
The threshold for the grant was raised to $1.2 million earlier this year, up from $1.1 million the previous year.
Metro Vancouver says more and more homeowners no longer qualify for the grant as their property values rise.
In an open letter to the province, Jackson said Delta residents will face a large additional cost this year without a corresponding increase to their income.
“We are requesting a revision to the homeowner grant program to ensure the grant remains available for the average homeowner,” the mayor said.
“This rapid increase has pushed the benchmark home in Tsawwassen over the $1.2-million homeowner grant threshold, with many homes also beyond the $1.314-million mark where all support from the homeowner grant disappears. Many homeowners in Ladner and North Delta are facing similar skyrocketing house values and will now be faced with the associated costs,” she said.
Delta North Liberal MLA Scott Hamilton said since B.C. Assessment issued the advanced warning letters about higher assessments, he hasn’t had a chance to discuss the issue with his caucus colleagues.
“We do know BCAA assessed homes at the absolute peak of the market, (and) since then we’ve seen the market slide and it’s difficult to say where it’s going to land,” he said. “I think the premier did not discount taking a look at the threshold but we have yet to make any definitive statement in that regard.”
The Ministry of Finance notes that low-income homeowners can apply for a low-income supplement, which replaces any reduction in the grant caused by having a property valued over the threshold. The low-income supplement is available to seniors, certain veterans or their surviving spouse and persons with disabilities.
The province also notes the property tax deferment program provides low-interest loans that allow qualifying homeowners to defer their property taxes until they sell or transfer ownership of their home, or it becomes part of an estate.
ML Burke, a member of the Delta Seniors’ Planning Team, said many seniors aren’t aware of programs such as the tax deferment or Canadian Home Income Plan (CHIP) reverse mortgages.
“It can really help and free up a lot of cash, but for those people who are house rich and cash poor in Vancouver, and aren’t seniors and don’t qualify for a deferment, it’ll really knock them out,” she added.
