Sec. 12-111. Appeals to board of assessment appeals. - Connecticut Statutes

      Sec. 12-111. Appeals to board of assessment appeals. (a) Any person, including any lessee of real property whose lease has been recorded as provided in section 47-19 and who is bound under the terms of a lease to pay real property taxes and any person to whom title to such property has been transferred since the assessment date, claiming to be aggrieved by the doings of the assessors of such town may appeal therefrom to the board of assessment appeals. Such appeal shall be filed, in writing, on or before February twentieth. The written appeal shall include, but is not limited to, the property owner's name, name and position of the signer, description of the property which is the subject of the appeal, name and mailing address of the party to be sent all correspondence by the board of assessment appeals, reason for the appeal, appellant's estimate of value, signature of property owner, or duly authorized agent of the property owner, and date of signature. The board shall notify each aggrieved taxpayer who filed a written appeal in the proper form and in a timely manner, no later than March first immediately following the assessment date, of the date, time and place of the appeal hearing. Such notice shall be sent no later than seven calendar days preceding the hearing date except that the board may elect not to conduct an appeal hearing for any commercial, industrial, utility or apartment property with an assessed value greater than five hundred thousand dollars. The board shall, not later than March first, notify the appellant that the board has elected not to conduct an appeal hearing. The board shall determine all such appeals and send written notification of the final determination of such appeals to each such person within one week after such determination has been made. Such written notification shall include information describing the property owner's right to appeal the determination of such board. Such board may equalize and adjust the grand list of such town and may increase or decrease the assessment of any taxable property or interest therein and may add an assessment for property omitted by the assessors which should be added thereto; and may add to the grand list the name of any person omitted by the assessors and owning taxable property in such town, placing therein all property liable to taxation which it has reason to believe is owned by such person, at the percentage of its actual valuation, as determined by the assessors in accordance with the provisions of sections 12-64 and 12-71, from the best information that it can obtain, and if such property should have been included in the declaration, as required by section 12-42 or 12-43, it shall add thereto twenty-five per cent of such assessment; but, before proceeding to increase the assessment of any person or to add to the grand list the name of any person so omitted, it shall mail to such person, postage paid, at least one week before making such increase or addition, a written or printed notice addressed to such person at the town in which such person resides, to appear before such board and show cause why such increase or addition should not be made.

      (b) If an extension is granted to any assessor or board of assessors pursuant to section 12-117, the date by which a taxpayer shall be required to submit a written request for appeal to the board of assessment appeals shall be extended to March twentieth and said board shall conduct hearings regarding such requests during the month of April. The board shall send notification to the taxpayer of the time and date of an appeal hearing at least seven calendar days preceding the hearing date, but no later than the first day of April. If the board elects not to hear an appeal for commercial, industrial, utility or apartment property described in subsection (a) of this section, the board shall notify the taxpayer of such decision no later than the first day of April.

      (1949 Rev., S. 1794; 1957, P.A. 673, S. 9; 1963, P.A. 458; February, 1965, P.A. 65, S. 1; 1967, P.A. 50; P.A. 87-245, S. 6, 10; P.A. 95-283, S. 50, 68; P.A. 96-171, S. 11, 16; P.A. 00-120, S. 6, 13; P.A. 01-195, S. 119, 181; P.A. 03-269, S. 3.)

      History: 1963 act added requirement of written report of decisions on appeals within one week of determination; 1965 act included appeals by lessees who, according to terms of lease, are responsible for payment of property taxes; 1967 act included appeals by persons receiving title since assessment date; P.A. 87-245 increased penalty from 10% to 25%, effective June 1, 1987, and applicable to assessment years of municipalities commencing on or after October 1, 1987; P.A. 95-283 changed name of board of tax review to board of assessment appeals, required appeals to be filed on or before February twentieth, in writing, added requirements for the written appeal and notification requirements, effective July 6, 1995; P.A. 96-171 required the board to "send written notification of" the final determination of all appeals, rather than "report in writing" such determination, and required the notice to include information describing the property owner's right to appeal the determination of the board, effective May 31, 1996; P.A. 00-120 substituted grand list for assessment list and made technical changes, effective May 26, 2000, and applicable to assessment years commencing October 1, 2000; P.A. 01-195 made technical changes for the purposes of gender neutrality, effective July 11, 2001; P.A. 03-269 designated existing provisions as Subsec. (a) and added new Subsec. (b) re effect on appeals of extensions of time granted to assessors, effective July 1, 2003.

      Requisites of valid notice of intended additions. 14 C. 72; 15 C. 447. Omissions and mistakes in assessments can only be taken advantage of by those in whose lists they occur. 15 C. 447; see also 65 C. 456. May add note, without interest, secured by mortgage. 39 C. 176. Addition without indicating property held legal. 44 C. 477. Nonresident whose personal property is wrongly assessed waives no rights by neglect to apply to board. 47 C. 477; see 87 C. 234. Board only and not inhabitants in town meeting can review work of assessors. 48 C. 145. Appearance before board waives defect of notice. 75 C. 597; 85 C. 6. Does not supplant remedy of mandamus to compel assessors to properly list property not listed by taxpayer. 104 C. 549. Acquiescence of board in erroneous action of assessors as to listing of property is not a good defense to an action of mandamus to compel assessors to make proper list. 108 C. 258. Cited. 117 C. 393; 123 C. 547; 130 C. 702; 131 C. 275. Remedy for overvaluation of property is appeal to board of tax review. 146 C. 165. Persons aggrieved by denial of application for classification of land as farm land may appeal to board of tax review for reclassification. 156 C. 107. Cited. 158 C. 148. Cited. 165 C. 546. Cited. 169 C. 454. Cited. 179 C. 712. Cited. 184 C. 326. Cited. 193 C. 342. Cited. 196 C. 487. Cited. 200 C. 697. Cited. 224 C. 110. Cited. 226 C. 407. Cited. 227 C. 826. Cited. 228 C. 23. Cited. 240 C. 192; Id., 469. Cited. 241 C. 749. Bar to action must at any time use as its initial reference point the assessment date and not the date of decennial reevaluation. 242 C. 363. Cited. Id., 727. Subsequent title holder has no greater rights to challenge prior assessment than were possessed by its immediate assignor or by any prior assignee from the owner of a property at the time of assessment. 249 C. 1.

      Cited. 8 CA 209. Cited. 21 CA 275. Cited. 26 CA 545. Cited. 29 CA 97. Cited. 42 CA 318. Cited. 44 CA 517.

      Improper to test amount of assessment in an action to collect unpaid taxes. 4 CS 391. Grounds of appeal from board of relief reviewed. 6 CS 505. Discussed. 32 CS 139. Cited. 39 CS 142. Cited. 43 CS 297.

      Subsec. (a):

      Prior notice required is a mandatory condition precedent to board's decision to increase property tax assessment; if legal notice is not provided, board's decision is illegal within meaning of Sec. 12-119. 109 CA 287.