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March/April 2024

Highlights from the Provincial Budget

On March 26, Finance Minister, Peter Bethlenfalvy, presented Ontario’s 2024 Spring Budget. We’d like to share some key highlights to keep you informed.


To further promote the development of 

purpose-built rental units in Ontario, the Minister of Finance filed Ontario Regulation 140/24 under the Assessment Act, creating a new optional property subclass: the New Multi-Residential Property (Municipal Reduction) Property Subclass. This will offer new flexibility to enable municipalities to apply a reduced municipal tax rate to this property type. 


Effective immediately, a single-tier or upper-tier municipality can adopt this new subclass by passing a by-law. The subclass applies to properties in the new multi-residential property class whose units have been built or converted from a non-residential use pursuant to a building permit issued after the New Multi Residential Property (Municipal Reduction) Subclass by-law has been passed. A municipal council may also pass a by-law opting to have the New Multi-Residential Property (Municipal Reduction) Subclass cease to apply within the municipality.


The adoption of the New Multi-Residential Property (Municipal Reduction) Property Subclass provides municipalities with a tool to apply a lower tax rate, in line with the tax rate ranges set out in Ontario Regulations 141/24 and 142/24. We will follow up with additional details on how we will be implementing this new subclass.


The budget also announced an extension of authority to single-tier and upper-tier municipalities to impose a tax on vacant homes. 


Also included was the previously announced system-level review of the property assessment and taxation system and indicated that consultations would continue with broader stakeholder engagement starting in early spring. As part of this process, the province has committed to pausing a province-wide reassessment until the review concludes.

 

We continue to share the government’s interest in ensuring the transparency and fairness of the property tax and assessment system and recognize that its continuous improvement benefits all Ontarians. We look forward to continuing to contribute our assessment expertise and experience to the review.

 

While we wait for a new assessment date, MPAC continues to maintain an inventory of all properties and account for changes that happen each year in every property sector across the province. The ongoing postponement does not change the work we do to maintain our extensive property database and annual assessment rolls.

 

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your local Municipal and Stakeholder Relations Account Manager.

2023 Annual Report and Performance Report are now available

At MPAC, our promise to bring more value to Ontario fuels everything we do. Our 2023 Annual Report highlights the many milestones we have achieved together over the year in our pursuit of excellence. 

To learn more about what we have accomplished and our future goals in support of our municipal partners, stakeholders, and Ontarians, read MPAC’s 2023 Annual Report. 

 

Our 2023 Performance Report highlights our accountability and transparency as a public-facing organization, including how well we are meeting our goals in areas such as capturing new assessment, customer and stakeholder engagement, and operational efficiencies.


For an update on how we are doing, read MPAC’s 2023 Performance Report.

April PACNs have been mailed

Over 35,000 Property Assessment Change Notices (PACN) representing just over $12 billion in new assessment were mailed to property owners across Ontario this month. To help property owners in your communities learn more about PACNs and other types of

notices and the reasons they may have received one, you can direct them to our Notices and Notifications page on mpac.ca. You can also reshare our recent social post on your LinkedIn, X, or Facebook channels.

 

To ensure property owners receive important notifications from MPAC and avoid potential delays or missed deadlines, we also encourage them to contact our Customer Call Centre to check on or update the address we have on file. Property owners can call 1-866-296-6722 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday or follow the instructions on the Changing Your Mailing Address page to make an update.

Resources you can use

Have you visited the Municipal Sector Resources page on mpac.ca? We’ve added some new toolkits to help municipalities answer questions from property owners. 


From shareable social posts about the

 First-time Homeowners’ Hub and MPAC's AboutMyPropertyTM  to buck slip artwork that municipalities can print and include in tax bills, you can also find accompanying graphics and links for additional information. We’ve also included content about our new awareness campaign, Home Values Matter, aimed at helping homeowners and prospective homeowners understand MPAC’s role in the property market space. You’ll also find a collection of one-pagers that provide information about assessment by property type. You can share the resources with your communities or use them when responding to inquiries.

 

Watch for new updates to this page, share your feedback, and let us know how else we can support you! 

     

MPAC's Best Practices for Protecting your Municipality's Data

Join MPAC’s subject matter expert, Mirza Baig, Director, Cyber Security, to learn about the extensive cyber security measures MPAC continues to take to manage and protect its billions of data points. Mirza will showcase the new security controls that MPAC has implemented and share best practices for protecting your own municipality’s data and systems. 


There will be time for questions.


Date: Thursday, May 23, 2024

Time: 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. EDT

     

In case you missed it – MPAC Data and the Data Sharing and Services Agreement

MPAC subject matter experts Natasha Dawood, Regional Manager, Greater Toronto Area, Janet Rombis, Municipal Product Manager and Jeffrey Ma, Associate General Counsel, Corporate, provided an update and overview of the Data Sharing and Services Agreement and the acceptable uses of MPAC data. The webinar also reviewed the process for data requests and shared some examples of the most common uses of our data. 

To view recordings of all past webinars, visit mpac.ca or on our YouTube Channel.

     

Spring conferences

MPAC will be at the following conferences in April and May:

  • April 24 to 26 Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association (NOMA) in Thunder Bay.
  • April 28 to May 1 Ontario Business Improvement Business Area Association (OBIAA) in Mississauga.
  • May 1 to 3 Ontario Small Urban Municipalities (OSUM) in Orillia.
  • May 6 to 8  Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM) in Greater Sudbury. Join us on May 7 at 3:30 p.m. for our presentation, MPAC: Sharing Property Insights and Meeting the Evolving Needs of Our Northern Partners.
  • May 15 to 17 Ontario Municipal Administrators Association (OMAA) Spring workshop in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Municipal and Stakeholder Relations Account Manager Sarah Groves and Account Support Coordinator Victoria Anderlich at the East Central Farm Show in Lindsay last month.

     

MPAC at the Federation of Ontario Cottagers Associations AGM and Spring Seminar

Last month, MPAC’s Regional Manager Lynne Cunningham, was invited to speak at the Federation of Ontario Cottagers' Associations (FOCA) AGM and Spring Seminar held in Thornhill. The event was attended by more than 250 members both in-person and online.

 

“I was honoured to accept an invitation from out-going Executive Director Terry Rees to provide an MPAC update to FOCA members,” commented Lynne. Representing 250,000 waterfront property owners, this is an important stakeholder group for us, and opportunities to strengthen relationships and understand the communities we support is our top priority.” 

 

With waterfront property owners in mind, the presentation focused on how MPAC assesses these property types, a building permit activity update, the latest insight campaigns and resources and tools available on mpac.ca. 

 

Thank you to FOCA and audience members for a warm welcome and an engaging conversation.


If you would like to schedule an MPAC update for your association or municipality, please reach out to your local Account Manager.

MPAC Regional Manager Lynne Cunningham at this year’s Federation of Cottagers’ Associations AGM.

     

Property Income and Expense Return program begins next month!

MPAC’s Property Income and Expense Return (PIER) campaign, our largest data collection initiative, helps ensure that we have complete, accurate and up-to-date data, which is critical to the

valuation of income-generating properties. Starting May 16, eligible property owners will receive a letter requesting information about their properties. Submissions can be done through AboutMyProperty. The submission deadline is July 15. For more information visit AboutMyPropertyTM mpac.ca/PIER.

   

We invite you to reach out in 2024!

Every municipality has their own dedicated account management team at MPAC. They are the best resource for municipal staff and elected officials should your municipality have any questions related to MPAC and our work. Reach out to your local Municipal and Stakeholder Relations Account Manager if you are interested in having MPAC lead an information session for your Council or if you have questions concerning your municipality.