Property value protests surging

Owners disputing assessments at record number

Harris County property owners have filed more protests disputing the taxable value of their homes and commercial properties this year than at any point in nearly 20 years.

Protests were recorded for more than 412,000 accounts through early August, 11 percent more than in all of 2018, according to data from the Harris County Appraisal District. More may be on the way. The last time protests came that close to this year’s filings was in 2008 when 397,400 were lodged, according to county data going back to 2001.

HCAD, which values properties for ad valorem tax purposes for each taxing authority within its boundaries, released the 2019 count this week in a news release announcing its certification of this year’s appraisal roll, which the county, cities, school districts and other taxing entities use to set their tax rates.

Sylvie Novotny, vice president of Houstonbased property tax consultant Novotny & Co., said HCAD raised values this year on many properties that flooded during Hurricane Harvey, resulting in more protests. Last year, the taxable values of flooded properties fell as many owners were still in the midst of repairing their homes.

“A lot of properties we’ve seen have doubled or tripled since Harvey,”

she said. “People are essentially responding to that.”

Property owners generally file protests between May and August after receiving their appraised values from HCAD. For protests that are not resolved online or at informal meetings with a district appraiser, the property owner is heard before a threemember panel of an appraisal review board, which makes a final determination.

Thousands of property owners who object to the appraisal review board’s ruling take HCAD to court or apply for binding arbitration.

Last year, the number of lawsuits related to tax appraisals shot up 51 percent. There were 7,026 suits filed over more than $84 billion worth of properties, HCAD data show.

Protests have increased steadily over the past two decades as Houston has grown and consulting firms have gotten more people to sign up for their protesting services.

“People are willing to engage these companies or a lawyer to handle it,” said Houston real estate attorney Sanford Dow. “There’s a lot of that.”

Of the more than 371,500 protests filed last year by property owners and tax consultants, the average reduction was 7.5 percent. The 2019 average was not immediately available.

Novotny said the vast majority of protests her company has completed have resulted in some sort of reduction.

“If we can get the majority of our accounts reduced, that’s an indicator they tend to be on the higher side,” she said. “I always tell people, even if we’re not doing it, that they should always protest their property value.”

The taxable value of all 1.8 million parcels of property in Harris County amounts to $483 billion, HCAD said. That’s up 8.3 percent from last year’s $446 billion. The taxable value is the value after exemptions, such as homestead, over-65 and disabled and others for commercial properties. The total market value is approximately $633 billion. The figures rise or fall based in part on new construction and values fluctuations in the property market.

Data show that the taxable value of residential properties, which make up 42 percent of the county’s tax base, grew 9 percent over last year. Apartment values, which make up 9 percent, were up 15 percent. Commercial properties, representing approximately 25 percent, were up 8.5 percent. The district did not break out the protests by property type.

HCAD spokesman Jack Barnett said the district must have 90 percent of the county’s property values completed before it can certify the appraisal roll. Some 6.6 percent of the total appraised value in the district were under protest when the tax roll was certified.

As the remaining protests are resolved, the amounts will be added to a supplemental roll provided to the taxing units. Of this year’s protested accounts, 243,810 had been resolved.