§ 730 — Procedure to review small claims

§ 730. Procedure to review small claims. 1. The chief administrator of\nthe courts shall establish a small claims assessment review program in\nthe supreme court. An owner of real property claiming to be aggrieved by\nan assessment on real property on the ground that such assessment is\nunequal or excessive may file a petition for review pursuant to this\narticle provided that:\n (a) the property owner shall have first filed a complaint pursuant to\nsection five hundred twenty-four or section fourteen hundred eight of\nthis chapter or the provisions of a local law or charter providing for\nadministrative review of assessments;\n (b) the property is: (i) improved by a one, two or three family\nowner-occupied structure used exclusively for residential purposes other\nthan property subject to the assessment limitations of section five\nhundred eighty-one of this chapter and article nine-B of the real\nproperty law or (ii) the property is unimproved and is not of sufficient\nsize as determined by the assessing unit or special assessing unit to\ncontain a one, two or three family residential structure;\n (c) the equalized value of the property does not exceed four hundred\nfifty thousand dollars or, in the event such equalized value exceeds\nfour hundred fifty thousand dollars, the total assessment reduction\nrequested does not exceed twenty-five percent of the assessed value of\nthe property; and\n (d) the petition shall not request an assessment lower than that\nrequested in the complaint filed pursuant to section five hundred\ntwenty-four or fourteen hundred eight of this chapter or the provisions\nof a local law or charter providing for administrative review of\nassessments.\n For the purpose of this section, the equalized value of the property\nshall equal the assessed value of the property divided by the most\nrecent equalization rate or, in the case of a special assessing unit,\nthe most recent class one ratio, when established. In the event there\nhas been a material change in the level of assessment the special\nequalization rate shall be used to determine the equalized value of the\nproperty.\n An owner of real property who qualifies under paragraphs (a) through\n(d) of this subdivision shall also include:\n (i) a person or persons whose real property is held in trust solely\nfor the benefit of such person or persons if the property serves as the\nprimary residence of such person or persons and the trust which holds\ntitle to the property was lawfully created to hold title solely for\nestate planning and asset protection purposes; and\n (ii) a person or persons who reside in real property which is owned by\na limited partnership if the property serves as the primary residence of\nsuch person or persons and said limited partnership does not engage in\nany commercial activity, was lawfully created to hold title solely for\nestate planning and asset protection purposes and the partner or\npartners who primarily reside thereon personally pay all of the real\nproperty taxes and other costs associated with the property's ownership.\n 2. Upon determining any such complaint every real property tax board\nof assessment review shall inform every owner of one, two or three\nfamily owner-occupied residential real property in writing of the right\nto small claims assessment review in the manner provided by subdivision\nfour of section five hundred twenty-five of this chapter. Such notice\nshall specify the last date on which petitions must be filed and the\nlocation where small claims assessment review forms may be obtained. The\npetition form for small claims assessment review shall be provided to\nsuch property owner, upon request, at no cost in accordance with the\nrules promulgated pursuant to section seven hundred thirty-seven of this\ntitle.\n 3. The petition for review pursuant to this title shall be filed\nwithin thirty days after the completion and filing of the final\nassessment roll containing such assessment or, in a city with a\npopulation of one million or more, before the twenty-fifth day of\nOctober following the time when the determination sought to be reviewed\nwas made, in accordance with the rules promulgated pursuant to section\nseven hundred thirty-seven of this title. A fee of thirty dollars shall\nbe paid upon filing of each petition, which shall be the sole fee\nrequired for petitions filed pursuant to this title. The county clerk of\neach county outside the city of New York shall retain five dollars of\neach filing fee and shall pay the balance of each fee to the state\ncommissioner of taxation and finance as provided in paragraph (e) of\nsubdivision two of section thirty-nine of the judiciary law. For the\npurposes of this section an assessment roll shall not be considered\nfinally completed and filed until the last day provided by law for the\nfiling of such assessment roll or until notice thereof has been given as\nrequired by law, whichever is later. Failure to file the petition within\nsuch time shall constitute a complete defense to the petition and the\npetition must be dismissed.\n 4. The petition form for small claims assessment review shall be\nprescribed by the office of court administration after consultation with\nthe commissioner. Such form shall require the petitioner to set forth\nhis name, address and telephone number, a description of the real\nproperty for which small claims assessment review is sought, the name of\nthe assessing unit having made the assessment, the amount of the\nassessment and of the reduction in assessed valuation or taxable\nassessed valuation requested, each tax district which utilizes such\nassessment and the tax rate or adjusted tax rate of each tax district or\nconsolidated tax rate, if applicable, a concise statement of the ground\nor grounds upon which review is sought and any such other information as\nmay be required by the office of court administration.\n 5. No petition for small claims assessment review shall relate to more\nthan one parcel of real property.\n 6. The petition may be made by a person who has knowledge of the facts\nstated therein and who is authorized in writing by the property owner to\nfile such petition. Such written authorization must be made a part of\nsuch petition and bear a date within the same calendar year during which\nthe complaint is filed.\n 7. Commencement of a proceeding under this article shall not stay the\nproceedings of the assessors or other persons against whom the\nproceeding is maintained or to whom the assessment is delivered, to be\nacted upon according to law.\n 8. The petitioner shall mail a copy of the petition within ten days\nfrom the date of filing with the clerk of the supreme court to: (a) the\nclerk of the assessing unit named in the petition, or if there be no\nsuch clerk, then to the officer who performs the customary duties of\nthat official, or to the president of the tax commission in a city with\na population of more than one million and having a tax commission; (b)\nthe assessor or chairman of the board of assessors of the assessing unit\nnamed in the petition; (c) the clerk of any school district, except a\nschool district governed by the provisions of article fifty-two of the\neducation law, within which any part of the real property on which the\nassessment to be reviewed is located, or if there be no clerk or the\nclerk's name and address cannot be obtained, then to a trustee; (d) the\ntreasurer of any county in which any part of the real property is\nlocated; and (e) the clerk of a village which has enacted a local law as\nprovided in subdivision three of section fourteen hundred two of this\nchapter if the assessment to be reviewed is on a parcel located within\nsuch village. Service upon the clerk of the assessing unit or other\nappropriate official specified in paragraph (a) of this subdivision\nshall be made by personal delivery or by certified mail, return receipt\nrequested. In the event that service is made by personal delivery, the\nclerk of the assessing unit or other appropriate person shall provide a\nreceipt for such service to the petitioner stating the date and time of\nservice. Neither the school district, county nor such village shall be\ndeemed to have been made a party to the proceeding.\n