Small Claims Assessment Review

If you own and live in a one, two or three-family house or a condominium unit in a development of three stories or less and you are not satisfied with the Assessment Review Commission's (ARC) decision, you may go to a special small claims court. There, for a modest filing fee, you can seek further review of your assessment. A court-appointed referee holds the small claims hearings. He or she may order the Department to lower your assessment but cannot order it raised.

Once the Department of Assessment publishes the assessment roll (usually April 1st), you must start a Small Claims Assessment Review by the last business day in April. However, if the Assessment Review Commission has not rendered a decision until after April 1, the property owner may file a Small Claims Assessment Review within 30 days of ARC's decision. Forms are available from the Nassau County Clerk's Office, 240 Old Country Road, Mineola New York.

Small Claims Assessment Review costs considerably less than an Article 7 Filing in Supreme Court. Claimants do not need to have an attorney. State law requires that you receive an answer from the small claims referee within thirty days after the hearing. However, there is a limit to the size of the assessment reduction you can request and you must live in and own the home to file. There is a filing fee of $30.00.