PARP vs PAAB: BC's two levels of assessment appeal

BC has two levels of assessment appeal. The Property Assessment Review Panel, or PARP, is the free first level. The Property Assessment Appeal Board, or PAAB, is the independent second level. Almost every appeal starts at PARP, and only some go on to PAAB. This guide explains what each does and how they differ.

What is PARP?

PARP, the Property Assessment Review Panel, is the first level of appeal in BC. It is a free, informal review where you explain why your assessed value or property class is wrong, BC Assessment responds, and the panel decides. You file your complaint by January 31, and panels sit from February into mid-March.

The Province explains that complainants file their complaint with BC Assessment to have a short hearing before a panel, held by phone or in writing rather than in person. Because it is free and low-formality, PARP is where most owners resolve a concern. Before you even file, BC Assessment recommends talking to staff directly, since many issues are corrected without a complaint. The full walkthrough is in our guide on how to appeal your BC Assessment.

The panel is made up of independent members appointed to review assessments, not BC Assessment staff. That independence matters: the people deciding your complaint are separate from the people who set the value. A session is short, you are given time to explain your position, and the decision follows soon after. For most owners, this is the entire appeal, and it costs nothing.

Both levels exist by statute. The Assessment Act establishes the review panels in one part and the appeal board in another, which is why the order is fixed: the panel is the entry point the law defines, and the board hears matters that have already been through it. Understanding that they are two distinct bodies created for two distinct roles is the key to knowing which one applies to you and when.

What is PAAB?

PAAB, the Property Assessment Appeal Board, is BC’s independent second level of appeal. If the review panel decision does not resolve your concern, you can appeal to the Board by April 30. It is more formal than the panel, it carries a filing fee, and it issues binding decisions.

The Board’s materials confirm the April 30 filing deadline and the fee of $30 per folio for residential and $300 per folio for commercial and industrial property. Despite being more formal, PAAB is not a courtroom for most owners: many appeals settle by agreement before any decision, and matters that proceed are usually decided on written submissions. It is the venue for disputes that need an independent ruling rather than a quick correction.

The Board is a standing tribunal, separate from both BC Assessment and the review panel, and its decisions can be cited in later cases. That makes it the right level for harder disputes: a contested valuation method, a classification question with real money attached, or a value the review panel confirmed but you still believe is wrong. Because it is more formal and carries a fee, most owners only reach it when the first level did not settle the matter and the amount at stake justifies the effort.

The board rarely jumps straight to a hearing. It usually works an appeal through an appeal management conference or online dispute resolution to narrow the issues, then a settlement conference, and holds a formal hearing only if the matter cannot be resolved by agreement. The Board’s overview of the appeal process walks through those stages. This is why many PAAB appeals settle without a decision at all: the earlier stages are built to resolve the dispute before it ever reaches a hearing.

How do PARP and PAAB differ?

The two levels differ in order, deadline, cost, formality, and format. PARP is free, informal, and first; PAAB is paid, more formal, and second. The table below compares them side by side.

Which one does your appeal start at?

Almost always PARP. The review panel is the entry point for a BC assessment dispute, and you file with it by January 31. You cannot skip to the appeal board: PAAB only hears matters that have already been through the review panel first.

In practice, PARP is the whole appeal for most owners. You raise the concern, present evidence as of the July 1 valuation date, and the panel adjusts, confirms, or in some cases raises the value. Only if you still disagree with the panel do you weigh the second level, which adds a fee and more formality. Our guide on the BC Assessment appeal deadlines maps the full calendar, and if you are unsure whether to start at all, should you appeal walks through the decision, including when appealing can raise your value rather than lower it.

The order also has a cost logic to it. Because the review panel is free and the appeal board is not, starting at the panel means you can test your argument, see BC Assessment’s response, and often resolve the matter without ever paying a fee. If the panel confirms a value you still think is wrong, you then decide whether the amount at stake justifies the board’s fee and the additional effort. For a modest residential value, many owners stop at the panel; for a large commercial assessment where a small percentage change is worth real money, the second level can be worth pursuing.

Written submissions or hearings: how are these actually decided?

Mostly in writing. Review panel sessions are held by phone or in writing, and appeal board matters are largely resolved on written submissions or by agreement before any hearing. In-person hearings are the exception, not the rule, at either level.

The Board’s own guidance notes that appeals often settle early and that a formal decision follows only when a matter cannot be resolved by agreement. For owners, the practical takeaway is that a strong, well-documented written case does most of the work at both levels.

At the board, that written case follows a set exchange. Each side delivers its material by deadlines the board orders, then gets a window to respond to what the other filed, and anything you rely on, including an appraisal or expert report, has to be disclosed by the first deadline. The Board’s guidance on evidence and disclosure notes that late material may not be admitted, and that expert evidence, while allowed, is not required to succeed. The review panel is less formal, but the same principle holds: bring the documents that support a different value as of July 1, and bring them organized.

Preparing that written case is mostly about being specific. State the value you believe is correct, show the evidence for it as of the July 1 valuation date, and connect each piece of evidence to a reason the current value is wrong. Comparable assessments, comparable sales, actual rents and vacancy for commercial property, and proof of a condition or classification error all carry weight; a general objection to the size of the increase does not. Because the process is written, a clear, organized submission is easier for a panel or the board to act on, and it stays on the record if the matter moves up a level. If you own commercial property and want the whole process handled, from evidence to filing, that is what we do, and you pay only when you win, as our guide to appeal fees explains.

What happens after a decision at each level?

A review panel decision either resolves your concern or it does not. If the panel adjusts the value, that corrected number flows to your tax bill and the matter is usually finished. If the panel confirms a value you still believe is wrong, the panel is not the end of the road: you have until April 30 to take the matter to the appeal board, which looks at it fresh rather than simply reviewing the panel.

A board decision sits closer to final. It can be reopened only to fix a clerical error, and the sole further step is a stated case to the Supreme Court on a question of law, filed within a short window. The Board’s answers to common appeal questions cover what a decision means, how appeals settle, and whether you need professional help. The short version: the panel gives you a second door in April if it does not resolve things, while the board decision is the one that usually ends the year’s dispute.