Codes’ Impact on Assessments: Can they increase your tax liability?

Codes & Assessments

Over the past couple of months the Code Office has been asked about the kind of building someone may have on their property.

Do we have a house [single family dwelling] or a camp?

Is a “camp” worth less than a house?

Seasonal, camp, year round, are all terms thrown around with questions.

Most of these questions are being triggered by the town wide assessment re-evaluation project going on by the Assessor’s office.

Although the Assessor’s office is in the same building as the Code Enforcement Office, and we all clearly know each other, the criteria used by one office is not the same as the criteria used by the other.

Each office has a function, mandated by NYS law which is unrelated to the other.

The Code Office is dealing with structural safety, fire safety, property maintenance, existing buildings, land use, environmental issues, septic system and waste water management and zoning issues.

Also permit review, Adirondack Park Agency matters, NYS DEC, DOH, DOL, DOT, complaints and everything related to the use and occupancy of land or buildings.

All of this is about regulatory requirements, not value.

There is no doubt we could have a very engaged conversation about all kinds of regulatory issues, whether they are good, bad, appropriate, needed, overstepping, etc, etc.

But none of the conversation would be relative to the ultimate value of the property.

The Assessor’s office is all about value and nothing about regulatory requirements.

Except the regulatory requirements regarding assessing practices.

Although this writer is NOT an Assessor, never been trained as an Assessor, doesn’t think like an Assessor, over thirty years of experience in municipal affairs and being close to the Assessor’s office all that time, provides a level of understanding of how things work.

Codes are codes, value is value.Do codes impact a value of a home?

Sure, to a certain degree they have to. To build a house, certain building codes must be met. This standard will be found anywhere you go in the country.

A common remark we get in the Code Office is “all we want to do is build a camp, not a house.”

The NYS Residential and Building Code does not have a definition of “camp.”

It is a single family dwelling [SFD]. Nothing more, nothing less.

Although to meet the regulatory requirements for a SFD, it can be pretty small and simple, it still needs certain things like heat, insulation, windows, structural requirements, minimum room sizes, living spaces, sleeping spaces, etc.

Another common question is “can we build a one room cabin, like a hunting cabin?”

Yes you can, in certain situations. If the property has no utilities [electric, water, sewer, telephone] anywhere along its borders, and the property has a zoning classification of something other than residential like Wilderness or Wild Forest, a hunting cabin may be acceptable.

This does not mean the cabin is exempt from the residential code if a heat source is installed; the structure still needs to meet the NYS Energy Code with enough insulation.

However, it does mean the structure can be pretty basic and simple as compared to a true single family house.

Back to the impact of codes on assessments.

Do the state mandated requirements of building and energy codes drive the value of property up in this town? If so, how much? A lot, a little, can you measure it?

Or maybe are there other factors that drive values on properties?

These mandated codes certainly have an impact on the cost of new construction; that is clear.

However, the driving force, the overwhelming factor that drives the values of existing properties up is what people are paying for property.

Assessments are a direct result of value, and value is measured by how much somebody is willing to pay.

Codes are codes. Assessments are based on values. And values are determined by the buyers.