Residential Fact Sheet

What you need to know: The basics

• The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) values and classifies over 5 million residential properties across Ontario.
• When we classify a property as residential, it typically means the property is currently being used for residential purposes so its property taxes will be based on a residential tax rate that is determined by the municipality. 
  • As well, some non-residential properties, such as certain non-profit organizations, are also classified as residential to provide tax relief.
• Residential properties include single-family detached, semi-detached, townhouses, mobile homes, condominium units, apartment buildings with six or fewer units, duplexes, and cooperatives. 
• Some properties are used for more than residential purposes. For example, if a retail store has an apartment above it, the building would fall into two property classes – residential for the apartment and commercial for the store. 

How we assess residential properties

• We use the Direct Comparison Approach by looking at sales of comparable properties in your area and over 200 factors including these five major factors:
  • Age of the property
  • Exterior Square Footage (of the building and structures)
  • Location
  • Lot Dimensions (of the land)
  • Quality of Construction

About MPAC

The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) is an independent, not-for-profit corporation funded by all Ontario municipalities, and is accountable to the Province, municipalities and property owners. Our role is to value and classify all properties in Ontario in compliance with the Assessment Act and regulations set by the Government of Ontario.

• We are the largest assessment jurisdiction in North America, assessing more than five million properties in Ontario, representing $3 trillion in property value.
• Our assessments provide the foundation that municipalities use to calculate the property taxes needed to pay for community services.
• Our assessors are trained experts in the field of valuation and apply appraisal industry standards and best practices.
• Our assessments and data have met international standards of accuracy and are relied upon by banks, insurance companies and the real estate industry.