Appeal Process

1. Office Review
2. Board of Review
3. Circuit Court

Office Review

In accordance with the Municipal Code of Hampton, the deadline to file a Review Application is April 1 of the year for which the assessment is made, or within thirty (30) days after the date of the notice of change in assessment. Before filing a Review Application please call the Office of the Assessor of Real Estate and speak with a real estate appraiser: They will provide an explanation of the reassessment process and information regarding your property and the surrounding assessment neighborhood. This is also a valuable opportunity for the property owner to confirm that the records of the Office of the Assessor of Real Estate contain the correct improvement size and property characteristics of their property and comparable properties. Maintaining correct size and property characteristics on the City of Hampton’s almost 50,000 parcels is an important and ongoing effort which is essential to providing fair and equitable assessments.

If there is still a concern about the equity and/or fairness of the assessment of your property you may make an application for a review: The Review of Assessment Application can be printed from the website, mailed to you or obtained at the Office of the Real Estate Assessor in the Ruppert Leon Sargent Building. Office Review Applications are received and processed following the mailing of Change in Assessment Notices. The completed application should be returned to the Office of the Assessor of Real Estate. With your permission a real estate appraiser will make a detailed inspection (interior and exterior) to confirm the accuracy of the improvement size and property characteristics. Inaccuracies in data will be corrected immediately, the assessed value will be reviewed and adjustments to the assessed value will be made if necessary.

Following the mailing of "Change in Assessment Notices" in late February or early March, the staff of the Office of the Assessor of Real Estate continues processing changes in land, and completed new construction or alterations, through June 30. Property owners whose property assessments change as a result of changes during this period may appeal their property assessment within thirty days of the date of the notice of change in assessment using the Review of Supplemental Assessment or Land Assessment Application.

Board of Review

If you are still dissatisfied with the real estate assessment you may wish to file an application to appeal to the Board of Review. This Board of City of Hampton property owners, appointed by City Council, will hear the appeal and determine if an adjustment is warranted. The Board of Review Application can be printed from the website, mailed to you or obtained at the Office of the Real Estate Assessor in the Ruppert Leon Sargent Building. In accordance with the Municipal Code of Hampton appeals must be filed by May 1 of the year for which the assessment is made, or within sixty (60) days after the date of the notice of change in assessment.

The Board of Review attends and participates in basic courses of instruction given by the Department of Taxation in accordance with the Code of Virginia § 58.1-206.

Circuit Court

Property owners dissatisfied with the Board of Review decision may file a petition to the Circuit Court as set forth in the Code of Virginia § 58.1-3350. Property owners may file a petition to the Circuit Court without first making Office Review or Board of Review appeals. There is not an application for this process as there is for the Office Review and Board of Review: The property owner will be bound by the rules of the Circuit Court in filing a petition.