Will putting in a gas dryer trigger a new property tax assessment?

April 25, 2021 12:09 AM

We want to put a gas clothes dryer hookup in our small building.

But I've heard horror stories about making minor changes to a building and that triggering a whole new property tax assessment (in other words, the change in assessment changes the tax "basis," and then the property tax changes, like, astronomically). This is in New York City.

It sounds silly worrying that a new gas line would trigger a whole new tax assessment, but it's not a zero probability, apparently. Maybe when the gas inspector came around to see the work, s/he would notice that the building hadn't been reassessed in 50 years, and so, maybe it was time (as per much of NYC, our property taxes are very low, which is the only way we can afford to live here).

Who can I consult with who is an expert in this sort of thing? A real estate lawyer? A real estate tax attorney? A construction attorney? Someone who does tax assessments for New York City?

If there is more than, say, a 10% chance that the worst will happen, we won't put in the dryer.

Thanks.

posted by anonymous to Home & Garden (2 answers total)

By "building" do you mean you own an entire apartment building and you're adding a dryer for the residents? Or, is this your personal home? Is the place already piped for gas and you're just going to tap into the existing line inside the building? Or, are you bringing in a new line from outside the building?
posted by Thorzdad at 5:34 AM on April 25, 2021

I'm not in NYC but the thing that triggers reassessment in my city is pulling permits. I'd check with others in your area - neighborhood association, parents group, Nextdoor posting, even your plumber - to see what they have experienced after something relatively minor like this. This seems equivalent to switching to gas cooking from electric, and I somehow doubt that would trigger reassessment, but your city may be different.
posted by citygirl at 7:04 AM on April 25, 2021