Local tax assessors send Chapter 91 requests to the owners of income producing property seeking information which will help in the tax valuation of a property.  Where an owner fails to complete the request, he waives his statutory right to appeal the tax assessment for that property.   In a recent decision, H.J. Bailey Company v. Neptune Township, the New Jersey Appellate Court clarified the application of this provision stating that owners of non-income producing property are not required to complete a Chapter 91 request.  In a new development, the Tax Court of New Jersey has constricted the holding in H.J. Bailey Company limiting its application to properties which were never income producing. 

In Thirty Mazel, LLC v. City of East Orange, etc., the Tax Court held that an owner of property which was previously income producing, but no longer is, must still complete a Chapter 91 request.  The court differentiated instances where a property was never income producing, such as in H.J. Bailey Company, to instances where a property was temporarily not producing income, such as in Alfred Conhagen, Inc. v. Borough of South Plainfield.  The court, in essence, now places a burden upon property owners to inform a tax assessor, through a response to a Chapter 91 request, that a piece of property is no longer income producing.

Property owners must be cognizant of the former uses of their property.  If there is any doubt as to whether a piece of property was ever income producing, an owner should respond to a Chapter 91 request to ensure that he will retain his right to appeal a tax assessment levied on the property.