Section 41.411 – Protest of Failure to Give Notice

Property owners (or their properly designated tax consultant) are entitled to notice from either the appraisal district or the appraisal review board for many actions that affect the property owner. These include increasing the assessed value of property (by more than $1,000), a notice of an appraisal review board hearing, notice if the property has been reappraised and revocation of an exemption.

Appraisal districts are required to give the property owner notice of assessed value when the value increases by more than $1,000. Property owners are not required to notify the appraisal district when they sell the property or when they acquire a property. Owners of recently acquired property frequently do not receive a notice of assessed value from the appraisal district.

Owners sometimes do not receive notice of a property tax hearing or of the result of an appraisal review board.

Owners have strong recourse when appraisal districts or appraisal review boards fail to deliver statutory notice. If appraisal districts fail to properly notify the property owner of an increase in the assessed value, the owner’s right to file a property tax protest is generally extended until 30 days after the appraisal district sends the notice.

Property owners should consider an appeal under section 41.411 if they did not receive notice and the appraisal district will not remedy the problem. However, they must timely pay all or the undisputed portion of property taxes, unless they are unable to pay the taxes.

Sec. 41.411. Protest of Failure to Give Notice.

(a) A property owner is entitled to protest before the appraisal review board the failure of the chief appraiser or the appraisal review board to provide or deliver any notice to which the property owner is entitled.

(b) If failure to provide or deliver the notice is established, the appraisal review board shall determine a protest made by the property owner on any other grounds of protest authorized by this title relating to the property to which the notice applies.

(c) A property owner who protests as provided by this section must comply with the payment requirements of Section 41.4115 or the property owner forfeits the property owner’s right to a final determination of the protest.

Added by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 504, Sec. 1, eff. June 12, 1985.

Amended by:

Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1106 (H.B. 3496), Sec. 4(a), eff. January 1, 2008.

Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 771 (H.B. 1887), Sec. 8, eff. September 1, 2011.

Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 793 (H.B. 2220), Sec. 3, eff. June 17, 2011.

Cross References:
Deadline for filing protest, see Sec. 41.44(c).
Notice of new application for exemption, see Sec. 11.43(c).
Notice canceling exemption, see Sec. 11.43(h).
Notice of annual exemption application, see Sec. 11.44(a).
Notice of modification or denial of exemption, see Sec. 11.45(d).
Notice of decision on report of decreased value, see Sec. 22.03(c).
Notice of annual application for agricultural land valuation, see Sec. 23.43(e).
Notice of denial of agricultural land valuation, see Sec. 23.44(d).
Notice of new application for open-space land valuation, see Sec. 23.54(e).
Notice of penalty for failure of property owner to notify chief appraiser that open-space land no longer qualifies for special appraisal, see Sec. 23.54(i).
Notice of denial of open-space land valuation, see Sec. 23.57.
Notice of new application for timber land valuation, see Sec. 23.75(e).
Notice of new application for public access airport property valuation, see Sec. 23.94(c).
Notice of penalty for failure of property owner to notify chief appraiser that timber land no longer qualifies for special appraisal, see Sec. 23.75(j).
Notice of denial for timber land valuation, see Sec. 23.79(d).
Notice of new application for recreational, park, and scenic land valuation, see Sec. 28.84(c).
Notice of denial for recreational, park, and scenic land valuation, see Sec. 23.85(d).
Notice of penalty for violating deed restriction for recreational, park, and scenic land valuation, see Sec. 23.87(b).
Notice of denial of application for public access airport property appraisal valuation, see Sec. 23.95(d).
Notice of penalty for violating deed restriction for public access airport property, see Sec. 23.97(b).
Notice of transportation business intangible value appraisal, see Sec. 24.09.
Notice of appraised value, see Sec. 25.19.
Notice to property owner of a change in appraisal review board, see Sec. 41.11(a).
Notice of protest hearing, see Sec. 41.46.
Payment of taxes under protest, see Sec. 42.08.
Right of protest by property owner, see Sec. 41.41.
Presumption of delivery, see Sec. 1.07.
Exclusivity of remedies, see Sec. 42.09.

Notes:
The fact that an appraisal notice failed to correctly name the property owner did not constitute a failure to deliver notice under the specific circumstances. The error was attributable to the property owner by failing to provide the appraisal district with the necessary information to change the ownership records. Dan’s Big & Tall Shop, Inc. v. County of Dallas, 160 S.W.3d 307 (Tex. App.-Dallas 2005, pet denied).

Failure of notice is without merit as a claim where taxpayer had actual notice of the noticed value despite not receiving an appraisal notice and yet failed to exhaust administrative remedies by filing a timely petition with the ARB seeking relief. ABT Galveston L.P. v. Galveston Cent. Appraisal Dist., 137 S.W.3d 146, (Tex. App. — Houston [1st] 2004, no pet.).

Section 25.19 is procedural, rather than jurisdictional. The appraisal district’s failure to provide an appraisal notice did not deprive the taxpayer of due process, as the protest procedure of Section 41.411 permitted administrative review. The taxpayer’s failure to protest timely to the appraisal review board about the lack of notice precluded judicial review. The taxpayer did not receive a notice of appraised value for the inclusion of omitted property on the appraisal roll. Rather than filing a protest for failure to receive a required notice, the taxpayer paid the taxes and filed suit against the appraisal district claiming that the appraisal was void. Denton Central Appraisal District v. CIT Leasing Corp., 115 S.W.3d 261 (Tex. App.-Fort Worth 2003, pet. filed).

Failure of prior property owners to assert lack of notice precludes subsequent owners from challenging the validity of past appraisals. Failure to deliver timely notices nullifies changes in appraisal rolls only with regard to the property owner at the time. Although the Tax Code authorizes notices of appeal by a “party other than a property owner,” the parties contemplated are the chief appraiser and other governmental entities. The tax payment requirement of Section 42.08 was upheld as a requirement to maintain an appeal. Houston Land & Cattle Co. v. Harris County Appraisal District, 104 S.W.3d 622 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 2003, pet. denied).

Where property owner or his agent received notice of appraised value at property owner’s listed address and appraisal district complied with required procedures, notice is presumed delivered when it is placed in the mail and the validity of the appraisal and the existence of a tax lien remain unaffected. Dallas County Appraisal District v. Lal, 701 S.W.2d 44 (Tex. App.-Dallas 1985, writ ref’d n.r.e.).

These codes affect property owners across the state, in both larger and smaller cities including:

• Jacinto City
• River Oaks
• Pilot Point
• Josephine
• Arcola
• Pasadena
• Prosper
• Galveston
• South Houston
• Sunnyvale
• Richmond
• Westlake
• Newark
• Lincoln Park
• Santa Fe
• DISH
• Bacliff
• Krugerville
• Cedar Hill
• Copeville

The Texas Property Tax Code applies to all property types in Texas including:

• Retirement home
• Multifamily
• Research and development
• Veterinary clinic
• Racket club
• Fast food restaurant
• Mini-warehouse
• Mobile home park
• Movie theatre
• Nursing home

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