Question 1: Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-603(b)(1) or § 67-5-1601(a)(3), can a property assessor conclude that the contributory value of miscellaneous construction—like remodeling, replacing a roof, or upgrading an HVAC—to an existing structure requires a reappraisal of the property as a whole between reappraisal years, and conduct a reassessment based on that conclusion?

Opinion 1: Tennessee Code Annotated § 67-5-1601 does not authorize reappraisals of property as a whole outside the statutorily prescribed appraisal schedule. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5- 603(b)(1), however, if an improvement or new building is completed between January 1 and September 1 of any tax year, the property assessor should make a new assessment or issue a corrected assessment based on the value of the improvement at the time of its completion. In doing so, the assessor should value the improvement as similar improvements were valued during the last revaluation period for the assessor’s county as required by Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-1601(a)(3).

Question 2 Does a reappraisal of an existing structure with miscellaneous construction completed between reappraisal years, as described in Question 1, violate the Equal Protection Clause of Article 11, Section 8, or the Equal and Uniform Clause of Article 2, Section 28, of the Tennessee Constitution, or another provision of the Tennessee or United States Constitutions?

Opinion 2: No, the issuance of a new or corrected assessment under Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-603(b)(1) does not violate equal protection or uniformity protections. The assessor is required by Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-1601(a)(3) to value new improvements as similar improvements would have been valued during the last revaluation year.

Question 3: In such a reappraisal, is there legal authority to support a property assessor’s professional opinion that the cost of modifying an existing improvement, standing alone, is insufficient to determine a value change as required by Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-603(b)(1)? 2

Opinion 3: Not all modifications will constitute improvements to real property requiring a value change. What matters is the nature of the changes, not the cost. For example, mere repairs or replacements to a structure generally will not constitute improvements triggering a new or corrected assessment.