Legal Costs
Fees to pay
Some proceedings entail fees, which must be paid when you file your proceeding.
Here is the detailed list of all proceedings subject to fees.
The following fees are valid from January 1st to december 31st 2024.
Social affairs section
Filing a proceeding is free.
Territory and environment section
The fees to pay are $88,80.
Economic affairs section
The fees to pay are $88,80.
Real estate section
Municipal taxation
The fees to pay are determined by the value of the property or the rental value of the building established by the municipality on the assessment role. This value is also written on the letter called “Assessor’s reply”, which you have received from the municipality.
If you challenge the value of the property, the fees to pay are:
500 000 $ or less
$88,80
500 001 $ to 2 000 000 $
$355,00
2 000 001 $ to 5 000 000 $
$591,70
More than 5 000 000 $
$1 183,75
If you challenge the rental value, the fees to pay are:
50 000$ or less
$47,40
More than 50 000 $
$153,95
Expropriation
To file a copy of a notice of expropriation, the fees to pay are $236,75.
To determine the amounts of indemnities arising from the establishment of a reserve for public purposes, the fees are $88,80.
Any other proceeding regarding real estate
The fees to pay are $88,80.
Methods of payment
Please note that the Tribunal does not make any refunds.
Online
Credit card.
By mail
Cheque, money order or credit card. Do not send cash by mail.
In person
Cheque, credit card, debit card or cash.
Legal costs
In matters of expropriation and municipal taxation, the Court may award legal costs to a party. The party entitled to legal costs must then have an itemized statement of costs verified by an officer of the Court's verification department in order to claim them from the other party.
What do “legal costs” include?
The Regulation respecting the Tariff of administrative fees, professional fees and other charges attached to proceedings before the Administrative Tribunal of Québec sets out the amounts to be paid by the party ordered to pay legal costs.
Legal costs include the fees payable to institute proceedings before the Tribunal. The Tribunal may also order a party to reimburse other legal costs such as the witness indemnities and allowances in municipal taxation or expropriation proceedings, in accordance with the Regulation respecting indemnities and allowances payable to witnesses summoned before courts of justice (c. C-25.01, r. 0.5). Legal costs also include the fees payable for the presentation of a motion for a special fee.
Furthermore, section 36 of the Regulation respecting the procedure of the Administrative Tribunal of Québec (CQLR, c. J-3, r. 3) provides that in cases where the Tribunal may award legal costs, these shall include expenses related to the transcription of the hearing by a stenographer or stenotypist.
It should be noted, however, that in municipal taxation cases involving a unit of assessment whose property value entered on the roll is less than $500,000 or a unit of assessment whose rental value is less than $50,000, the only legal costs that the applicant may be ordered to pay are those of stenography, stenotyping, or the recording of depositions and the transcription thereof.
In which matters and under what circumstances may the Tribunal award legal costs?
The Tribunal Administratif du Québec may only award legal costs in matters falling under the Act respecting municipal taxation (CQLR, c. F-2.1) and the Expropriation Act (CQLR, c. E-24).
To claim legal costs, the Tribunal must order the reimbursement in your favour in its decision. In matters falling under the Act respecting municipal taxation, however, if the Tribunal’s decision is silent on the issue of legal costs, the legal costs are owed to the party that was successful.
Is it possible to contest a claim for legal costs?
Yes, a party may contest a decision regarding the taxation of a bill of costs within ten days of the date on which it was rendered. To do so, the contesting party must provide written notice to the secretary of the Tribunal. One of the administrative judges of the Tribunal who presided over the hearing will rule on the contestation of the bill of costs.
An application to contest the taxation of a bill of costs must be submitted to both the Tribunal and the party entitled to claim legal costs. There is a $28.75 fee for filing a contestation of a bill of costs. This rate is valid from January 1st to December 31st, 2024.