New York City Assessor – Civil Service Practice Exam

The principle that a property is assessed consistently regardless of its multiple uses is known as the Principle of Consistent Use. This principle asserts that when a property has various possible uses, the assessment should reflect its most beneficial and highest consistent use. This means that the valuation process takes into account any uses the property can be utilized for, but ultimately focuses on ensuring that the assessment is fair and uniform across all potential applications. This uniformity ensures that similar properties are assessed in a comparable manner, promoting equity in property taxation.

In contrast, the other principles relate to different aspects of property assessment. The Principle of Substitution pertains to how a property’s value can be determined based on the cost to replace it with a comparable property, focusing on market factors rather than usage consistency. The Principle of Change accounts for the dynamic nature of real estate and how changes in the market can affect property values over time. The Principle of Anticipation relates to the idea that future income or benefits from a property can affect its current value, but it does not specifically address the consistency of assessments based on multiple uses.