The Township of Fauquier-Strickland approved a 20 percent property tax increase for 2025 on September 9, 2025, following a 26 percent municipal increase the year before. The Fauquier-Strickland property tax increase applies only to the municipal portion of your bill, and it was council’s compromise after earlier proposals pointed to hikes as high as 80 percent — or 260 percent without any reserve drawdowns — to address more than $2.5 million in accumulated deficits that had drained every township reserve fund.1Township of Fauquier-Strickland. Letter to Minister Flack from the Corporation of the Township of Fauquier-Strickland
What the Increase Does to Your Bill
The exact dollar impact depends on your property’s assessed value, which is set by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) based on what the property could have sold for on a specified valuation date. Your municipal rate is applied to that assessed value.
Because 2024 and 2025 both brought large hikes, the effect compounds. A property with $1,000 in municipal taxes in 2023 would owe roughly $1,512 in municipal taxes for 2025 after both increases — more than 50 percent higher in two years. That compounding is why the originally proposed 80 percent figure drew a petition signed by nearly 90 percent of residents, with multiple homeowners on fixed incomes saying they would not pay.
One important carve-out: the 20 percent applies only to the municipal portion of your property taxes. Ontario tax bills also include an education levy set by the province, which the township does not control. Your total bill can still shift from year to year even when the municipal rate holds steady.
Payment Deadlines and What Late Payment Costs
Ontario municipalities typically issue two property tax bills a year. An interim bill goes out early in the year using the current assessment roll and part of the previous year’s rate. A final bill follows after council passes its budget and the province sets the education rate, usually in the spring. Each bill carries two installment dates, so most homeowners make four payments across the year.
If you miss a due date, Ontario’s Municipal Act allows the township to charge a 1.25 percent penalty on the overdue amount the day after the deadline. Interest of 1.25 percent per month then accrues on any unpaid balance. The charges are not compounded, but a balance left delinquent for a full year accumulates 15 percent in combined penalties and interest. For a household already stretching to absorb a 20 percent hike, falling behind gets expensive fast.
If You Cannot Pay: The Arrears and Tax Sale Timeline
Ontario’s process for delinquent property tax is longer than many homeowners expect, but it does end in a sale. Under Part XI of the Municipal Act, property taxes in arrears for two years or more become eligible for tax registration. The municipality can then register a tax arrears certificate against the property. Once registered, the owner has one year to pay the cancellation price — the full amount owed plus accumulated penalties, interest, and administrative costs.2Government of Ontario. O. Reg. 181/03 Municipal Tax Sales Rules
If that cancellation price is not paid within the year, the municipality can sell the property by public auction or sealed tender. The minimum acceptable bid is the cancellation price, and a successful bidder must submit a certified deposit of at least 20 percent of the bid. Ontario does not provide a right of redemption after the sale is finalized; once the property is sold, the former owner cannot buy it back. An extension agreement with the municipality may be possible before the sale, but only if the homeowner negotiates one before the one-year window closes.
If you see arrears building, the time to call the township office is before the certificate is registered, not after.
Challenging Your Property Assessment
A tax hike driven by council’s budget decisions cannot be reversed through an assessment appeal. The tax rate is a political choice, not a valuation error. What you can challenge is the assessed value MPAC assigned to your property, because a lower assessment produces a lower bill at any rate.
Residential owners must start with a free Request for Reconsideration (RfR) filed with MPAC before escalating to a formal appeal.3Municipal Property Assessment Corporation. How to File a Request for Reconsideration The question to ask yourself is whether you could have sold your property on the relevant valuation date for the assessed amount. If the answer is clearly no, you have grounds to pursue. MPAC’s online portal lets you compare your assessment to similar properties nearby, which is a useful starting point.
If the RfR does not resolve things, you have 90 days from MPAC’s decision to file a formal appeal with the Assessment Review Board, an independent tribunal under the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General.3Municipal Property Assessment Corporation. How to File a Request for Reconsideration ARB decisions are legally binding. A successful appeal needs documented evidence: comparable sale prices, an independent appraisal, or records showing errors in MPAC’s data about your property, such as wrong square footage or missing condition information. The argument that your taxes feel too high is not enough; you have to show the assessed value itself is wrong.
Relief Programs Worth Checking
Ontario has a handful of programs that can take some edge off the bill. None of them will fully offset a 20 percent increase, but each is worth claiming if you qualify.
Ontario Senior Homeowners’ Property Tax Grant
This grant pays up to $500 a year. To qualify for the 2026 grant, you must have been at least 64 years old by December 31, 2025, an Ontario resident on that date, and the owner-occupier of a principal residence on which property tax was paid.4Government of Canada. Ontario Senior Homeowners’ Property Tax Grant Questions and Answers The grant phases out by income: for single individuals, it begins declining at $35,000 in adjusted net income and disappears at $50,000. For couples, the phase-out runs from $45,000 to $60,000. You apply by filing your income tax return and completing the ON-BEN form.
MPAC Exemption for Seniors and Persons With a Disability
A separate exemption reduces the assessed value of a home by 10 percent if it was custom-built or modified to accommodate a senior (65 or older) or a person with a disability, so they would not need to move to a care facility.5Municipal Property Assessment Corporation. Exemption for Seniors and Persons with a Disability The property must be classified as residential with no more than three units, and the qualifying individual must live there as their personal residence. MPAC sends a confirmation letter every two years to verify continued eligibility; missing the response deadline removes the exemption. The exemption is narrower than it may sound — it applies only to homes specifically designed or renovated for accessibility, not to every senior-occupied home — but a 10 percent cut in assessed value translates directly into a 10 percent cut in taxes.
Municipal Hardship and Deferral Programs
Ontario municipalities have authority under the Municipal Act to establish their own property tax deferral or cancellation programs for low-income residents, seniors, or others facing hardship. Whether Fauquier-Strickland currently offers such a program is a question for the township office directly. Given the municipality’s own financial pressures, local options may be limited, but it is worth asking, particularly if the compounded 2024 and 2025 increases have pushed your bill past what you can manage.
Expect More Pressure in Coming Years
The 20 percent increase bought the township time without erasing the deficit. Council’s earlier projections suggested that even an 80 percent increase would have needed to be followed by three percent annual increases through 2029 to rebuild reserves to about $1.585 million. At 20 percent, the path to stability is longer, and further increases in future budgets are a real possibility. If you are a homeowner here, the practical steps are the same ones that would help in any municipality under fiscal strain: confirm your MPAC assessment is accurate, claim every relief program you qualify for, and keep an eye on council’s budget process before the next rate is set.