Malverne, NY Property Tax Grievance: Village, AROW, and SCAR

If you want to challenge your Malverne property tax assessment, you have two separate grievance tracks and two different deadlines to track. The Village of Malverne runs its own Board of Assessment Review with a filing window of just sixteen days, from February 2 through February 17, 2026.¹ The Nassau County Assessment Review Commission runs its own process from January 2 through March 31, 2026.² Miss either deadline and you lose that year’s chance to contest at that level, and you cannot take an assessment to court without first completing the administrative step.

Two Grievance Tracks, Not One

This trips up a lot of Malverne homeowners. Even though the village builds its assessments on the Nassau County assessment roll, the village and the county run two independent grievance processes, each with its own forms, portals, and reviewing bodies.³

The village grievance goes before Malverne’s Board of Assessment Review. You file New York State Form RP-524 directly with the village assessor, and the board hears complaints during the February window.⁴ The county grievance goes through the Nassau County Assessment Review Commission using an online portal called AROW and a county-prescribed form, not RP-524.⁵ You can file at both levels in the same year. If you do, you file separately with each.

Grounds You Can Cite on the Form

You need a recognized legal basis. “My taxes are too high” is not one. Form RP-524 lists four grounds:⁶

Excessive assessment: your assessed value is higher than what the property would sell for.
Unequal assessment: your property is assessed at a higher percentage of market value than similar properties on the same roll.
Unlawful assessment: your property qualifies for a full exemption that was not applied.
Misclassification: your property is in the wrong tax class.

Most Malverne homeowners file under excessive assessment. If your home is assessed at $600,000 and recent comparable sales point to a market value of $520,000, that gap is the case you’re making. The other grounds are narrower and rarely apply to a typical single-family home.

The Evidence That Wins Reductions

Reductions follow evidence, not frustration. Malverne’s assessment page sets the baseline: three to four arm’s-length sales of comparable properties within the village.¹ An arm’s-length sale is a transaction between unrelated parties at fair market conditions, so family transfers and foreclosure auctions don’t qualify.

Good comparables share your home’s square footage, lot size, bedroom and bathroom counts, age, and condition. Sales from the last twelve months carry more weight, and closer in location is better. For each one, record the address, sale price, and sale date.

A professional appraisal from a licensed appraiser strengthens your case, especially if your property has unusual features that make side-by-side comparisons hard. A residential appraisal for a tax grievance typically runs $400 to $600. Whether that’s worth paying depends on the size of the gap you’re contesting; a $30,000 reduction in assessed value usually more than covers the appraisal cost.

Before you file at either level, pull your current assessed value from the tentative assessment roll. The village requires this, and both forms ask for the current assessment alongside the market value you’re proposing.¹

Filing the Village Grievance

The 2026 village window is February 2 through February 17. Sixteen days, and the deadline is not flexible.¹

Use New York State Form RP-524, available from the state Department of Taxation and Finance or the village assessor’s office.⁴ The form asks for the Section, Block, and Lot number from your tax bill, the current assessed value from the tentative roll, and the market value you believe is accurate. Part Three is where you select your legal ground and lay out your supporting details.

Submit the completed form, along with your comparable sales and any appraisal, to the Village Assessor’s office. Bring an extra copy if you want a date-stamped receipt for your records.¹ The Board of Assessment Review can grant a full reduction, offer a partial one, or deny the complaint.

Filing the County Grievance Through AROW

The Nassau County Assessment Review Commission accepts grievances through its online system, AROW (Assessment Review on the Web). The 2026 filing period runs from January 2 through March 31.² That is a much longer window than the village gives you, but the portal tends to slow down close to the deadline, so don’t wait until the last week.

Nassau County does not use Form RP-524 at the county level. The county prescribes its own form, which you complete and submit electronically through AROW.⁵ You’ll need your parcel ID, your current assessment from the tentative roll, and your comparable sales or appraisal uploaded as digital files.²

AROW generates a confirmation with a tracking number after you submit. A hearing officer reviews your evidence and may extend a settlement offer. Accept it and your assessment is adjusted. Reject it, or receive no reduction, and you can take the next step.

If the Administrative Decision Isn’t Enough: SCAR

Homeowners who finished the administrative process and still aren’t satisfied can petition for Small Claims Assessment Review in Supreme Court. SCAR is only available if you first filed a grievance at the local or county level.⁷ There is no skipping ahead.

SCAR covers owner-occupied one-, two-, and three-family residences used exclusively as residences. The petition must be filed within thirty days after the final assessment roll is published, and the filing fee is $30 — the only court fee in the proceeding.⁷

The hearing is informal. You don’t need a lawyer, though you can bring one, and you can present the same comparable sales and appraisal materials you used earlier. An independent hearing officer can reduce the assessment, and the decision is final and binding for the current tax year. Miss the thirty-day window and the court must dismiss the petition regardless of its merits.⁷

Should You Hire a Grievance Firm?

You’re not required to hire anyone. The state is explicit that there’s no cost to grieve and you can represent yourself at every stage.⁴ That said, Nassau County property tax grievance firms handle thousands of these cases a year and know what hearing officers respond to.

Most work on contingency: nothing upfront, and a percentage of your first year’s tax savings if they win a reduction. Contingency fees typically run from about 25% to 50% of the savings. On a $2,000 reduction at 25%, you’d pay $500 and keep $1,500. Be wary of any firm that asks for payment before filing.

If you use a representative, authorize them in writing. Part Four of Form RP-524 has a section for exactly this.⁶ For SCAR proceedings, the state recommends consulting a private attorney, though it is not required.⁴

What Happens to Your Mortgage Escrow

If your mortgage includes an escrow for property taxes, a successful grievance does not put cash in your hand right away. Your servicer collects estimated tax amounts each month and pays the bills when they come due. When the assessment drops, the servicer eventually pays a smaller bill and the escrow builds a surplus.

Federal law requires your servicer to run an annual escrow analysis and send you a statement within 30 days after the analysis period ends. If that analysis shows a surplus of $50 or more, the servicer must refund it within 30 days. Surpluses under $50 can be refunded or credited to next year’s payments at the servicer’s discretion.⁸ Your monthly payment should also drop going forward to reflect the lower tax obligation.

The timing can be slow. Depending on when your servicer’s escrow computation year falls, it may be months before the analysis picks up the change. Some servicers will run a new analysis on request if you send proof of the reduced assessment, but they aren’t obligated to do so outside the annual cycle. Once you have confirmation of your reduction, call your servicer and ask whether they’ll adjust early.

1
Incorporated Village of Malverne, New York. Property Assessment
2
Nassau County, NY – Official Website. Assessment Review Commission
3
Department of Taxation and Finance. RPTL Section 1402 Village Assessment Options
4
Department of Taxation and Finance. Grievance Procedures
5
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. General Information and Instructions for Filing Complaints on Real Property Assessment
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New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Complaint on Real Property Assessment
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New York State Senate. New York Real Property Tax Code 730 – Procedure to Review Small Claims
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eCFR. 12 CFR 1024.17 – Escrow Accounts