After the publication of an article about the new mass appraisal of real estate in Tashkent, the National Center for Mass Valuation of Real Estate under the Cadastre Agency held a briefing where its director, Mukhiddin Kholmurodov, answered questions raised by property owners. What does the “Agree” button actually mean? Can owners seek a higher valuation? Why can the value be up to 30% below market price? And when might the new valuation start being used for taxation?
What happens if you click “Agree”?
Clicking “Agree” currently has no legal consequences
Perhaps the most common question concerned the “Agree” and “Disagree” buttons.
According to Kholmurodov, at this stage neither option deprives a property owner of the right to challenge the valuation in the future.
“At present, clicking either ‘Agree’ or ‘Disagree’ carries no legal consequences.”
I specifically asked whether a person would still be able to challenge the valuation later if they clicked “Agree” now.
The director’s answer was unequivocal:
“Even if a person clicks ‘Agree’ now, and this valuation is later introduced into practice, they will still be able to challenge it.”
The same applies to those who choose neither option.
According to Kholmurodov, failing to respond does not deprive an owner of the right to appeal later.
What if you do not click anything at all?
If you do nothing, the valuation will remain unchanged
The director also clarified another important point.
If an owner does not express any opinion about the valuation result, the amount itself will not be automatically revised.
I asked: “So if someone does nothing, is that considered agreement?”
Kholmurodov replied: “By default, you could say so.” However, he later clarified that the right to challenge the valuation remains intact.
According to the head of the Center, changes to a valuation are most likely when the owner reports errors or submits substantiated comments.
What should you do if there is an error in the valuation?
If the following information is incorrect:
- floor area;
- number of rooms;
- wall material;
- year of construction;
- other cadastral data,
an owner can submit a comment through the system and attach supporting documents.
The director mentioned cases where owners reported that the system listed a house as concrete while it was actually made of wood.
Can you ask the Center to increase the value of your property?
Owners can dispute valuations they consider too low as well as too high
Another fact came as a surprise to many.
According to the director, a significant share of appeals comes not from owners who believe their property was overvalued, but from those who believe it was undervalued.
Some apartment owners believe their property is worth substantially more than the amount determined through mass appraisal.
A procedure exists for such cases as well.
If an owner believes the valuation is too low, they may submit their own estimated value and explain the reasons.
Kholmurodov cited the example of an owner in Mirzo-Ulugbek district who believed his apartment was worth 1.8 billion soums rather than the 1 billion soums assigned through the appraisal.
The system allows owners to attach photographs and other materials that they believe support a higher valuation.
According to Kholmurodov, every submission is reviewed individually.
Why can the valuation be lower than market value?
In Yep.uz’s first article on mass real estate appraisal, we highlighted a provision in the methodology stating that the assessed value may be set below market value.
At the briefing, the director confirmed that this approach is indeed used.
“We make it up to 30% lower.”
According to him, this is done to reduce the risk of errors in mass calculations.
“We do this to offset potential calculation errors.”
This does not mean that every apartment is automatically valued 30% below market price. The adjustment depends on the specific valuation model and the characteristics of the property.
The year of construction and other factors may also influence the result.
Kholmurodov described the year of construction as one of the most important pricing factors. Older housing stock may receive a significantly lower valuation than comparable units in newer buildings.
“You may be located in a prime area, but if your building is old, that becomes a downward adjustment factor. On average, it can reduce the valuation by 20–30 percent because of the age of the building.”
Is renovation taken into account?
Expensive renovations are not reflected in the valuation
Another question concerned the condition of apartments.
The published methodology states that properties may be assessed as being in average repair condition.
At the briefing, the director confirmed this approach.
“Every property is treated as being in average repair condition.”
This means that expensive designer renovations do not automatically increase the valuation in the mass appraisal system.
The system uses a standardized approach for hundreds of thousands of properties rather than conducting individual inspections of each apartment.
If there is an error in the data, it can be corrected
Some owners have already discovered discrepancies in their property information.
These include floor area, number of rooms, year of construction, wall materials, and other characteristics.
According to the director, a procedure exists for correcting such errors.
Owners can choose the disagreement option and specify which information is incorrect. Supporting documents or photographs may be attached.
The information is then forwarded to specialists for verification and correction.
Where did the new figures come from?
The mass appraisal is conducted under a new methodology designed to determine values that are as close as possible to market prices. The appraisal relies on market listings, notarized transactions, real estate agency data, and other sources. Various coefficients are applied, including floor area, year of construction, and other property characteristics. Location is also taken into account.
According to preliminary results of the pilot project in Tashkent, the value of more than 600,000 apartments increased from a cadastral value of 57.7 trillion soums to 426.7 trillion soums under the mass appraisal. For more than 213,000 private houses, the difference was even greater.
This is why many owners saw figures that differed dramatically from their previous cadastral values for the first time.
Will property taxes increase now?
What about taxes?
Perhaps the biggest question concerns property taxes.
During the briefing, Kholmurodov repeatedly stressed that the current appraised values are not being used to calculate taxes.
Property taxes continue to be calculated under the existing system based on cadastral values.
According to the director, practical implementation of the new system first requires the adoption of a separate law on mass real estate appraisal. Only after that will further decisions be made regarding the possible use of the new values in various areas.
As a result, seeing a new valuation in your personal account today does not mean that your property tax will automatically increase.
When could the new valuation acquire legal significance?
The methodology was adopted in accordance with Presidential Decree No. PF-43. A separate law on mass appraisal has already been drafted and is currently under public discussion. After the law is adopted, further decisions will be considered regarding the implementation of mass appraisal results in different sectors.
In other words, the current valuation by itself does not mean immediate application for taxation, real estate transactions, or compulsory acquisition of property.
What is happening now?
At this stage, the process is essentially a public discussion of the pilot mass appraisal results in Tashkent.
Property owners currently have 60 days to review their appraisal results, report errors, and propose corrections.
Results can be viewed through my.gov.uz. According to Kholmurodov, davreestr.uz is also a primary source of information.
The methodology provides for a 90-day discussion period. However, the current pilot project in Tashkent has been given a 60-day period instead. According to the director, this was done to leave additional time for processing comments and making possible recalculations. The period may be extended if necessary.
According to Kholmurodov, about 5,000 people have already expressed their views on the appraisal results, with 78% indicating agreement with the valuation. The call center is receiving nearly 300 calls per day.
According to the Center’s management, the main purpose of the current stage is to obtain feedback from property owners before the results are finalized.
Therefore, owners who discover errors in their property data or believe their valuation is unreasonable may wish to use the available review procedure. For everyone else who simply sees a new figure in their account, it is important to understand that, at present, the valuation itself does not change the taxation system, the rules for selling property, or any other property rights.
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