(Washington, DC) The Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) announced today that its assessors have begun to conduct their annual real property inspections throughout District neighborhoods. Assessors will verify and make interior/exterior inspections of approximately 6,600 properties that were sold during the past 12 months. Additionally, they will inspect approximately 4,000 properties for which building permits have been issued through the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs.

“We are always working to improve the accuracy of our assessment process. These inspections allow us to validate our assessment data and maintain an equitable property tax system for the District,” said Sherryl Hobbs Newman, deputy chief financial officer for tax and revenue.

When inspecting a property, assessors are required to present credentials that identify him/her as a representative of OTR. The credentials consist of an identification passbook, which includes the signature of the deputy chief financial officer and a numbered badge. If citizens wish to confirm the employment of an assessor, they should contact OTR’s Real Property Assessment Division at (202) 442-6740.

If the property owner is not available at the time of the inspection visit, the assessor will leave a note with their name and telephone number for the property owner to call at his or her earliest convenience. Assessors will only conduct a property inspection visit when an adult is present.