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-8- <br /> V. PROPERTY OWNER REMEDIES <br /> A. Abatement <br /> 1. Deadline <br /> The property owner may seek an abatement of the assessment by filing an <br /> application with the Assessing Board within six months of the date the collector <br /> mailed the assessment notice. G.L. Ch. 80 §5. <br /> Exception: If a suit challenging the validity of an assessment is brought during the <br /> 6 month filing period or within six months after the determination of an earlier <br /> lawsuit involving the same challenge, brought within that timeframe, which was <br /> dismissed on certain jurisdictional or procedural grounds, the deadline for filing an <br /> abatement application is extended until six months after the final determination of <br /> the lawsuit. G.L. Ch. 80 §6. <br /> 2. Grounds <br /> The grounds for an abatement are that the amount of the assessment (1) is more <br /> than the enhanced value of the property attributable to the improvement or (2) <br /> reflects a disproportionate allocation of the cost of the project in relation to the <br /> enhanced value of the property when compared to other benefited property. <br /> Whitiniz v. Boston, 106 Mass. 89, 97 (1870); Driscoll at 154; Union Street Rv. at <br /> 312. <br /> If the value or use of the property is enhanced by the improvement, it does not <br /> matter that the property owner did not request or may not use the improvement. <br /> 3. Assessing Board Action <br /> The Assessing Board has fora• months from the date the application is filed to <br /> consider the merits of the property owner's claim and to act on the application by <br /> granting or denying the abatement. The Assessing Board must notify the property <br /> owner within ten days of its decision. G.L. 80 §§5 and 10A. <br /> 4. Approved Abatement Applications <br /> If the Assessing Board grants an abatement, the assessors are notified so that they <br /> can process the abatement. The assessment as abated is then collected in the same <br /> manner as the original assessment. However, if the property owner had paid the <br /> assessment in full he is entitled to a refund in the amount of the abatement with <br /> interest at the rate of six percent calculated from the date the assessment was paid. <br /> G.L. Ch. 80 §5. <br />