The mayor of Wilmington, Delaware’s largest city, wants property owners to allow tax officials into their homes to try to correct possible mistakes made during a recent reassessment, the first in decades.
Mayor John Carney asked the city council on Oct. 2 to set aside $500,000 to pay for assessments inside houses if owners agree to them, and to provide financial aid for people who want to challenge the amount the city says they owe in property taxes. The council will vote on the request next week, Deputy Chief of Staff Daniel Walker told Homes.com.
Each of Delaware’s three counties conducted their first property reassessment in 2025 since the 1980s. The process led to sharp tax increases for homeowners in New Castle County, which includes Wilmington. To try to offset the increases, the city, county and local school districts raised property tax rates on businesses higher than those for homeowners.
In Wilmington, the process led to concerns from some property owners in lower-income neighborhoods that their homes were overvalued during this process, leading to big tax increases.
“Wilmington faces unique challenges when it comes to reassessment. While other municipalities are helping their residents adjust to increased tax bills, we’re still working to ensure that values are accurate and fair,” the mayor said in a Sept. 25 statement.
Tyler Technologies, a provider of software and technology services for governments and school systems, conducted the 2025 reassessment. It assumed conditions inside houses were the same as on their exteriors, since assessors couldn’t enter residences to confirm otherwise.
It’s understandable that owners may be reluctant to let tax assessors into their houses, Carney said, stressing that officials will not charge anyone with a building code violation they may see while inside.