Building Research

Assessment or tax rolls

These books are a record of taxes paid on a property. Up to 1982, the rolls list the owner and occupier of the property as well as if the land is Freehold or Leasehold. Due to a change in the method of taxation, after 1982 the occupier of the property is no longer recorded. Other information may include:

• number of floors
• number of rooms
• whether the property has water and sewer services

These records are organized according to civic address and not by owner's name.

Important dates

• The earliest year available is 1891-1892.
• The records from 1888 to July 1892 were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1892.
• Assessment rolls were every three years from 1891 to 1921.
• From 1923 to 1949 they were every two years.
• Starting in 1949 they are yearly.
• The last paper copy was 1995. An electronic version exists since then.

Taxation search

For the period 1891 to 1981, the City used a rental value system of taxation. What the property would rent for in the marketplace determined the tax.

From 1982 to 1996 the City used a capital value system of taxation. Property worth determined tax value. This meant that the occupier of the property was no longer required, just the owner and freehold or leasehold status.

From 1997 until today, we use a market value system of taxation. Taxes are based on what the property would sell for on the open market.

Building Permits

Records of permits issued for new construction, renovation or demolition are available intermittently from 1911 on. The City of St. John's Archives does have records of electrical and plumbing permits from the 1970s forward.

Directories

Polk City directories have the sources of names, street listings and other information dating back to 1864. There were intermittent editions published by various sources from 1864 to 1936, with no editions published during the 1940s and 1950s. Yearly editions were published from 1960 to 2000 when they ceased making the books due to privacy legislation.

Fire Insurance Plans

These Insurance Plans provide a very detailed look at properties in St. John's, including:

• construction materials
• number of stories
• roofing materials and type
• building footprints
• accessory buildings
• residential or commercial status
• business type
• civic addresses
• water and sewer information
• location of fountains and hydrants

They provide an excellent source to see how St. John's has changed over time. They are available for the years 1880 to 1889, 1893 to 1907, 1914, 1925, 1946, and 1957 to 1963.

Voter's Lists

The City of St. John's Archives has municipal Voter's Lists for 1937, 1941, 1969 and 1981 forward. Due to privacy laws, only the Voter's List for 1937 and 1941 are open to the public.

Amalgamation

The City of St. John's Archives has the records from the Town of Goulds and the Town of Wedgewood Park. These records contain development, building files, permits, taxation and assessment information. When Metroboard dissolved in 1992, only the development or building applications for properties under the jurisdiction of the City were transferred to the Archives. All other records were transferred to The Rooms Provincial Archives.

Construction date

1. Check the Fire Insurance Plans to get an approximate date of construction.
2. See if the civic or house number has changed over time. Any change in civic number is important to note.
3. View the City's Assessment Rolls. These determine when the property was first taxed. This is often a good sign of date of construction.
4. View the City Permit Books. These will give the date when a permit for construction or occupancy was issued.

House history

Generally we don't have the history of properties on file. If your house is a designated heritage property, there may be some information. An ownership history is usually prepared when an owner or interested party contacts the Archives. Due to the volume of requests the Archives receives, we are unable to do this research on behalf of owners. Schedule an appointment and staff will guide you through the process.

Only owners, showing proof of ownership, can access departmental files to their property. This includes building files, architectural plans, permits, etc.

Occupants

There are several sources that can determine this. The main sources are the City's Assessment Rolls, published directories and voter's lists. The published directories also give more information such as the occupation of residents. City telephone books can provide additional information. Census returns available at other archival institutions also provide information.

Original owner

With the date of construction, we can determine who the original owner is through the Assessment Rolls. To do the search, the property must be within the municipal boundaries. The Great Fire of 1892 destroyed many of the early records of the municipal government. Determining exact dates of construction and early ownership for some properties can be difficult.

Plans

From 1986 forward we may have a set of original architectural plans either on microfiche or in hard copy. There may be a set of drawings in with the development application for houses constructed under the jurisdiction of the Town of Goulds, the Town of Wedgewood Park or the St. John's Metropolitan Area Board . Please note that we need proof of ownership before releasing any house plans.

Photographs

Check out our Photo Search to determine if any exist. We have an extensive collection of photographs including houses that were in the downtown/ central re-development area in the 1950s and 1960s.