Quake Generates New Way to Spell R-E-L-I-E-F : Taxes: Consultants are charging up to $500 to fill out six-question form from assessor’s office.

The disastrous Northridge earthquake is providing some of the region’s more enterprising property tax consultants with what could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shake up business.

Law firms and brokerages, including giant CB Commercial, have turned earthquake property tax relief into a new product line, charging up to $500 to help clients prepare simple, one-page relief applications--a practice government officials frown on.

Other professionals, such as Woodland Hills lawyer Stephen Jay, are distributing leaflets at community meetings in the San Fernando Valley alerting potential clients that he will prepare disaster tax relief applications for free.

“We hope to get some business later on from the people we help,” said Jay, a partner with Jay & Easterly, which advises commercial property owners.

Property owners with at least $5,000 damage are eligible for temporary reductions in their property taxes. The Los Angeles County assessor’s office expects up to 200,000 quake-affected property owners to receive average tax reductions of $140 this year. The estimate includes residential and commercial real estate, such as offices, apartment buildings and shopping malls.

The enormity of the disaster has created a huge pool of potential clients for property tax consultants. Two days after the quake, CB Commercial’s Century City office mailed hundreds of solicitations to commercial property owners in the San Fernando Valley, offering to prepare tax relief forms for as much as $500.

CB Commercial tax specialist Peter M. Smith said several commercial clients and individuals have paid him to complete the applications. While they are not complicated, the applications take time and effort, Smith said.

As for his fee, he said, “it is a nominal charge for paperwork handling.”

County officials disagree. “I find that anything over 29 cents for a stamp is more than nominal,” County Assessor Kenneth P. Hahn said. “They are taking advantage of the situation at a time when people should be coming together.”

The assessor’s office says the earthquake-related tax relief applications are so simple that anyone can do them. The applications pose six questions, including a description of the damage, the cost of damage and the cause. The assessor’s staff is available to help property owners with the forms either by telephone or at its 13 offices throughout the county. The deadline for filing the applications is March 17.

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New kinds of tax relief often spawn new tax relief businesses. When the assessor’s office lowered assessments for 300,000 homeowners last spring, reappraisal “experts” popped up charging fees for what the government was already doing for free.

It is not illegal to charge for processing earthquake-related tax relief applications. And at least some of the big firms in town, such as Arthur Andersen and Deloitte & Touche, say they don’t charge commercial clients for providing applications and offering simple advice.

The two firms have distributed hundreds of forms to maintain good relations with clients who could take their business elsewhere. “We view this as a client service,” said Patrick Chambers, director of the property tax division at Arthur Andersen.

Meanwhile, pressure from the assessor’s office has already forced one enterprising property tax adviser out of the potentially lucrative quake-related tax relief business.

Glendale lawyer Michelle Matti said she realized she made a “big mistake” after the county assessor reprinted her newspaper ad--”Earthquake Damage? Reduce Your Taxes! $199”--in a press release warning consumers about such services.

“I thought I was doing a public service,” said Matti, adding that she got the idea when a competing attorney slipped a flyer under her door. “But when I heard that the assessor was helping people, I stopped.”