Municipal property tax sale

A tax sale is a public auction of properties within a municipality which have unpaid property taxes from two years prior to the current year.

Annual tax sale

At 10:00 am on the last Monday in September, the municipal collector must conduct an annual tax sale by offering for sale by public auction each parcel of real property on which taxes are delinquent.

Delinquent taxes are any taxes remaining unpaid on December 31, two years after the year the tax was imposed. For example, taxes imposed in 2018 and still unpaid become delinquent on January 1, 2020 and if then still unpaid will be sold at tax sale on the last Monday in September of 2020.

• Learn more about unpaid arrears and delinquent taxes due to local governments

The tax sale is held in the council chambers at municipal hall of each municipality in B.C.

Individual notice

At least 30 days before the date of the annual tax sale, the collector for each municipality must give written notice to a person registered as an owner of each property for which there are delinquent taxes. The notice of tax sale will serve as an individual warning to a property owner in advance of the event that their property will be offered at the tax sale unless delinquent taxes are paid. The notice must include the following:

• The time and place of the annual tax sale
• The legal description and street address, if any, of the property subject to tax sale
• The amount of the delinquent taxes calculated in accordance with section 246 [delinquent taxes] of the Community Charter and a statement that, if the amount of delinquent taxes is not paid before the annual tax sale, the collector will offer the property for sale by public auction at the time and place stated in the notice
• A statement that, if the property is sold at the annual tax sale, a right of redemption will remain in the owner of the fee simple, or a person registered in the land title office as an owner of a charge on the property, until the end of the redemption period
• A statement that the amount payable to redeem the property after the annual tax sale will be greater than the amount of delinquent taxes

A municipality must send the notice:

• By personal service; or,
• By sending the notice by ordinary mail, registered mail or courier

Public notice

Notice of the time and place of the tax sale and the legal description and street address of the property subject to tax sale must be published in accordance with section 94 of the Community Charter. Notice by at least one of the means specified in a public notice bylaw (or if using the default, the last publication of the notice) must be not less than three days and not more than ten days before the date of the annual tax sale.

Upset price

The upset price is the lowest price that a property may be sold for at tax sale. The upset price is the total amount of current year taxes receivable, plus the prior year's taxes currently in arrears, plus two years prior the delinquent taxes, plus any penalties and interest that have accrued on each of those three years taxes unpaid.

For example, a property going to tax sale in September 2018, will have unpaid taxes from 2018 (current year), 2017 (arrears), and 2016 (delinquent) plus applicable penalties and interest for each.

An additional 5% of all taxes, penalties and interest is included in the upset price plus any applicable fees prescribed under the Land Title Act.

Declared purchaser and payment

The highest bidder above the upset price or, if there is no bid above the upset price, the bidder at the upset price must be declared the purchaser. If there is no bid, or no bid equal to the upset price, the municipality must be declared the purchaser. If the municipality has been declared the purchaser, the collector may offer the same property for sale again later at the annual tax sale on the same conditions as before.

The purchaser must immediately pay the collector the amount of the purchase price. If the purchaser fails to do so, the collector must promptly offer the property for sale again.

Redemption period

The Redemption Period is a period of one year which begins from the day of the annual tax sale.

During the redemption period, the property must continue to be assessed and taxed in the name of the owner who at the time of tax sale appeared on the assessment roll as the owner of the property. The owner continues to be liable for those taxes.

The municipality (the collector) must give written notice of the sale and of the day the redemption period ends no later than 3 months after the property has sold at the tax sale. This must be done by serving the notice or by sending the notice by registered mail, to the persons registered in the land title office, in accordance with section 657 of the Local Government Act . 

Successful Redemption of the Property

A property sold at tax sale may be redeemed by the owner within one year from the day the annual tax sale began.

A redemption is made by paying to the collector the total of the upset price plus all costs the collector has had notice that have been incurred by the purchaser in maintenance of the property and in prevention of waste, plus taxes advanced by the purchaser plus interest to the date of redemption.

Unsuccessful Redemption of the Property

If the owner does not redeem their property by paying all outstanding taxes and fees within the one-year period, the title for the property transfers to the successful bidder.

The previous owner is then entitled to any surplus from the sale (funds collected at the tax sale over and above the upset price and any additional costs that may be allowed), which they must claim from the municipality within nine months. Any unclaimed funds after that time are transferred to the B.C. Unclaimed Property Society, which administers unclaimed property under the Unclaimed Property Act. 

If the property has not been sold, or if there is no bid, or no bid equal to the upset price, the municipality must be declared the purchaser.  In this case:

• The collector may offer the property for sale again later at the annual tax sale, or
• If there are improvements to the land, redemption payments by installments may occur, or
• The council may, by bylaw, extend the redemption period by one year.