Sale of land for tax arrears
If property taxes remain unpaid for a specific period of time the City is authorized, under the Municipal Act, to sell vacant or improved land in any property class. A Tax Arrears Certificate is registered if property taxes are not paid for two years prior to January 1 of any year.
A Tax Arrears Certificate indicates that the property will be sold if all taxes, penalties, interest and reasonable costs incurred by the City are not paid within one year of registration of the certificate. This amount is referred to as the cancellation price. Once a certificate has been registered, partial payments cannot be accepted, but before the expiry of the one year period, a municipality may authorize an extension agreement.
The City may advertise the property for sale for non-payment of taxes if the cancellation price is not paid within one year of registration of the certificate. The advertisement would be published in a local paper for four consecutive weeks and the Ontario Gazette for one week.
Eligible bids must be at least equal to the advertised minimum, which will include all outstanding taxes, interest, costs and Land Transfer Tax if applicable. Using forms provided by the Tax Office, the bid plus a certified cheque for 20% of the tendered amount must be submitted in a sealed envelope before the specified due date.
From the day of notification to the highest bidder, the bidder has 14 days to complete the transaction. All properties sold for non-payment of taxes are sold as is, without warranty.