Municipal Tax Sale

What is a tax sale?

The annual tax sale is held at 10:00am on the last Monday of September in Council Chambers. Properties with a delinquent balance, reflecting three years of unpaid taxes, are included in the auction. 

The City is required by the Local Government Act to sell at tax sale all properties whose taxes have not been paid for three years. The Local Government Act gives the Collector authority to sell a property for the Upset Price, which equals all outstanding taxes, penalties, interest, 5% tax sale costs, and Land Title Office fees. All property sales are “as is” without warranty or guarantee by the City.

Properties that may be included in the annual tax sale will be listed in the local newspaper the week preceding the tax sale. If the delinquent taxes are paid before 10:00am on the tax sale day, they will be removed from the list of properties.

Avoid tax sale of your property

• Pay your property taxes and claim your home owner grant (if eligible) by the due date.
• Pay your delinquent taxes by September 2 to avoid your property from being listed in the newspaper.
• Pay your delinquent taxes, including interest, by mid-September to stop your property from going to tax sale.
• Payment for delinquent taxes will be accepted in the following forms:
  • Certified cheque or money order
  • Bank draft
  • Lawyer’s trust cheque
  • Interac (at City Hall)
  • Telephone or internet banking (allow 3 to 4 business days to process)
  • Cash (at City Hall)

Pay delinquent taxes

Payment for delinquent taxes will be accepted in the following forms:

• Certified cheque or money order
• Bank draft
• Lawyer’s trust cheque
• Interac (at City Hall)
• Telephone or internet banking (allow 3 to 4 business days to process)
• Cash (at City Hall)

How to bid at the tax sale

Participants who intend to bid on properties will be required to register for the auction at the Property & Payment Services counter at City Hall, starting 8:30am on the last Monday of September. Potential bidders must be the age of majority (19 or older) in order to register and must show photo ID at the time of registration.

Registration will complete at 9:59am and late registration will not be permitted. Successful bidders are required to provide a SIN number when making payment.

Redemption

The current owner has one year after the property is sold at tax sale to pay all taxes, interest, and charges to retain ownership of their property. This is called the redemption period.

Registered charge holders have full right to redeem the property. To redeem the property, the charge holder must remit the full upset price, plus interest on the purchase price at a rate set by the Province, within one year of the tax sale.

As soon as the property is redeemed, the Collector will refund to the tax sale purchaser the purchase price, plus interest to the date of redemption.

Property not redeemed

If the property is not redeemed during the 1-year period, the Collector registers the new owner at the Land Title Office, thus cancelling all previous charges, except for those matters set out in Section 276(1)(c) to (g) of the Land Title Act, and any lien of the Crown, an improvement district, or local district.

Resources

This page intended to provide a general outline of the tax sale process. For complete information, prospective purchasers should consult the Local Government Act, in particular (but not limited to), Sections 645 to 672.