The annual tax sale is held in the form of a public auction on the last Monday in September. It is a collection tool that enables municipalities to recover outstanding property taxes. Properties with three years of outstanding taxes are auctioned to the highest bidder.
If the last Monday in September is a holiday, the annual tax sale will instead be held on the next Monday that is not a holiday.
Property owners have a one-year period following the sale during which the property can be redeemed by paying the outstanding charges and interest.
More information
The Local Government Act requires the City to sell at tax sale all properties whose taxes have not been paid for three years. The Local Government Act gives the Collector (the City) authority to sell a property for the upset price, which equals all outstanding taxes + penalties + interest + 5% tax sale costs + Land Title Office fees. All property sales are "as is" without warrant or guarantee by the City of Prince George.
The Local Government Act requires municipalities to publish and advertise information in advance of the tax sale including legal descriptions and street addresses. These public notices are posted on the City website, on the City's Facebook page, and on the notice board at City Hall.
Property owners wishing to avoid having their address publicly listed must pay delinquent taxes and interest prior to the publication date.
A public auction will be held at 10 a.m. on the last Monday in September each year in Council Chambers at City Hall. Bidding is accepted on all properties. If the last Monday in September is a holiday, the annual tax sale will instead be held on the next Monday that is not a holiday.
Prospective bidders are advised that it is their responsibility to search the title of the property in advance to determine if there are any charges registered against the property. The minimum bid is the amount of the upset price. If no bidding takes place within three calls by the Collector (auctioneer), the City is declared the purchaser at the upset price.Upon purchasing, full payment must be remitted immediately. If payment is not remitted, the Collector (the City) will offer the property for sale again.
The Collector (the City) is required, by law, to search all property titles and, within 90 days after the tax sale, notify all registered charge holders shown on each property.
The original owner has one year after the property is sold at tax sale to pay the taxes and buy back their property. This is called redemption. All 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.
Once the property is redeemed, the City will refund to the tax sale purchaser the purchase price, plus interest, to the date of redemption. Please note, it may take four weeks before a refund cheque is issued to the tax sale purchaser. Interest on the purchase price is only paid up to the date of redemption.According to Section 421 of the Local Government Act, when a property is sold at a tax sale, all rights of the registered owner at the time of the sale immediately cease, except for three specific rights that remain in effect:
- the right of redemption (the ability to redeem the property within the legislated redemption period),
- the right to bring legal action to have the tax sale set aside, and
- the right of possession during the redemption period.
This means that while ownership rights are significantly limited after the sale, the former owner is legally entitled to remain in possession of the property until the redemption period expires, unless the sale is redeemed or otherwise set aside.
If the property is not redeemed during the one-year period, the Collector registers the new owner at the Land Title and Survey Authority, thus cancelling all previous registered 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 a local district.
The new owners are required to pay the property sales tax to the Provincial Sales Tax Administrator after application has been made to register in the Land Titles Office.