Tax Sale Process

The Municipal Act provides for the sale of property if property taxes remain unpaid for a specific period of time. The Town registers a Tax Arrears Certificate if taxes remain unpaid on vacant or improved land in any property class for three 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 Town are not paid within one year of registration of the certificate. Once a certificate has been registered, partial payments cannot be accepted but a municipality, by a by-law and before the expiry of the one year period, may authorize an extension agreement extending the period of time in which the cancellation price is to be paid.

The Town 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. Advertisement would be published in the Fort Erie Times for four consecutive weeks and the Ontario Gazette for one week. Current sale of lands by public tender are also posted on the Town’s Website. Using forms provided by the Tax Department, the bid plus a certified cheque for 20% of the tendered amount must be submitted in a sealed envelope prior to the specified time. To be eligible, bids must be at least equal to the advertised minimum, which will include all outstanding taxes, interest and costs.

From the day of notification to the highest bidder, the eligible bidder has 14 days to complete the transaction. All tax properties are sold without warranty and are sold as is. Further information will be made available at the time of advertising of the Tax Sale properties.