Property Sale Due to Default of Payment of Taxes
Photo Credit : Josiane Farand
Pursuant to the Code municipal du Québec (Articles 1022-1060, inclusively), the MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges acts in order to collect the unpaid taxes of the taxpayers to the benefit of local municipalities governed by the code. The sale of property due to default of payment of taxes is always held on the second Monday of the month of April of the current year at 280 Boulevard Harwood, Vaudreuil Dorion, at 10:00 am.
Procedure The secretary-treasurer of the local municipality, if they receive the order from their council, must send the list of persons indebted to the municipality and/or the school board before the 20th of January of the year of the sale. The secretary-treasurer of the MRC must, before the 8th day of the month of February, according to conditions sent by the municipalities, prepare the list of properties to sell due to default of payment of taxes and notify, by registered or certified letter, each person whose property must be sold. The list must be posted in each of the concerned municipalities and published two times in a newspaper circulated in its territory during the month of February. As soon as the list is first published, the secretary-treasurer must immediately send a copy to the registrar or registrar of mortgages of the registration division in which the property announced for sale is located.
The fees set in the sale pertain to publication in the regional newspaper, the notice posted in the registry office, and the duties as well as fees for the secretary-treasurer. The fees pertaining to the publication in the regional newspaper and registry office are allocated proportionally to the properties for sale, while the secretary-treasurer fees are fixed by resolution of the council at a fixed cost as well as a percentage of the total sum of taxes due. Before the fixed date of the sale, it is possible for an indebted property owner, or their representative, to withdraw a property from the list of properties for sale due to default of payment of taxes under the condition that the entire total due is paid off in cash or by certified cheque or money order. A partial payment of the total due on the property does not confer the right to withdraw it from the list of properties for sale due to default of payment of taxes. If the payment in full is not submitted to the MRC before the fixed date of sale, the property will be put up for sale at auction to the highest bidder. In order become the holder of the property tender, the highest bidder must immediately pay in cash or by certified cheque or money order, or the property will be immediately put back up for sale. No personal cheques are accepted. The bidder must provide the following documents for the public record: An identification document is also required pursuant to Article 2990 of the Code civil du Québec. Upon payment of the totality of money due, the bidder receives a certificate of tender for their property.
Any owner of a property sold due to default of payment of taxes may retake possession of their property within a one year period of time. However, they will be required to reimburse the MRC for the amount spent during the sale, plus 10% interest per year, with fractions of years calculated as a complete year, as well as all costs related to withdrawal. If needed, the MRC will manage the reimbursement to bidder for this sum, minus 2.5% for its fees. If, at the end of a period of one year, the owner or their representative has not exercised their right to withdraw, the bidder may therefore, at their cost, have a final contract of sale drawn up by the notary of their choosing. The transferable title to the property confers to the bidder all rights of the original owner and purges the property of any mortgages.