Site Tools
Welcome to the State of California

6100-6106 Declaration Process: Eligible Property

6100. GENERAL INFORMATION
Properties on which the total amounts due were not fully paid by the close of business on the last day of the fiscal year shall, by operation of law, be declared tax-defaulted (Rev. & Tax. Code §§3351, 3436). Those types of property set forth in M-6111 - M-6118 are excluded.

EXCEPTION: See note under M-6000.

6101. LIFE ESTATES
Real property subject to a life estate is assessed on the secured roll in the same manner as the fee title. If the taxes on a life estate assessment become delinquent, the property shall:

1) Be tax-defaulted at the end of the first year of delinquency;

2) Become subject to the tax collector's power to sell if the taxes remain delinquent for five years; and

3) Be sold at public auction, if not redeemed prior to the auction. The property subject to sale covers the entire fee interest that may be sold to the purchaser at the tax sale. Either the life tenant or the remainderman may redeem prior to the termination of the right of redemption (Attorney General Letter 2-1-73).

6102. CONDOMINIUMS 
Civil Code sections 783 and 1351(f) define a condominium as an estate in real property:

1) Consisting of an undivided interest-in-common in a portion of a parcel of real property, together with

2) A separate interest in space in a residential, industrial, or commercial building or other real property, such as an apartment, office or store,

3) That, in addition, may include a separate interest in other portions of such real property.

The initial seller or purchaser of an individual unit in a condominium project may request that the assessor separately assess the unit and that a separate tax bill be provided for the current fiscal year. However, if adequate security has been posted for payment of taxes on the entire condominium, a separate tax bill for an individual unit is not authorized (Rev. & Tax. Code §§2188.6; Gov. Code §66493).

The tax due on the individual unit constitutes a lien solely on that unit. Property taxes due on other units do not affect the unit that has been separately assessed and billed (Rev. & Tax. Code §§2188.3(b), 2188.6).

The application for separate assessment should be made to the county assessor (Rev. & Tax. Code §§2188.3, 2188.6).

Each condominium owned in fee is subject to assessment on the secured roll, and the taxes levied constitute a lien thereon (Rev. & Tax. Code §2188.3).

6103. UNDIVIDED INTEREST
An undivided interest is a parcel of property separate from the whole assessment (Rev. & Tax. Code §2802(b)).

If the tax is to be paid on an undivided interest in an assessment on the current roll, the tax due on the remainder of the assessment, regardless of the amount of undivided interest it might contain, is to be paid in one lump sum and should include any accrued delinquent penalties and costs.

Payment of the segregated undivided interest should be identified with the name of the owner/applicant and the recording data of the document evidencing the interest when entered upon the roll. This will assist in identifying the remaining unpaid undivided interest transferred to the delinquent records after the tax-default.

The tax collector declares only the unpaid portion of the undivided interest to be tax-defaulted, giving the name of the most current assessee as shown on the assessor’s records.

EXAMPLE: "ONE-FOURTH INTEREST IN LOT 10, BLOCK 12, CITY OF EXETER, POR, A.P.N., 12-333-44."

NOTE: If the assessment roll shows "John Doe, et al." and John Doe has paid his interest, the assessor's records should be checked to determine which of the other owners, if delinquent in payment, will appear on the records of the tax-defaulted property.

6104. TIMESHARE ESTATES AND TIMESHARE PROJECTS 
Revenue and Taxation Code sections 2188.8 and 2188.9 provide for separate assessment and taxation of timeshare estates and timeshare projects (as defined in the Bus. & Prof. Code §11003.5), as follows:

1) A timeshare estate in real property may be separately assessed and billed (Rev. & Tax. Code §2188.8). When the taxes on a timeshare estate in real property become delinquent, the timeshare estate can be tax-defaulted.

2) A leasehold timeshare estate may be separately assessed, but it cannot be separately billed. The entire timeshare project must be billed as a single unit. The director of the timeshare project receives a breakdown of the taxes applicable to each separate interest. When its taxes become delinquent, the entire timeshare project is declared tax-defaulted (Rev. & Tax. Code §2188.9).

6105. STATE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION ROLL
Property assessed on the State Board of Equalization roll on which the taxes have not been paid is tax-defaulted in the same manner and at the same time as other tax-delinquent property on the secured roll.

NOTE: A delinquent tax on state-assessed personal property should be collected as unsecured and, if unpaid after June 30, should be transferred to the unsecured abstract. Such tax is subject to the additional penalties provided in Revenue and Taxation Code section 2922.

6106. SUBDIVISION FILING
The Subdivision Map Act (Gov. Code §66410 et seq.) requires that, before property is subdivided for sale, lease, or financing, a subdivision map must be prepared by the subdivider and be approved by the governing body of the city or county in which the land is located. The purpose of the legislation is to:

1) Promote orderly community development;

2) Ensure proper improvement of the areas within the subdivision that are dedicated for public purposes by the subdivider; and

3) Prevent fraud and exploitation by the subdivider.

If any part of the subdivision is subject to a lien for taxes or special assessments, the final map or parcel map shall not be recorded until the owner or the subdivider does both of the following:

1) Files with the clerk of the board of supervisors a certificate or statement prepared by the tax collector giving his/her estimate of those taxes or assessments.

2) Executes and files with the clerk of the board of supervisors, security conditioned upon the payment of all state, county, municipal, and local taxes and the current installment of principal and interest of all special assessments collected as taxes., (These taxes are a lien against the property when the final may is recorded but are not yet payable.) A county may, by ordinance and after consultation with the tax collector, waive this requirement if there are four or fewer parcels, or for a lot line adjustment (Gov. Code §66493).

a. If the land being subdivided is a portion of a larger parcel shown on the preceding tax roll as a unit, the security for payment of taxes need be only the sum determined by the tax collector to be sufficient to pay the current and delinquent taxes on the land being subdivided, together with all penalties and costs if those taxes have been allowed to become delinquent.

b. A county may, by ordinance, require that, if a property owner or subdivider deposits cash to secure the payment of the estimated taxes or special assessments, the county tax collector shall draw upon the deposit, at the request of the taxpayer, to pay the taxes or special assessments when they are payable.

If the land being subdivided is tax-defaulted, it may be redeemed without the redemption of the remainder of the parcel of which it is a part if it was held in ownership separate from, and other than, the ownership of the remainder (Rev. & Tax. Code §4151 et seq.).

In computing the amount of security for "taxes," it shall be necessary to consider only those amounts shown on the regular assessment roll or shown on any supplemental rolls.

The board of supervisors may, by resolution, authorize any county officer to perform the duties of the clerk of the board of supervisors. The tax collector would be the county officer authorized to carry out the duties involving taxes and assessments.