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9000 General Overview: Notification Requirements

9000. BACKGROUND INFORMATION
There are several notices that the tax collector may be required to publish throughout the year. The Notice of Current Taxes Due is the initial notice to a taxpayer that he/she owes taxes on his/her property. This notice is published on or before November 1 of a given tax year. It provides the taxpayer with constructive notice that the property taxes are due. If the taxpayer fails to pay, the tax collector initiates the next publication, the Notice of Property Tax Delinquency and Impending Default.

The Notice of Property Tax Delinquency and Impending Default is published on or before June 8 of the first year of delinquency. It specifies the date and time on which the property will be declared to be tax-defaulted (12:01 am on July 1 if taxes are unpaid by the close of business on the last business day of June) (Rev. & Tax. Code §3351). If the taxpayer fails to pay the taxes by the payment deadline, the tax collector includes the property in the published Property Tax Default (Delinquent) List, published on or before September 8 following the default, which gives public notice that the property has become tax-defaulted. After a period of five years, or three years if a nuisance abatement lien is on the property, the tax collector must publish a Notice of Impending Power to Sell Tax-Defaulted Property (for nonpayment of the property taxes). 

This notice is published on or before June 8 of the fifth year after the initial default. The notice specifies the actual date on which the tax collector's power to sell the tax-defaulted property will arise (12:01 am on July 1 of the fifth year).

Within four years after the power to sell has arisen, the tax collector must offer the property for sale at a public auction or a sealed bid sale. Either a public entity (i.e., a taxing agency, a revenue district, or a redevelopment agency) or a nonprofit organization established to provide housing for low-income persons may make an agreement with the board of supervisors to purchase property that is subject to the tax collector's power to sell. Prior to the sale, the tax collector must publish a notice specifying the type of sale: Notice of Public Auction, Notice of Sealed Bid Sale, or Notice of Agreement to Purchase.

It is most important that publications relating to delinquent taxes as well as other required publications be conducted according to law. Errors in publication can render the ultimate tax title to a purchaser of the property invalid.