Property Tax Sales and Arrears

A property tax sale is the process followed by a municipality to recover unpaid property taxes through the sale of the property in arrears. Properties become eligible for tax sale once they are three years in arrears.

Tax sales are governed by the Municipal Act, 2001 and the Municipal Tax Sales Rules made under that Act.

Tax sales are not typical real estate transactions. 

If you are considering participating in a property tax sale, it is highly recommended that you seek independent legal advice from a lawyer licensed to practice in Ontario and in good standing with the Law Society of Upper Canada.

No. The municipality makes no representation regarding the title to a property or any other matters relating to the lands to be sold. The municipality has no obligation to provide vacant possession to the successful purchaser.

The property may be worth much more or much less than the minimum tender amount. It is the tenderer's responsibility to do their own research before submitting a tender on a tax sale property.

Any interests of the Federal or Provincial Crown encumbering the land at the time of the tax sale will continue to encumber the land after the registration of the tax deed.

No, you cannot legally enter onto a property that is advertised for tax sale. This is not a typical property sale.

The Town does not "own" the property in a tax sale and the current property owner on title may still be occupying the property. Entering onto a property advertised for tax sale proceedings is considered to be trespassing.

The closing date for the tender is listed on the tax sale advertisement and tender package and is specific to each property being advertised.

Contact Service Caledon to obtain a tender package. Instructions on how to complete the tender package are included with the package. These instructions must be followed explicitly in order for the tender bid to be valid.

The date of closing is listed on the sale of land by public tender form which is included in the public tender package, as well as in any advertising of the property for sale by the Town.

Your tender must be submitted in a sealed envelope, addressed to the Treasurer. In each tender package, there is a pre-addressed envelope. Please use this provided envelope to submit any bids.

You can submit your tender in person to Service Caledon at Town Hall or by courier or by mail. Please keep in mind that your tender must be received by the Treasurer on or before the time and date indicated in the advertisement for tax sale. If your tender is received late, it will be rejected. Rejected tenders will be returned following the tender closing date.

A deposit must accompany any tender submission. The deposit must be at least 20 per cent of the tender bid amount. Deposits must be in the form of a money order, bank draft or cheque certified by a bank or trust corporation. The deposit must be made payable to the "Town of Caledon". Please do not submit cash.

The minimum price is the minimum tender amount shown on the sale of land by public tender form. This amount represents the property taxes outstanding on the property and any costs associated with the tax sale process. Any submissions of tender less than this price will not be accepted.

If your bid is successful, you will be notified by the Town. Within 14 days of this notification, the remaining balance of the tender amount must be paid along with any land transfer tax, HST and any accumulated property taxes.

If your tender is accepted and you do not pay the balance of the tender amount owing on time for any reason, your deposit will be forfeited to the municipality in accordance with Provincial legislation. The second highest non-rejected bidder will then be notified of a winning bid.

A tender may be withdrawn if the tenderer's written request to have the tender withdrawn is received by the Treasurer before 3:00 p.m. local time on the last date for receiving tenders. The envelope containing a withdrawn tender will be opened at the time of the opening of the sealed envelopes.

Please submit separate bids in separate bid envelopes for each property you wish to place a bid on.  Please do not combine bids in one form or envelope.  Any combined bids in one envelope will be rejected.

After reviewing the tenders, the Treasurer will reject all but the two highest of the remaining tenders. The Treasurer will then notify the highest tenderer by ordinary mail sent to the address shown in the tender. The highest tenderer then has 14 days to pay the balance of the amount tendered, the applicable land transfer tax and the accumulated property taxes by money order, bank draft or certified cheque to the Treasurer. If the payment of the balance is not paid, the deposit will be forfeited to the municipality and the second highest tenderer will be offered the land.

Some of the reasons a tender could be rejected include:

• The tender amount was insufficient in that it was not equal to or greater than the minimum tender amount.
• The tender included a term or condition that is not allowed for under the Ontario Tax Sales Regulations (Ontario Regulation 181/03).
• The tender envelope was not sealed, did not indicate on it that it is a tax sale or it did not provide a short description or municipal address sufficient to permit the Treasurer to identify the parcel of land to which the tender relates.
• The tender was not one of the two highest tenders.
• The tender was not in Form 7.
• The tender was not addressed to the treasurer or typewritten or legibly handwritten in ink.
• The tender was not accompanied by a deposit of at least 20 per cent of the tender amount as shown on the Form 7 tender.
• The tender deposit was not made by way of money order, bank draft or certified cheque.
• The tender did not relate to just one parcel of land.
• A certified cheque drawn on a credit union was submitted as a deposit.