Tax-Forfeited Land Information

Tax-forfeited land is the result of unpaid property taxes. The process from delinquent taxes to forfeiture is:

1. Taxes become delinquent as of January the year following when the taxes were due.
2. Notification to the taxpayer of record is given.
3. District Court enters judgment against the property. (Unpaid taxes are a lien against the property, not a personal debt of the owner).
4. Judgment is entered as of April in the delinquent year.
5. Period of redemption begins.
   Depending on ownership, use and location of the property, the period of redemption is one, three or five years from judgment. During this period, the owner, or anyone else having interests in the property, can pay the delinquent taxes and forfeiture will not occur. Based on 2013 legislation eliminating the five-year redemption period, new tax judgment sales in 2014 and subsequent years will have either a one or three year period of redemption.
6. If the property taxes remain unpaid after the statutory expiration of the redemption period, the land forfeits to the State of Minnesota. The county is then responsible for management of the land through the tax-forfeited land program.

Who can repurchase?

Only a limited number of individuals have rights to repurchase the land. This includes the home owners or others with title rights to the property. The person seeking to repurchase will have to pay all taxes, assessments and maintenance costs incurred by the county during the time the land was forfeited. Private parties are not allowed to purchase land unless they were listed on the title at some point.

To find out if you qualify, contact the Property Tax, Records & Election Services office to determine qualifications and to request an application.

Quick overview of process

It is important to remember that a prior owner does not have a right to repurchase; they have the privilege of submitting a written application to the county board requesting to repurchase. Deadlines are determined based on property classification at the time of forfeiture. 

1. The prior owner submits an application and a $250 application fee to the Tax Forfeited Land section.
2. Tax Forfeited Land submits an application to the municipality the property is located in for recommendation.
3. The municipality reviews the property history for code violations, nuisance property issues and police calls.
4. The municipality makes a recommendation, by resolution, to the county board to approve or deny the application.
5. The application is submitted to the county board for recommendation. The board must determine one of the following conditions to be true for approval:
   • An undue hardship or injustice resulting from the tax forfeiture will be corrected by the repurchase.
   • The repurchase will best serve the public interest.
6. Application is approved or denied by the county board. There is no appeal process if the board denies an application.

After land is forfeited:

• All taxes and special assessments prior to the forfeiture date are canceled.
• For a period of time, a previous owner can go through the repurchase process (see Repurchase process section).
• A classification process takes place to determine whether the land will remain in public ownership and be managed for public benefit, or if it will be returned to private ownership via a public auction.

Once classification is decided, lands are offered for sale by:

• Sale to a government entity (i.e., Housing and Redevelopment Authority, Public Works, a city, etc.).
• Public auction.
• Adjacent owner auction.
• Over the counter. Some properties not sold at auction may become available for purchase in our office.

Tax Forfeited Land has an inventory of sliver/splinter parcels that the county auditor is authorized to sell at a private sale for adjacent land owners only, if certain requirements are met.

These properties are usually small, non-buildable lots of odd-shape or size, many times landlocked and typically the result of survey errors, title or ownership issues or development/plat issues. Often times an adjoining owner is unaware that a tax-forfeited parcel is adjacent or near their property.

The goal is to offer these properties to the adjacent land owner and return them to private ownership.

Requirements

The following conditions must exist or be met in order to hold a private sale to an adjacent landowner. The county auditor must:

• Determine that the parcel of tax-forfeited land cannot be improved because it does not comply with local ordinances regarding minimum area, shape, frontage or access. This means that the owner would not be allowed to construct a building on the parcel.
  • Example #1: City ordinance requires a minimum frontage between the street and a house before a house can be built on any lot. The parcel cannot meet the minimum frontage requirement.
  • Example #2: A small parcel of land is landlocked; there is no road to it or any way of getting a road to it.
  • In both examples, only owners of land next to the parcel would be interested in adding it to their property.
• Determine that the private sale of the above type of land will encourage the city or township to approve the sale and allow it to be returned to taxable status.
• Determine that the highest and best use of the land can be achieved by adding it to an adjoining parcel.
• Mail a written notice of the date, time and location of the private sale to all adjacent land owners at least 30 days before the date of the sale. 

Special conditions of sale

The sale of tax-forfeited land to an adjacent landowner may be subject to special conditions:

• The city or town in which the parcel is located may recommend to the county board conditions to be imposed on the sale.
• The county board may impose conditions on the sale that:
  • Limit the use of the land,
  • Limit the amount of public money spent for the benefit of the land.
  • Safeguard against the sale and occupancy of the land unduly burdening the public treasury.

Adjacent land properties for sale

Each parcel not sold at a private sale may be purchased after the sale by any adjacent landowner who pays the basic sale price. Any adjacent landowner interested in purchasing a property should contact Property Tax, Records and Election Services for further information.

These parcels cannot be sold to anyone who is not an adjacent landowner.

Additional information

The county auditor may conduct the private sale by accepting sealed bids from adjacent landowners only. Other methods of sale may also be chosen.

All of the procedures, rules and conditions controlling a public sale of tax-forfeited land for cash or by contract for deed also apply to a private sale to adjacent land owners, except that a published notice is not required for a private sale to adjacent owners.

The basic sale price cannot be changed unless the parcel is reappraised, published and offered for sale again to adjacent landowners.

A county official who owns an adjacent parcel of land can purchase a parcel of tax-forfeited land offered for sale at a private sale for adjacent landowners only.