Annual Tax Sale

Tax Sale Process

The following notes are intended to provide a general outline of the tax sale process. For more information about the annual sale of properties, prospective purchasers should consult the Local Government Act, in particular (but not limited to) Sections 645 to 672.

  • The City is required by the Local Government Act to sell at Tax Sale all properties whose taxes have not been paid for 3 years.
  • The Local Government Act gives the Collector authority to sell a property for the Upset Price, which equals all outstanding taxes, penalties, interest, 5% tax sale costs, and land Title Office fees.
  • All property sales are "as is" without warranty or guarantee by the City of Fort St John.

Advertising

  • The Local Government Act requires the City to advertise the Tax Sale according to the City's Public Notice Bylaw, [PDF/154KB] not less than 3 or more than 10 days before the Sale.
  • The legal description and street address must be published.
  • To avoid your property being listed in this ad, your delinquent taxes must be paid approximately 2 weeks before the Tax Sale date. 

Tax Sale

  • A public auction will be held at 10 am, on the last Monday in September each year in Council Chambers inside City Hall (10631 - 100 Street, Fort St. John).
  • Bidding is accepted on all properties.
  • Prospective bidders are advised that it is their responsibility to search the property's title in advance to determine if any charges are registered against it.
  • The minimum bid is the amount of the Upset Price.
  • If no bidding takes place within 3 calls by the Collector (auctioneer), the City is declared the purchaser at the Upset Price.

Purchasing a Property

  • The successful bidder must have their social insurance or business number and their corporate seal if required.
  • Payment is to be in cash, certified cheque, or bank draft for at least the upset price amount at the close of the Tax Sale.
  • The remainder of the payment must be received by 3 pm on the day of the Tax Sale.
  • If full payment is not received by 3 pm on the day of the Tax Sale, the Collector again offers the property for sale.

Notifying Charge Holders

  • By law, the collector is required to search all property titles and notify all registered charge holders shown on each property within 90 days after the tax sale.

Redemption

  • The original owner has one year after the property is sold at Tax Sale to pay the taxes and fees and buy back their property. This is called redemption.
  • All registered charge holders have full right to redeem the property.
  • To redeem the property, the charge holder must remit the full upset price, plus interest on the purchase price at a rate set by the Province, within one year of the Tax Sale.
  • If the property has been sold at Tax Sale and the City has been declared the purchaser, 50% of the upset price, plus interest may be paid as an instalment thus extending the redemption period by 11 months and 21 days. This applies only to property having improvements.
  • As soon as the property is redeemed, the Collector will refund to the Tax Sale purchaser the purchase price, plus interest to the date of redemption.

Rights During Redemption Period

For information regarding rights during the redemption period, please see the Local Government Act - Section 665.

Property Not Redeemed

If the property is not redeemed during the one year period, the Collector registers the new owner at the provincial Land Titles Office, thus cancelling all previous registered charges, except for those matters set out in Section 276(1) (c) to (g) of the Land Title Act and any lien of the Crown, an improvement district or a local district.

The new owners are required to pay the property transfer tax to the Provincial Sales Tax Administrator after the application has been made to register in the Land Titles Office.