Casual legal: Right of possession following tax sale

DISCLAIMER: This article is meant to provide information only and is not intended to provide legal advice. You should seek the advice of legal counsel to address your specific set of circumstances. Although every effort has been made to provide current and accurate information, changes to the law may cause the information in this article to be outdated. 

By Andrew Skeith  

Reynolds Mirth Richards Farmer LLP 

Alberta Municipalities Casual Legal Service Provider  

All municipalities are obligated to follow the tax sale provisions set out in Part 10, Division 8 of the Municipal Government Act. Eventually, that process leads to properties being listed for sale at a tax auction. However, as anyone who has attended a tax sale auction knows, it is a common occurrence for properties not to sell, and for the municipality to then have to attempt to sell the property by other means. To actually sell a property you may need to have a realtor attend at the property, provide an appraisal, take photos, and perform other actions which require access to the property. 

This can be difficult where the occupants still reside on the property, even after it has failed to sell at auction. In those situations, the MGA provides municipalities with the right of possession pursuant to s 420: 

420(1)  From the date on which a parcel of land is offered for sale at a public auction, the municipality is entitled to possession of the parcel. 

This means that, despite not being the owner of a property, from the moment a property is offered for sale, the municipality has the right to enter a property, secure it, and do anything else required to deal with the property in preparation for a sale in order to recover tax arrears. 

If the occupants refuse to leave the property or to allow access to the municipality, then the municipality can apply to Court for an order for possession of the parcel. Crucially, those forms of orders should provide that the RCMP are obligated to assist the municipality in obtaining possession, including in the removal of any occupants of the property.  

To access Alberta Municipalities Casual Legal Helpline, Alberta Municipalities members can call toll-free to 1.800.661.7673 or email casuallegal [at] abmunis.ca (casuallegal[at]abmunis[dot]ca) and reach the municipal legal experts at Reynolds Mirth Richards and Farmer LLP. For more information on the Casual Legal Service, please contact riskcontrol [at] abmunis.ca (riskcontrol[at]abmunis[dot]ca), or call 310.MUNI (6864) to speak to Alberta Municipalities Risk Management staff. Any Regular or Associate member of Alberta Municipalities can access the Casual Legal Service.