STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8203
IN SENATE
June 16, 2010
___________
Introduced by Sen. PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in relation to authorizing
any municipality to enter into a contract to sell some or all of the
delinquent tax liens held by such municipality to a private party; and
providing for the repeal of such provisions upon the expiration there-
of
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The real property tax law is amended by adding a new
2 section 1191 to read as follows:
3 § 1191. Sale of tax liens to private parties. Notwithstanding any
4 provision of any general, special or local law to the contrary, any
5 municipality may, on or before December thirty-first, two thousand ten,
6 enter into a contract to sell any or all of the delinquent tax liens
7 held by it to a private party and such contract shall not extend for any
8 period beyond December thirty-first, two thousand twelve, subject to the
9 following conditions:
10 1. Prior to any sale, the local governing body shall hold a public
11 hearing, on notice of at least thirty days, announcing the intention of
12 said local governing body to sell its delinquent real property tax liens
13 to a third party. Such hearing shall not be held more than ninety days
14 prior to such sale.
15 2. The consideration to be paid may be more or less than the face
16 amount of the tax liens sold;
17 3. Property owners shall be given at least thirty days advance notice
18 of such sale in the same form and manner as is provided by subdivision
19 two of section eleven hundred ninety of this article. Failure to provide
20 such notice or the failure of the addressee to receive the same shall
21 not in any way affect the validity of any sale of a tax lien or tax
22 liens, or the validity of the taxes or interest prescribed by law with
23 respect thereto;
24 4. The municipality shall set the terms and conditions of the contract
25 of sale;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02314-01-9
S. 8203 2
1 5. The tax lien purchaser must, thirty days prior to the commencement
2 of any foreclosure action, provide the municipality with a list of liens
3 to be foreclosed. The municipality may, at its sole option and
4 discretion, repurchase a lien or liens on the foreclosure list from the
5 tax lien purchaser. The repurchase price shall be the amount of the lien
6 or liens plus any accrued interest and reasonable and necessary
7 collection fees and costs incurred by the tax lien purchaser. The tax
8 lien purchaser shall provide the foreclosure list to the municipality,
9 along with the applicable repurchase price of each lien, by certified
10 mail, and the municipality shall have thirty days from the receipt ther-
11 eof to notify the tax lien purchaser of its option to purchase one or
12 more of the liens. If the municipality opts to purchase the lien, it
13 shall provide payment within thirty days of receipt of the repurchase
14 price of said lien or liens. If the municipality shall fail to opt to
15 repurchase the lien or liens, the tax lien purchaser shall have the
16 right to commence a foreclosure action immediately;
17 6. The sale of a tax lien pursuant to this act shall not operate to
18 shorten the otherwise applicable redemption period or change the other-
19 wise applicable interest rate;
20 7. Upon the expiration of the redemption period prescribed by law, the
21 purchaser of a delinquent tax lien, or its successors or assigns, may
22 foreclose the lien as in an action to foreclose a mortgage as provided
23 in section eleven hundred ninety-four of this article. The procedure in
24 such action shall be the procedure prescribed by article thirteen of the
25 real property actions and proceedings law for the foreclosure of mort-
26 gages. At any time following the commencement of an action to foreclose
27 a lien, the amount required to redeem the lien, or the amount received
28 upon sale of a property, shall include reasonable and necessary
29 collection costs, attorneys' fees, legal costs, allowances and disburse-
30 ments; and
31 8. The provisions of this title shall apply so far as is practicable
32 to a contract for the sale of tax liens pursuant to this act.
33 9. In each year subsequent to the tax lien sale, and no more than
34 sixty days after the annual anniversary date of such sale, the local
35 governing body shall produce a written report on the status and results
36 of said sale and such report shall include but need not be limited to
37 the total dollar amount received by the municipality in said sale, the
38 number of foreclosures conducted by the third party, the number, if any,
39 of complaints about the foreclosure process, the number of properties
40 taken back by the municipality pursuant to the terms of the contract of
41 sale, the number, if any, of complaints received by the municipality on
42 the conduct of the third party and any other information the munici-
43 pality deems necessary and important on the status of said sale. Said
44 written report must be filed with the governor, comptroller of the state
45 of New York, temporary president of the senate, minority leader of the
46 senate, speaker of the assembly, and the minority leader of the assem-
47 bly.
48 10. On or before July first, two thousand twelve but not earlier than
49 May first, two thousand twelve, the comptroller of the state of New York
50 shall issue a written report on the status of all private tax lien sales
51 that have occurred in the state whether by the terms of this section, a
52 chapter of the laws of the state of New York specific to a city, county
53 or village, or by any other special, general or local law in the calen-
54 dar years two thousand nine, two thousand ten and two thousand eleven.
55 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately, and shall expire and be
56 deemed repealed on and after December 31, 2012.
