Tax Sale Set Aside

Cozen O'Connor
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Continuing a line of recent appellate decisions, a panel of the Commonwealth Court set aside a tax sale because the tax claim bureau failed to note in the file additional efforts that it had made to notify the owner. In re: 2013 Perry County Tax Claim Bureau Sale, Appeal of Tufarolo, No. 668 C.D. 2014 (Pa. Commw. Dec. 31, 2014). A certified mailing of notice of tax sale was returned unclaimed. The statue requires that when certified mail notices are returned unclaimed, the bureau must undertake additional notification efforts. 72 P.S. § 5860.607(a). The statute further states that the additional efforts made must be noted in the file, whether or not the efforts were successful in notifying the owner. The lower court found that the failure to make the notes in the file was immaterial as it would not have changed the result. The Commonwealth Court reversed, holding that the requirement was mandatory, regardless of the result of the additional efforts. Therefore, the tax sale was set aside.

 

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