If the title examination for a piece of property reveals a tax taking of record, it is always necessary to obtain a redemption from the municipality and file or record it at the registry of deeds. A clean municipal lien certificate is not sufficient to clear a title of a tax taking.

Unpaid municipal liens and charges take priority over any other lien. 

Under MGL c.185 § 1(b), the Land Court has the exclusive, original jurisdiction of proceedings for the foreclosure and the redemption of tax takings made under MGL c. 60. 

A tax taking of record must be by the collector for the municipality and state the cause of the taking, describe each parcel of land taken, the name of the person to whom the property was assessed, the amount of the tax, and the incidental expenses and costs up to the date of the taking. Such an instrument of taking is only valid if recorded within sixty days of the date of taking. (MGL c.60 § 54)

The tax taking may be redeemed anytime prior to the initiation of foreclosure proceedings, and the redemption must include a reference to the recording or filing information for the tax taking, the year for which the taxes or fees were assessed, the name of the person assessed and specify the land on which the tax was assessed. The Release or Redemption must state that the municipality acknowledges satisfaction of the tax title.

Municipal liens and charges may include matters that do not show on a Municipal Lien Certificate (MLC). In addition to real estate taxes, these may include water and sewer charges, municipal light charges, betterment assessments, demolition charges or trash collection charges. 

Prior to the completion of the tax taking foreclosure process, the municipal treasurer has the authority to assign a tax title at a public auction. MGL c.60 § 62. The assignment of the tax title should be examined carefully to discern who has the power to release the tax taking. 

Notice of Petition to Foreclose (MGL c.60 § 65): The record owner of real estate (usually the town) taken for taxes may bring a petition in the land court for the foreclosure of all rights of redemption on the property so taken. This petition may be filed after six months from the sale or taking; or at any time following the sale or taking if the buildings on the property have been abandoned pursuant to MGL c.60 § 81 A; or if there has been a certification under MGL c. 60 § 81B that the redemption amount for the property (as determined pursuant to MGL c.60 § 62) exceeds the assessed value of the parcel. In the latter case, the tax collector must record or file an affidavit of this fact in the appropriate registry of deeds. In addition, a petition for the foreclosure of all rights of redemption may be filed at any time following the consent in writing of the property owner from whom the property was taken. 

The notice of the Petition to Foreclose a tax taking must be recorded in the Registry of Deeds for the county where the land is located. If record title discloses that proceedings have been initiated to foreclose the rights of redemption in the Land Court, a notice of the Withdrawal of the Petition for the Foreclosure of the Rights of Redemption should be recorded. 

REBA Title Standard No. 80, issued in 2013, states that it is not necessary to record a Withdrawal of the Petition for the Foreclosure of the Rights of Redemption if there is a release of the tax taking on record. 

To redeem property taken for taxes, the interested person shall file an answer setting forth his right in the land, and an offer to redeem upon terms set by the court. The court shall hear the parties, and may allow the party to redeem. The court shall set forth a time for redemption, and the amount to be paid, which shall include the original sum, costs, interest at the time rate of sixteen per cent per annum and all subsequent taxes, costs and interest under MGL c. 60 sections 61 and 62. The court may impose additional terms if circumstances warrant.

Under MGL c.60 § 69, if the terms of the redemption are not met, the petitioner defaults, or the court finds against the redemption request, the land court shall enter a decree, which shall forever bar all rights of redemption. This decree, which bars all rights of redemption, must be recorded at the registry of deeds, and it wipes out all other interests in the property when recorded.

A petition to vacate a decree of foreclosure may be entered within one year after the final entry of a decree entered under MGL c.60 § 69.

If no innocent purchaser for value has acquired an interest, a decree of foreclosure may be vacated (in the discretion of the court) by the petitioner at any time.

The title conveyed by a tax collector’s deed or by a taking of land for taxes shall be absolute after the foreclosure of the right of redemption by decree of the land court as provided under MGL c.60.

Elizabeth Young is vice president and senior underwriting counsel at Westcor Land Title Insurance Company, Norton, Mass.