Property tax foreclosure in Connecticut

The property tax process in Connecticut, step by step

1. Taxes become delinquent

   The first of the month after the due date

   A tax installment not paid by the same date of the following month is delinquent, and interest runs from the original due date at 18 percent a year. Any part of a month counts as a full month, and a town may charge a minimum of $2 per installment. Partial payments go to interest first.

   Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-146

2. Demand and the tax lien

   After the due date

   The tax collector must demand payment in person, at your home or by mail before levying on your property. Unpaid real estate taxes are a lien on your home for two years after they come due, and the collector can extend the lien by filing a certificate on the land records.

   Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 12-155, 12-172, 12-173

3. Notices of a tax sale

   9 to 12 weeks before the sale

   If the town chooses a tax sale, the collector posts, records and mails you a notice by certified mail 9 to 12 weeks before the sale, publishes it for three weeks, and mails it to you twice more. If the sale is moved more than three days, you must get a new written notice.

   Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-157(a), (b)

4. The tax sale auction

   Sale day

   The collector sells the home at public auction to the highest bidder, or to the town if no one bids enough to cover what is owed. The collector signs a deed within two weeks, but it stays unrecorded at the town clerk's office during the redemption period.

   Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-157(c), (e)

5. Redeem within six months

   6 months after the sale (60 days if abandoned)

   Within 60 days after the sale, the collector must mail you a notice with the buyer's name, the price and the last day to redeem. To redeem, pay the collector the taxes, interest and charges owed at the sale plus 18 percent a year on the full purchase price. The period is 60 days if the home was abandoned or meets other conditions set by town ordinance. If you do not redeem, the deed is recorded and the buyer owns the home.

   Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-157(f)

6. Claim the surplus from a tax sale

   Within 90 days after the money is paid to court

   Money above the taxes, interest and costs is held in escrow, and the town may use it for your other unpaid local taxes. Within 10 days after the redemption period ends, the collector pays the rest to the Superior Court clerk and must notify you by certified mail within 5 days. You have 90 days from the payment to court to file an application for the money, and unclaimed money escheats to the state.

   Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-157(i)

7. Court foreclosure or sale of the lien

   Varies

   Instead of a tax sale, a town can sue in Superior Court to foreclose its tax lien, and the court may set a law day or order a sale. A town can also sell its lien to a private company, which must notify you within 60 days and cannot start a foreclosure until one year after it bought the lien. Tax lien foreclosures cannot use the state foreclosure mediation program.

   Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 12-181, 12-182, 12-195h

Common questions in Connecticut