Property tax foreclosure in Rhode Island

The property tax process in Rhode Island, step by step

1. Unpaid taxes become a lien

   From the assessment date

   Property taxes are a lien on your home that comes ahead of your mortgage. If you miss an installment, your city or town charges interest at a rate it sets between 6% and 18% a year (Cranston's cap is 12%).

   R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 44-9-1, 44-5-8

2. Mailed notices of the tax sale

   First-class mail at least 90 days before; certified mail at least 40 days before

   The collector must mail you notice of the sale twice and send copies to RIHousing, plus the Office of Healthy Aging if you get an age-based tax abatement; a sale is void if those agencies are not notified. If you are 65 or older or have a disability, you can ask the tax assessor to send your notices to a third person too.

   R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-9-10

3. Posted and newspaper notice

   At least 3 weeks before the sale

   The sale is posted in public places and advertised in a newspaper, and the notice must explain your right of redemption and how to use it. Mortgage holders of record get certified mail at least 20 days before.

   R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 44-9-9, 44-9-11

4. RIHousing may step in for owner-occupied homes

   By 10 days before the sale, at the latest

   For an owner-occupied home with three or fewer units, RIHousing has the right to buy the tax lien first and may help you pay it off. If it holds the tax title, no petition to foreclose redemption can be filed until five years after the sale.

   R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 44-9-8.3, 44-9-25(c)

5. Tax sale and collector's deed

   Deed recorded within 60 days of the sale

   The collector sells the smallest part of the property that will cover the taxes and costs, or the whole property if no one bids on a part. The buyer's deed is subject to your right of redemption and gives no right to rent from an owner-occupied single-unit home, and no possession for one year.

   R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 44-9-8, 44-9-12

6. Redeem before a foreclosure petition

   Any time before the petition is filed

   You pay the purchase price plus a 10% penalty if within six months, then 1% more for each later month, plus later taxes the buyer paid with 1% monthly interest and costs. You can pay the city or town treasurer, who acts for the buyer during the first year.

   R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 44-9-19, 44-9-21

7. Court petition to foreclose redemption

   Any time after 1 year from the sale

   The tax title holder can petition the Superior Court, and you get notice by certified mail. You must file an answer by the return day offering to redeem; the court can let you redeem on terms it sets, but if you do not, a decree bars redemption forever and can be reopened only within six months for narrow reasons. The holder then owns the home, and the law gives you no share of its value.

   R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 44-9-24, 44-9-25, 44-9-27, 44-9-29, 44-9-30

Common questions in Rhode Island