H. B. 4533
(By Delegates Stalnaker and Davis)
[Introduced February 14, 2000; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact sections eighteen and twenty-seven,
article three, chapter eleven-a of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
all relating to real property tax liens sold by sheriff for
delinquent ad valorem taxes; providing for forfeiture of
purchaser's rights where the lien on real property evidenced
by a tax certificate of sale has expired and application for
a tax deed is not pending at the time of expiration of the
lien; and clarifying that a purchaser must make application
for and deliver a quitclaim deed for the real estate to the
county clerk prior to the expiration of the lien thereon
evidenced by a tax certificate of sale.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections eighteen and twenty-seven, article three,
chapter eleven-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to
read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. COLLECTION AND ENFORCEMENT OF PROPERTY TAXES.
§11A-3-18. Limitations on tax certificates; forfeiture of
purchaser's rights.
(a) No lien upon real property evidenced by a tax
certificate of sale issued by a sheriff on account of any
delinquent property taxes shall may remain a lien thereon for a
period longer than eighteen months after the original issuance
thereof.
(b) All rights of a purchaser are considered forfeited and
expired and no tax deed shall may issue on any tax sale evidenced
by a tax certificate of sale where such the certificate has
ceased to be a lien pursuant to the provisions of this section
and application for such the tax deed, pursuant to the provisions
of section twenty-seven of this article, is not pending at the
time of the expiration of the limitation period provided for in
this section.
(c) Whenever a lien evidenced by a tax certificate of sale has expired by reason of the provisions of this section, the
county clerk shall immediately issue and record a certificate of
cancellation describing the real estate included in the
certificate of purchase or tax certificate and giving the date of
cancellation and he the clerk shall also make proper entries in
his the clerk's records. He The clerk shall also present a copy
of every such certificate of cancellation to the sheriff who
shall enter the same in his the sheriff's records and such the
certificate and the record thereof shall be are prima facie
evidence of the cancellation of the certificate of sale and of
the release of the lien of such the certificate on the lands
therein described. Failure to record such the certificate of
cancellation shall does not extend the lien evidenced by the
certificate of sale. The sheriff and county clerk shall are not
be entitled to any fees for the issuing of such the certificate
of cancellation nor for the entries in their books made under the
provisions of this subsection.
§11A-3-27.
Deed to purchaser; limitation of time to apply for
deed; record.
If the real estate described in the notice is not redeemed
within the time specified therein, but in no event prior to the first day of April of the second year following the sheriff's
sale, the person entitled thereto shall thereafter, but prior to
the expiration of the lien evidenced by a tax certificate of sale
issued by a sheriff for the real estate as provided in section
eighteen of this article, make and deliver to the clerk of the
county commission at any time thereafter, subject to the
provisions of section eighteen of this article, a quitclaim deed
for such the real estate in form or effect as follows:
This deed made this _________ day of _____________, 20___,
by and between _________________, clerk of the county commission
of ______________________ County, West Virginia, (or by and
between _______________, a commissioner appointed by the Circuit
Court of ______________ County, West Virginia) grantor, and
_____________, purchaser, (or __________________, heir, devisee
or assignee of _______________________, purchaser), grantee,
witnesseth, that:
Whereas, In pursuance of the statutes in such case made and
provided, _________________, Sheriff of ____________ County, (or
______________, deputy for ______________, Sheriff of ___________
County), (or ______________, collector of ______________ County),
did, in the month of ____________, in the year 20_____, sell the tax lien(s) on real estate, hereinafter mentioned and described,
for the taxes delinquent thereon for the year (or years) 20_____,
and ______________, (here insert name of purchaser) for the sum
of $___________, that being the amount of purchase money paid to
the sheriff, did become the purchaser of the tax lien(s) on such
real estate (or on ________ acres, part of the tract or land, or
on an undivided _____________ interest in such real estate) which
was returned delinquent in the name of ___________________; and
Whereas, The clerk of the county commission has caused the
notice to redeem to be served on all persons required by law to
be served therewith; and
Whereas, The tax lien(s) on the real estate so purchased
has not been redeemed in the manner provided by law and the time
for redemption set in such notice has expired;
Now, therefore, the grantor, for and in consideration of
the premises and in pursuance of the statutes, doth grant unto
______________, grantee, his heirs and assigns forever, the real
estate on which the tax lien(s) so purchased existed, situate in
the county of _____________________, bounded and described as
follows: ______________________________
Witness the following signature: __________________________
Clerk of the County Commission of ___________________
County.
Except when ordered to do so, as provided in section
twenty-eight of this article, no clerk of the county commission
shall may execute and deliver such a deed more than thirty days
after the person entitled to the deed delivers the same and
requests the execution thereof. Upon the clerk's determination
that the deed presented substantially complies with the
requirements of this section, the clerk shall execute the deed
and acknowledge the same, record the deed in the clerk's office
and deliver the original thereof to the purchaser.
For the execution of the deed and for all the recording
required by this section, a fee of seven dollars and fifty cents
and the recording expenses shall be charged, to be paid by the
grantee upon delivery of the deed. The deed, when duly
acknowledged or proven, shall be recorded by the clerk of the
county commission in the deed book in his the clerk's office,
together with assignment from the purchaser, if one was made, the
notice to redeem, the return of service of such the notice, the
affidavit of publication, if the notice was served by
publication, and any return receipts for notices sent by certified mail.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to specifically provide
that the rights of a purchaser of real property sold by a sheriff
for delinquent taxes expire and are considered forfeited upon the
expiration of the lien upon the property evidenced by a tax
certificate of sale issued thereon by the sheriff and the
purchaser has not made application to the county clerk for a tax
deed thereto. The bill also clarifies that such a purchaser must
make application to the county clerk for a tax deed to such real
estate prior to the expiration of the said lien.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.