2023 District of Columbia Code › Title 47 - Taxation, Licensing, Permits, Assessments, and Fees. [Enacted title] › Chapter 13A - Revised Real Property Tax Sales › Subchapter III - Redemption › § 47–1361. Required payments; notice to purchaser; certificate of redemption

§ 47–1361. Required payments; notice to purchaser; certificate of redemption.
(a) To redeem the real property, the person redeeming shall pay to the Mayor, except as set forth in paragraph (6A) of this subsection, for deposit into the General Fund of the District (notwithstanding any other law), the following:
(1) If the real property was sold at tax sale to a purchaser, the amount paid by the purchaser for the real property exclusive of surplus, with interest thereon;
(2) If the real property was bid off to the District, the sale amount with interest thereon beginning on the first day of the month following the date of the tax sale where the real property was bid off;
(3) If the real property was bid off to the District and subsequently sold or the certificate of sale assigned to a purchaser:
(A) The original sale amount with interest thereon beginning on the first day of the month following the date of the tax sale where the real property was bid off; plus
(B) Interest accruing thereafter on the sale amount in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph from the first day of the month following the date the real property was subsequently sold or the certificate of sale assigned to the purchaser;
(4) All other taxes, interest, and penalties paid by a purchaser on behalf of the real property, with the interest that would have been owing if the purchaser had not paid the taxes;
(5) All other real property taxes, business improvement district taxes, and vault rents to bring the real property current; provided, that any such amounts that become due and owing after receipt of the payment that permits a refund to issue to the purchaser under subsection (e) of this section shall not be required to be paid to redeem the real property;
(5A) Any delinquent special assessment owed pursuant to an energy efficiency loan agreement under Subchapter IX of Chapter 8 of Title 47; provided, that any such assessment that becomes due and owing after receipt of the payment that permits a refund to issue to the purchaser under subsection (e) of this section shall not be required to be paid to redeem the real property;
(6) All expenses for which each purchaser is entitled to reimbursement under § 47-1377(a)(1)(A); and
(6A) Where an action to foreclose the right of redemption has been properly filed, the person redeeming shall pay directly to the applicable purchaser all expenses to which the purchaser is entitled to reimbursement under § 47-1377(a)(1)(B); and
(7) Repealed.
(8) If judgment of foreclosure of the right of redemption of the sale is set aside, the reasonable value, at the date of the judgment, of all reasonable improvements made on the real property by the purchaser and the purchaser’s successors in interest, subject to § 47-1363.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, payment of all real property tax liens and permitted accruals assigned or sold and transferred to third parties under § 47-1303.04 shall be required before a person may redeem under this chapter.
(b-1) The redeeming party shall not be required to pay any tax that is required to be certified by § 47-1340 unless the tax has been certified by a taxing agency and appears on a real property tax bill or notice that was mailed to the real property's owner as indicated on the tax roll to the owner's mailing address on the tax roll.
(b-2) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, the remaining amounts that are payable to the Mayor, including tax, interest, penalties, and expenses, for the real property shall be deemed to have been brought current for purposes of redemption if, at any time, the balance falls below $100; provided, that the remaining balance shall remain due and owing and any remaining expense shall be thereafter deemed a real property tax.
(c) The provisions of subsection (a) of this section may apply more than once if the real property has been sold or bid off more than once.
(d)(1) Subject to the liability threshold set forth in subsection (b-2) of this section, after receipt of the payment set forth in subsection (a)(1) through (6) of this section, the Mayor shall notify the purchaser of the payment. The purchaser shall receive from the Mayor the refund to which the purchaser is entitled, subject to the purchaser’s compliance with all procedures for issuance of the refund, as may be established by the Mayor.
(2) If a complaint under § 47-1370 has been properly filed, a purchaser may continue to prosecute the complaint until receipt of the expenses owed to the purchaser and payable to the purchaser by the redeeming party as set forth in subsection (a)(6A) of this section, but shall dismiss the complaint upon receipt thereof.
(3) A complaint to foreclose the right of redemption shall not be maintained solely to await the administrative refund under this subsection.
(4) Notification by the Mayor under this subsection may be accomplished by making the information publicly available through an electronic medium, including by posting on a website.
(e) Upon request, within 60 days of the request, the Mayor shall execute and deliver to the person redeeming the real property a certificate of redemption, which may be recorded in the Recorder of Deeds and, when recorded, shall release any encumbrance created by the recording of the certificate of sale. The Recorder of Deeds shall waive all fees relating to the recordation of a certificate of redemption.
(f) The Mayor may abate interest or penalties or compromise taxes, whether arising before or after the tax sale, in the same manner as set forth in § 47-811.04; provided, that the abatement or compromise shall not affect the refund due to the purchaser.
(June 9, 2001, D.C. Law 13-305, § 507(a)(2), 48 DCR 334; Oct. 26, 2001, D.C. Law 14-42, § 10(g), 48 DCR 7612; Apr. 4, 2003, D.C. Law 14-282, § 11(ii), 50 DCR 896; Apr. 20, 2013, D.C. Law 19-262, § 103(d), 60 DCR 1300; Dec. 4, 2014, D.C. Law 20-141, § 101(c)(19), 61 DCR 7763; Feb. 26, 2015, D.C. Law 20-155, §§ 7102(c)(19), 7104, 61 DCR 9990; Oct. 22, 2015, D.C. Law 21-36, § 7037(i), 62 DCR 10905; Oct. 30, 2018, D.C. Law 22-168, § 7093(c)(3), 65 DCR 9388.)
Section References
This section is referenced in § 47-1073, § 47-1348, § 47-1382, and § 47-4655.
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 14-42, in subsec. (a)(1), made a nonsubstantive change.
D.C. Law 14-282 made nonsubstantive changes in subsec. (a)(1).
The 2013 amendment by D.C. Law 19-262 added (a)(5A).
The 2014 amendment by D.C. Law 20-141, repealed before its effective date, would have substituted “the Mayor, except as set forth in paragraph (6A) of this subsection, for deposit” for “the Mayor, for deposit” in the introductory language of (a); rewrote (a)(2) and (a)(3); deleted “provided, that the certificate of sale of the purchaser is not void” from the end of (a)(4); rewritten (a)(5); added (a)(5A); rewritten (a)(6); added (a)(6A); repealed (a)(7); added (b-1) and (b-2); deleted the last sentence in (c); rewritten (d) and (e); and would have added (f).
The 2015 amendment by D.C. Law 20-155 added “except as set forth in paragraph (6A) of this subsection” in the introductory language of (a); rewrote (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(5), and (a)(6); deleted “provided, that the certificate of sale of the purchaser is not void” from the end of (a)(4); added (a)(5A) and (a)(6A); repealed (a)(7); added (b-1) and (b-2); deleted the former second sentence in (c), which read “In such case, the person redeeming shall pay all required amounts to satisfy the purchasers and the District”; rewrote (d); in (e), substituted “within 60 days of the request” for “and subject to the payment of a fee” and added the last sentence; and added (f).
The 2015 amendment by D.C. Law 21-36 substituted “subsection (b-2)” for “subsection (b-1)” in (d)(1).
Emergency Legislation
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 7093(c)(3) of Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2018 (D.C. Act 22-458, Oct. 3, 2018, 65 DCR 11212).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 7093(c)(3) of Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2018 (D.C. Act 22-434, July 30, 2018, 65 DCR 8200).
For temporary (90 day) addition of section, see § 7 of Real Property Tax Clarity and Litter Control Administration Emergency Act of 2001 (D.C. Act 14-22, March 16, 2001, 48 DCR 2706).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 12(oo) of Tax Clarity and Recorder of Deeds Emergency Act of 2002 (D.C. Act 14-381, June 6, 2002, 49 DCR 5674).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 12(pp) of Tax Clarity and Related Amendments Emergency Act of 2002 (D.C. Act 14-456, July 23, 2002, 49 DCR 8107).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 12(pp) of Tax Clarity and Related Amendments Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2002 (D.C. Act 14-510, October 23, 2002, 49 DCR 10247).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 101(c)(20) of the Residential Real Property Equity and Transparency Emergency Amendment Act of 2014, (D.C. Act 20-342, May 28, 2014, 61 DCR 5691).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 7112(c)(19) of the Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-377, July 14, 2014, 61 DCR 7598, 20 STAT 3696).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 101(c)(20) of the Residential Real Property Equity and Transparency Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-409, Aug. 1, 2014, 61 DCR 8281).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 7102(c)(19) of the Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-449, October 10, 2014, 61 DCR 10915, 20 STAT 4188).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, as amended by D.C. Law 20-155, § 7102(c), see the first § 2(q) of the Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Support Clarification Emergency Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-461, November 6, 2014, 61 DCR 11784, 20 STAT 4368).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 7102(c)(19) of the Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Support Second Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-566, January 9, 2015, 62 DCR 884, 21 STAT 541).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, as amended by D.C. Law 20-155, § 7102(c), see the first § 2(q) of the Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Support Clarification Emergency Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-587, January 13, 2015, 62 DCR 1294, 21 STAT 758).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 7016(v)(13) and (y)(2) of the Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2015 (D.C. Act 21-127, July 27, 2015, 62 DCR 10201).
Temporary Legislation
For temporary (225 day) amendment of section, see § 12(nn) of Tax Clarity and Recorder of Deeds Temporary Act of 2002 (D.C. Law 14-191, October 5, 2002, law notification 49 DCR 9549).
For temporary (225 day) amendment of section, see § 12(nn) of Tax Clarity and Related Amendments Temporary Act of 2003 (D.C. Law 14-228, March 23, 2003, law notification 50 DCR 2741).
For temporary (225 day) addition of section, see § 7 of Real Property Tax Clarity and Litter Control Administration Temporary Amendment Act of 2001 (D.C. Law 14-8, June 13, 2001, law notification 48 DCR 5916).
For temporary (225 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(r)(14) of the Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Support Clarification Temporary Amendment Act of 2014 (D.C. Law 20-179, March 7, 2015, 62 DCR 424).
Editor's Notes
D.C. Law 20-141 became effective on Dec. 4, 2014, but was repealed prior to its effective date by emergency D.C. Act 20-377, § 7114, eff. July 14, 2014, 61 DCR 7598, by emergency D.C. Act 20-449, § 7104, eff. October 10, 2014, 61 DCR 10915, by emergency D.C. Act 20-566, § 7104, eff. January 9, 2015, 62 DCR 884, and by D.C. Law 20-155, § 7104, 61 DCR 9990.
Applicability of D.C. Law 21-36: Section 7048(b) of D.C. Law 21-36 provided that §§ 7027, 7031, 7036, and 7037 of the act shall apply as of October 1, 2014.