Sec. 7-254. Delinquent assessments. Liens. Assignment of liens. - Connecticut Statutes

      Sec. 7-254. Delinquent assessments. Liens. Assignment of liens. (a) Any assessment of benefits or any installment thereof, not paid within thirty days after the due date, shall be delinquent and shall be subject to interest from such due date at the interest rate and in the manner provided by the general statutes for delinquent property taxes. Each addition of interest shall be collectible as a part of such assessment.

      (b) Whenever any installment of an assessment becomes delinquent, the interest on such delinquent installment shall be as provided in subsection (a) of this section or five dollars, whichever is greater. Any unpaid assessment and any interest due thereon shall constitute a lien upon the real estate against which the assessment was levied from the date of such levy. Each such lien may be continued, recorded and released in the manner provided by the general statutes for continuing, recording and releasing property tax liens. Each such lien shall take precedence over all other liens and encumbrances except taxes and may be enforced in the same manner as property tax liens. The tax collector of the municipality may collect such assessments in accordance with any mandatory provision of the general statutes for the collection of property taxes and the municipality may recover any such assessment in a civil action against any person liable therefor.

      (c) Any municipality, by resolution of its legislative body, may assign, for consideration, any and all liens filed by the tax collector to secure unpaid sewer assessments as provided under the provisions of this chapter. The consideration received by the municipality shall be negotiated between the municipality and the assignee. The assignee or assignees of such liens shall have and possess the same powers and rights at law or in equity as such municipality and municipality's tax collector would have had if the lien had not been assigned with regard to the precedence and priority of such lien, the accrual of interest and the fees and expenses of collection. The assignee shall have the same rights to enforce such liens as any private party holding a lien on real property, including, but not limited to, foreclosure and a suit on the debt. Costs and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the assignee as a result of any foreclosure action or other legal proceeding brought pursuant to this section and directly related to the proceeding shall be taxed in any such proceeding against each person having title to any property subject to the proceedings. Such costs and fees may be collected by the assignee at any time after demand for payment has been made by the assignee.

      (1949 Rev., S. 745; 1949, S. 321d; 1971, P.A. 279, S. 1; P.A. 95-228, S. 9, 15; P.A. 99-283, S. 2, 10; P.A. 07-217, S. 20.)

      History: 1971 act divided section into subsections, deleted provisions concerning delinquency of remaining installments upon delinquency of any installment and stated that interest charged is to be a minimum of $5; P.A. 95-228 amended Subsec. (b) to provide that liens and encumbrances be enforced, rather than foreclosed, effective July 6, 1995, and applicable to tax sale notices posted, filed or published on and after that date; P.A. 99-283 added new Subsec. (c) re assignment of liens, effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 07-217 made a technical change in Subsec. (b), effective July 12, 2007.

      See Sec. 12-146 re interest on delinquent taxes.

      See chapter 205 re municipal tax liens generally.

      Cited. 153 C. 457.