§ 105-369. Advertisement of tax liens on real property for failure to pay taxes. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 105‑369. Advertisement of tax liens on real property for failure to pay taxes.

(a)        Report of UnpaidTaxes That Are Liens on Real Property. – In February of each year, the taxcollector must report to the governing body the total amount of unpaid taxes forthe current fiscal year that are liens on real property. A county taxcollector's report is due the first Monday in February, and a municipal taxcollector's report is due the second Monday in February. Upon receipt of thereport, the governing body must order the tax collector to advertise the taxliens. For purposes of this section, district taxes collected by county taxcollectors shall be regarded as county taxes and district taxes collected bymunicipal tax collectors shall be regarded as municipal taxes.

(b)        Repealed by SessionLaws 1983 (Regular Session, 1984), c. 1013.

(b1)      Notice to Owner. – Afterthe governing body orders the tax collector to advertise the tax liens, the taxcollector must send a notice to the record owner of each affected parcel ofproperty, as determined as of the date the taxes became delinquent. The noticemust be sent to the owner's last known address by first‑class mail atleast 30 days before the date the advertisement is to be published. The noticemust state the principal amount of unpaid taxes that are a lien on the parcelto be advertised and inform the owner that the name of the record owner as ofthe date the taxes became delinquent will appear in a newspaper advertisementof delinquent taxes if the taxes are not paid before the publication date.Failure to mail the notice required by this section to the correct record ownerdoes not affect the validity of the tax lien or of any foreclosure action.

(c)        Time and Contentsof Advertisement. – A tax collector's failure to comply with this subsectiondoes not affect the validity of the taxes or tax liens. The county taxcollector shall advertise county tax liens by posting a notice of the liens atthe county courthouse and by publishing each lien at least one time in one or morenewspapers having general circulation in the taxing unit. The municipal taxcollector shall advertise municipal tax liens by posting a notice of the liensat the city or town hall and by publishing each lien at least one time in oneor more newspapers having general circulation in the taxing unit.Advertisements of tax liens shall be made during the period March 1 throughJune 30. The costs of newspaper advertising shall be paid by the taxing unit.If the taxes of two or more taxing units are collected by the same taxcollector, the tax liens of each unit shall be advertised separately unless,under the provisions of a special act or contractual agreement between thetaxing units, joint advertisement is permitted.

The posted notice andnewspaper advertisement shall set forth the following information:

(1)        Repealed by SessionLaws 2006‑106, s. 2, effective for taxes imposed for taxable yearsbeginning on or after July 1, 2006.

(1a)      The name of therecord owner as of the date the taxes became delinquent for each parcel onwhich the taxing unit has a lien for unpaid taxes, in alphabetical order.

(1b)      After the informationrequired by subdivision (1a) of this subsection for each parcel, a briefdescription of each parcel of land to which a lien has attached and a statementof the principal amount of the taxes constituting a lien against the parcel.

(2)        A statement that theamounts advertised will be increased by interest and costs and that theomission of interest and costs from the amounts advertised will not constitutewaiver of the taxing unit's claim for those items.

(3)        In the event thelist of tax liens has been divided for purposes of advertisement in more thanone newspaper, a statement of the names of all newspapers in whichadvertisements will appear and the dates on which they will be published.

(4)        A statement that thetaxing unit may foreclose the tax liens and sell the real property subject tothe liens in satisfaction of its claim for taxes.

(d)        Costs. – Eachparcel of real property advertised pursuant to this section shall be assessedan advertising fee to cover the actual cost of the advertisement. Actualadvertising costs per parcel shall be determined by the tax collector on anyreasonable basis. Advertising costs assessed pursuant to this subsection aretaxes.

(e)        Payments duringAdvertising Period. – At any time during the advertisement period, any parcelmay be withdrawn from the list by payment of the taxes plus interest that hasaccrued to the time of payment and a proportionate part of the advertising feeto be determined by the tax collector. Thereafter, the tax collector shalldelete that parcel from any subsequent advertisement, but the tax collector isnot liable for failure to make the deletion.

(f)         Listing andAdvertising in Wrong Name. – No tax lien is void because the real property towhich the lien attached was listed or advertised in the name of a person otherthan the person in whose name the property should have been listed for taxationif the property was in other respects correctly described on the abstract or inthe advertisement.

(g)        WrongfulAdvertisement. – Any tax collector or deputy tax collector who willfullyadvertises any tax lien knowing that the property is not subject to taxation orthat the taxes advertised have been paid is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor,and shall be required to pay the injured party all damages sustained inconsequence. (1939,c. 310, s. 1715; 1955, c. 993; 1971, c. 806, s. 1; 1983, c. 808, s. 1; 1983(Reg. Sess., 1984), c. 1013; 1993, c. 539, s. 725; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s.14(c); 1999‑439, s. 1; 2000‑140, s. 73; 2006‑106, s. 2.)