State Foreclosure Law Library

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Multnomah County, Oregon — Tax Sale & Surplus Procedure

Local operations layer. The legal framework (redemption periods, surplus rights, statutes, case law) lives on the parent page → oregon. This page covers how Multnomah County actually runs it. Legal information, not legal advice. Last verified: 2026-06-02.

C0. Identity

  • County seat: Portland
  • Population: approximately 801,477 (2024 estimate; Oregon’s most populous and smallest-by-area county). [Source: U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts — https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/multnomahcountyoregon/PST045225]
  • Recording unit: county — DART (Division of Assessment, Recording & Taxation) is the recording authority; the recording sub-office is sometimes referred to separately as the County Clerk/Recorder.
  • FIPS: 41051
  • Parent legal framework: oregon — Oregon is a tax-deed-to-the-county state with no investor lien certificates; the county tax collector brings an in rem judicial foreclosure under ORS ch. 312; property is deeded to the county after a two-year redemption period; post-Tyler surplus reform enacted by HB 2089 (2025) (ORS 312.500–312.560). Multnomah County inherits all of this framework; the sections below describe county-specific operational detail.

C1. Local Tax Sale

  • Conducts own sale? Yes — and Oregon’s process is unlike most states. There is no public investor auction at the foreclosure stage. Under ORS 312.100 the court orders delinquent parcels sold directly to the county; Multnomah County’s Division of Assessment, Recording & Taxation (DART) / Tax Title Program holds the foreclosed parcels. The subsequent disposition sale — where the public can bid — is a separate county-run program managed by the Tax Title Program. [Source: oregon parent page; ORS 312.100]

  • Platform (disposition sale): County-run public sale, historically advertised and conducted in person in Portland (May 6, 2024 sale), with Bid4Assets used for at least one prior online sale (Bid4Assets listing #1056497, “Multnomah County, Oregon — Live Tax Deed Sale, 8 Deeds”). The county has not announced a fixed platform for the Spring 2026 sale as of the last verified date. All platform/date information is published first at https://multco.us/tax-title/public-sales. [Sources:

  • Sale calendar:

    • Frequency: irregular; historically roughly every 1–2 years, triggered by Board of County Commissioners authorization.
    • Most recent sale: May 6, 2024 (Tax Foreclosed Property Public Sale).
    • Next known sale: Spring 2026 anticipated — the Board of County Commissioners approved Order 2026-019 on April 2, 2026 authorizing the sale of Tax Title properties; no specific date or platform has been set as of the last verified date. Next website update scheduled June 16, 2026.
    • Announcement: “All information is published here first” at https://multco.us/tax-title/public-sales; no individual email distributions are made. [Source: https://multco.us/programs/tax-title; https://www.multco.us/tax-title/public-sales]

  • Rate within statutory range: Oregon sets a single statewide delinquency interest rate of 1⅓% per month (16% per year) under ORS 311.505(2); no county-specific rate variation. [Source: oregon parent page]

  • Registration & deposit (disposition sale): The May 6, 2024 sale required bidders to submit a Bidder Registration Form (form dated “5.6.2024”) prior to bidding; an Earnest Money Agreement was available for interested bidders (document available at https://multco.us/file/ema_5.6.2024/download). Specific deposit amounts for that sale and for future sales are not published in advance on the county’s public-sales page; deposit/payment mechanics are announced with each sale’s resource package. [Source: https://www.multco.us/tax-title/public-sale-may-6-2024-resources]

  • Bidder requirements: The county explicitly states bidders should “thoroughly investigate all aspects of a property prior to bidding” and that county employees cannot answer specific property questions. All properties are sold AS IS. The county cannot provide legal advice. [Source: https://www.multco.us/tax-title/public-sale-may-6-2024-resources]

  • Delinquent list:

    • What triggers: Real property owing taxes 3 or more years delinquent (taxes delinquent since at least the third prior tax year) is listed under ORS 312.010. For 2025 proceedings, any real property with delinquencies from 2021 or earlier became subject to the 2025 foreclosure cycle.
    • Publication: The foreclosure list is published in a newspaper of general circulation in Multnomah County, as required by ORS 312.040. The specific newspaper used for each cycle is not pre-announced on the county’s web portal.
    • Contact for list: Tax Collections — 503-988-3334 / dart.tax.collection@multco.us.
    • Tax collection delinquency page: https://multco.us/info/delinquent-taxes-liens [Sources: https://multco.us/info/delinquent-taxes-liens; oregon ORS 312.010, 312.040]

C2. Local Redemption → framework: right-of-redemption

  • Where/how to redeem: Pay the DART Tax Collections division — the Multnomah County Tax Collector’s office — the full ORS 312.120 redemption amount: judgment + statutory interest (1⅓%/month) + 5% penalty + the ORS 312.120(5) fee. Payment must be in full; Oregon does not permit partial redemption payments. [Source: oregon ORS 312.120; county contact below]
  • Redemption office: DART Tax Collections
  • Local fees: No Multnomah-specific fee schedule identified beyond the statewide ORS 312.120(5) formula ($50 or actual title-search/expense costs after notice, plus 5% penalty). [needs_verification: confirm any local add-on fees]
  • Redemption contact: see DART Tax Collections above.
  • Deviations from state default: None identified. Multnomah County follows the standard ORS ch. 312 two-year redemption period; the county may invoke the ORS 312.122 30-day reduced redemption for waste/abandoned property, but no local ordinance modifies the state default. [needs_verification: confirm no local redemption shortcuts or extensions beyond ORS 312.122]

C3. Local Surplus / Excess Proceeds → framework: surplus-funds

CRITICAL NOTE for AuctionBlock operations: Oregon’s HB 2089 (2025) enacted a statewide assignment bar — any purported assignment of a surplus claim is void except protective assignments (bankruptcy, POA, guardianship/custodianship) (HB 2089 § 9(5)(b), ORS 312.500–312.560). See the oregon parent page for full third-party-recovery analysis.

Pre-HB-2089 Surplus (Redemption Periods Expiring Oct. 12, 2017 – June 25, 2025): Lynch v. Multnomah County Settlement

Multnomah County reached a $3,515,759.25 class-action settlement — Martin Lynch, et al. v. Multnomah County, et al., Case No. 3:2023cv01502 (D. Or.) — to resolve claims it retained surplus proceeds from tax-foreclosure sales without returning them to former owners, after Tyler v. Hennepin County (2023) declared such retention an unconstitutional taking. [Source: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/multnomah-county-oregon-reaches-35-million-settlement-in-class-action-over-tax-foreclosure-surpluses—claims-process-established-for-former-owners-302542470.html; https://multnomahtaxforeclosuresettlement.com/]

  • Settlement fund: 1,112,961.85 in statutory interest at 9%.
  • Eligible class: former owners/interest-holders, lienholders, heirs, successors, and personal representatives of property Multnomah County foreclosed and sold with surplus, where the redemption period expired between October 12, 2017 and June 25, 2025.
  • Claim deadline: March 13, 2026 (11:59 p.m. PT) — this deadline has now passed. Final approval hearing was held November 10, 2025.
  • Settlement administrator: Kroll Settlement Administration LLC, PO Box 225391, New York, NY 10150-5391; toll-free (833) 890-3212.
  • Settlement website (historical reference): https://www.multnomahtaxforeclosuresettlement.com/

Post-HB-2089 Surplus (Forward-Going, Effective Sept. 26, 2025):

Under HB 2089 (2025) / ORS 312.500–312.560, Multnomah County is now required to:

  1. Determine surplus within 60 days of depositing gross sale proceeds.
  2. Send a surplus notice to the former owner within 60 days of the date the owner becomes eligible to claim.
  3. Deliver the surplus to the Oregon State Treasurer as unclaimed property within 30 days of determination.

  • Claim filing venue (ongoing, post-Sept. 26, 2025): Claims for surplus on future Multnomah County tax-foreclosure dispositions are filed with the Oregon State Treasury — Unclaimed Property / Foreclosure Surplus program.

  • County-level surplus contact (interim / transition inquiries):

    • Carlos Rasch, DART — Tax Title Program
    • Email: carlos.rasch@multco.us
    • Mailing: Attn: Tax Title, Multnomah County Division of Assessment, Recording & Taxation, 501 SE Hawthorne Blvd., Suite 175, Portland, OR 97214
    • This contact was the designated surplus-claims contact during the settlement period and for the transition to HB 2089 compliance. [Source: settlement notice documents per PR Newswire; county surplus-claims page at https://multco.us/info/surplus-funds-claims-form (403 on direct fetch — URL verified via search)]

  • County surplus claims form: The county published a “Surplus Funds Claim Form” at https://multco.us/info/surplus-funds-claims-form (PDF also at https://multco.us/file/surplus_funds_claim_form/download). This form was used for the Lynch settlement period. Under HB 2089 going forward, the primary claim mechanism is the State Treasury portal. [needs_verification: confirm whether the county’s own form remains operative post-HB-2089 or is superseded by the Treasury portal process]

  • Unclaimed list published? Under HB 2089, surplus goes to the Oregon State Treasury as unclaimed property and is searchable at unclaimed.oregon.gov. The county itself does not maintain a separate unclaimed surplus list. [Source: oregon parent page — HB 2089 § 10]

  • Local deadline notes: No county-imposed cutoff shorter than the state framework. Under Oregon’s Unclaimed Property regime (ORS 98.302–98.436), the former owner’s claim is not time-barred — the surplus is reclaimable indefinitely once it is deposited with the State Treasurer. [Source: oregon parent page — HB 2089 § 10]

C4. Offices & Contacts

OfficeNameAddressPhoneURL
Treasurer / Tax Collector (DART — Tax Collections)Division of Assessment, Recording & Taxation (DART)501 SE Hawthorne Blvd., Suite 175, Portland, OR 97214; Mail: PO Box 2716, Portland, OR 97208-2716503-988-3334https://multco.us/info/contact-division-assessment-recording-taxation
Tax Title Program (disposition sales & surplus)DART — Tax Title Program501 SE Hawthorne Blvd., Suite 175, Portland, OR 97214; Mail: PO Box 2716, Portland, OR 97208-2716503-823-4000 (general)https://multco.us/programs/tax-title · Email: tax.title@multco.us
Assessment & Taxation DepartmentMultnomah County DART501 SE Hawthorne Blvd., Suite 175, Portland, OR 97214503-988-2225 (property tax & ownership)https://multco.us/departments/assessment-recording-taxation
Recorder / Register of Deeds (Recording sub-office)DART — Recording501 SE Hawthorne Blvd., Suite 175, Portland, OR 97214; Mail: PO Box 5007, Portland, OR 97208-5007503-988-2273https://multco.us/info/contact-division-assessment-recording-taxation · Email: clerk@multco.us · Deed search: https://multcorecords.com
Circuit Court (ORS ch. 312 in rem foreclosure proceedings)Multnomah County Circuit Court1200 SW 1st Ave., Portland, OR 97204 (main courthouse); Justice Center: 1120 SW Third Ave., 3rd Fl., Portland, OR 97204971-274-0504 (Trial Court Administrator)https://www.courts.oregon.gov/courts/multnomah/ · Civil email: Mul.Civil@ojd.state.or.us
Sheriff (judicial / non-judicial mortgage foreclosure sales)Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office — Civil Process / Property Sales3083 NE 170th Place, Portland, OR 97230; Mail: 2955 NE 172nd Place, Portland, OR 97230503-988-0512https://www.mcso.us · Email: realproperty@mcso.us (property sales) · civiloffice@mcso.us (process)

[Sources: https://multco.us/info/contact-division-assessment-recording-taxation; https://multco.us/programs/tax-title; https://www.courts.oregon.gov/courts/multnomah/pages/contacts.aspx; https://www.mcso.us/how-do-i/civil-enforcement; https://www.mcso.us/node/192]

C5. Local Procedure Notes

  • City of Portland lien foreclosures are separate. The City of Portland maintains its own lien-foreclosure program for unpaid City assessments (code violations, sidewalk repairs, nuisance abatements, system development charges, etc.). These are not ORS ch. 312 tax foreclosures and are administered by the Portland City Treasurer / Revenue Division, not by Multnomah County DART. The City did not foreclose on city liens for over 30 years until recently amending City Code ch. 5.30. After a City lien sale, the redemption period is 90 days (distinct from the ORS ch. 312 two-year period). Multnomah County Tax Title’s webpage on this topic redirects to Portland.gov. [Sources: https://www.multco.us/taxtitle/portland-lien-foreclosures; https://www.portland.gov/treasury/foreclosure; Portland City Code ch. 5.30]

  • Sheriff’s sales (judicial / non-judicial mortgage foreclosure) are separate from county tax-title sales. MCSO advertises all judicial and non-judicial foreclosure sales through the Oregon State Sheriffs Association portal (https://oregonsheriffssales.org/county/multnomah/) and the MCSO Property Sales blog (https://mcsopropertysales.wordpress.com/). As of June 2, 2026, four properties are scheduled: two on 06/09/2026 and two on 06/30/2026 — all are judicial execution sales in civil litigation (not tax foreclosures). [Source: https://oregonsheriffssales.org/county/multnomah/]

  • Board authorization required for disposition sales. The Board of County Commissioners must authorize each round of Tax Title property sales by order. The most recent authorization is Order 2026-019 (April 2, 2026). Sale dates are set only after authorization and after the county publishes property information on its website. No individual email distribution is made; interested parties must monitor https://multco.us/tax-title/public-sales. [Source: https://multco.us/programs/tax-title]

  • Multnomah County’s Tax Title Program is not a landlord. The county explicitly warns: “The Tax Title Program does not rent our properties. If a property in our portfolio is offered for lease, it is a fraud.” [Source: https://multco.us/programs/tax-title]

  • Lynch v. Multnomah County (2023–2025) settlement. This landmark class action (Case No. 3:2023cv01502, D. Or.) established that Multnomah County’s pre-HB-2089 practice of retaining all tax-sale surplus was an unconstitutional taking under Tyler v. Hennepin County. The $3.515M settlement covered redemption periods expiring October 12, 2017 through June 25, 2025. The claim deadline (March 13, 2026) has passed and the settlement received final approval at the November 10, 2025 fairness hearing. This is distinct from — and predates — the HB 2089 ongoing process. [Source: https://multnomahtaxforeclosuresettlement.com/; https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/multnomah-county-oregon-reaches-35-million-settlement-in-class-action-over-tax-foreclosure-surpluses—claims-process-established-for-former-owners-302542470.html]

  • Private / adjacent-owner sales. Beyond public auctions, the Tax Title Program offers certain properties for immediate private sale to adjacent owners, condo associations, and similar limited buyers. See: https://multco.us/info/current-property-offerings-immediate-sale (as of last verification: “NONE CURRENTLY”). [Source: https://multco.us/info/current-property-offerings-immediate-sale]

  • Oregon’s “foreclosure avoidance is our priority” posture. The Tax Title Program emphasizes preventing foreclosure before it occurs, offering HUD assistance, Oregon Law Help, the Oregon Foreclosure Avoidance Program, senior tax deferral options, and the Portland Homeowner Foreclosure Prevention Program. This means the county actively winnows the foreclosure list before properties reach public sale. [Source: https://multco.us/programs/tax-title]

C6. Records Access

C7. Meta

Legal information, not legal advice. This page summarizes Multnomah County operational procedures for research purposes. Statutes, county procedures, sale dates, and contact information change; verify against the cited primary sources and consult a licensed Oregon attorney before acting. Last verified: 2026-06-02.

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