State Foreclosure Law Library

queens-ny

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Queens County, New York — Tax Sale & Surplus Procedure

Local operations layer. The legal framework (redemption periods, surplus rights, statutes, case law) lives on the parent page → new-york. This page covers how Queens County / New York City actually runs it. Legal information, not legal advice. Last verified: 2026-06-01.

IMPORTANT — Queens is NOT an RPTL Article 11 county. Queens is coterminous with the Borough of Queens in New York City. NYC’s five counties enforce delinquent property charges under the NYC Administrative Code Title 11, Chapter 4 (Tax Lien Foreclosure by Action In Rem) and the annual tax-lien sale, not under RPTL Article 11 (the upstate in rem scheme described on the new-york parent page). Two distinct tracks operate here: (A) the DOF tax-lien sale to a trust, and (B) the in rem foreclosure / Third Party Transfer (TPT) program run jointly by DOF and HPD. See C1/C5.

C0. Identity

  • County seat / borough: Queens County is coterminous with the Borough of Queens, City of New York. Borough/county government centers on Queens Borough Hall, 120-55 Queens Blvd, Kew Gardens, NY 11424; the historic county seat is Long Island City. Census QuickFacts — Queens County
  • Population: 2,405,464 (2020 Census). Census QuickFacts — Queens County
  • Recording unit type: borough (NYC) — deeds/mortgages recorded with the NYC City Register (Queens office), not a county recorder.
  • FIPS: 36081
  • Parent legal framework: new-york

C1. Local Tax Sale

  • Conducts own sale? Functionally No — NYC does not auction parcels the way upstate counties do. Instead the NYC Department of Finance (DOF) runs an annual tax-lien sale: the City sells the lien (not the property) to an authorized trust (a private investor cannot buy a lien directly). The trust services the debt and may then foreclose judicially in NY Supreme Court if unpaid. A separate in rem / Third Party Transfer track exists for distressed multi-charge properties (see C5). NYC DOF — Property Lien Sales · NYC DOF — In Rem (TPT)
  • CURRENT STATUS (2026) — lien sale halted/being abolished: In late 2025 the NYC Council passed a package of bills (Intro 570-A, 1407, 1411, 1419, 1420) shifting lien sales from a Delaware trust to a city land bank and restricting foreclosure on owner-occupied primary residences; the Council overrode vetoes on 2026-01-29, and the incoming administration moved to halt/suspend the private lien sale. Treat the lien sale as suspended / in transition — confirm the current year’s status directly with DOF before relying on it. NYC Council press release, 2025-11-13 · IBO — NYC’s Tax Lien Sale (Apr 2026)
  • Platform / venue:
    • Lien sale: administrative sale to the trust — not a public bidding platform (no RealAuction/GovEase/Bid4Assets). DOF Lien Sales
    • Trust’s foreclosure auctions (judicial): held in person at the Queens County Supreme Courthouse, 88-11 Sutphin Blvd, Jamaica, NY 11435 (Civil Term, foreclosure auction part), supervised by a court-appointed Referee. Queens Supreme Civil — Residential Foreclosure Part
  • Calendar / frequency: lien sale historically annual (a sale was noticed for 2025-06-03 before the reform/suspension). Next known sale: none confirmed — needs_verification given the 2026 suspension. City Limits — NYC’s Tax Lien Sale
  • Interest rate (set within NYC’s own code, not RPTL § 924-a): on charges sold at lien sale, 6% per annum compounded daily for property with assessed value ≤ $250,000; 9% per annum compounded daily for higher-valued property. (NYC sets its own rate; the statewide § 924-a 1%/month rate on the new-york page does not govern NYC lien-sale charges.) NYC DOF — Property Lien Sales
  • Registration / deposit / bidder requirements: N/A for the lien sale (sold to the trust, not bid by the public). For trust foreclosure auctions, bidder/deposit terms are set by the Referee/court per Queens Supreme Court foreclosure auction rules. Specific deposit figure needs_verification.
  • Delinquent / lien-sale list location: the at-risk lien sale list is published by DOF (updated periodically before the sale) and made available for public inspection at the applicable Office of the City Register, including the Queens City Register office; the list is also published as open data. NYC DOF — Property Lien Sales · NYC Open Data — Tax Lien Sale Lists

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

  • Where/how to redeem (lien sale): pay or enter a payment agreement with DOF before the sale date to be removed from the lien sale list; partial payment exclusions and exemption/installment programs apply. NYC DOF — Property Lien Sales
  • Redemption (in rem / TPT track): under NYC Admin Code § 11-407 an interested party may redeem by paying all taxes, charges, interest and penalties within the period fixed in the published notice (at least ten weeks after first publication). For Class 1 and 2 (1–3 unit residential / small residential) parcels, § 11-412.1 provides a four-month post-judgment window to pay and prevent the City from taking title. NYC Admin Code Title 11, Ch. 4
  • Post-vesting release: even after the City records its in rem deed, § 11-424 lets a party with a prior interest apply to the City for release of the property within two years by paying outstanding taxes/interest plus a 5% penalty (capped at $1,000) — subject to the City’s discretion. NYC Admin Code § 11-424
  • Redemption contact: DOF via 311 / nyc.gov/finance; in rem questions via NYC311 — In Rem Foreclosure.
  • Deviations from state default: NYC’s redemption mechanics (Admin Code Ch. 4, § 11-407 ten-week / § 11-412.1 four-month / § 11-424 two-year release) replace the RPTL § 1110 two-year-from-lien-date default used upstate. See new-york.

C3. Local Surplus / Excess Proceeds → framework: surplus-funds, third-party-recovery-rules

  • Two very different surplus pictures — know which track applies:
    1. Trust foreclosure (judicial, RPAPL Art. 13): if the trust forecloses and the auction yields more than the debt + costs, the excess is surplus money paid into court and claimed via a surplus money proceeding in the Queens County Supreme Court / County Clerk. This is the normal recovery path for most former Queens homeowners.
    2. In rem / Third Party Transfer (NYC Admin Code Ch. 4): historically the City simply vested title and the former owner received nothing above the lien — a regime squarely implicating tyler-v-hennepin-county. Post-Tyler exposure for these TPT vestings is being litigated; do not assume a TPT former owner has an automatic surplus payout. needs_verification. NYSBA — Claiming Surplus in NY In Rem Tax Foreclosures · In Rem Tax Foreclosure Action No. 53 (2023 NY Slip Op 02713)
  • Claim filing venue (judicial surplus): Queens County Clerk’s Office / Supreme Court, Civil Term — 88-11 Sutphin Blvd, Jamaica, NY 11435; the Referee files the Report of Sale and deposits surplus with the County Clerk, and claimants bring a surplus money proceeding there. Queens Supreme Civil — Residential Foreclosure Part
  • Claim form: Foreclosure Action Surplus Monies Form (statewide UCS fillable form) plus a notice of claim / motion in the surplus proceeding. UCS Surplus Monies Form (fillable) · UCS — Instructions to Claim Surplus Monies
  • Local deadline notes: the Referee must file the Report of Sale within 30 days of completing the sale (and explain to the County Clerk if not filed within 90 days). If no one claims the surplus after five (5) years, the County Clerk turns the funds over to the NYS Office of the State Comptroller as abandoned property. (Contrast the RPTL upstate rule on new-york, where unclaimed RPTL surplus instead reduces the tax district’s levy.) Queens Supreme Foreclosure Part
  • Unclaimed-funds list published? Not a Queens-specific list; turned-over surplus appears in the NYS Comptroller unclaimed-funds database. NYS Comptroller — Unclaimed Funds
  • Contact: Queens County Clerk (718) 298-0605; surplus/Law-and-Equity desk at 88-11 Sutphin Blvd. Named officer needs_verification. Queens County Clerk’s Office

C4. Offices & Contacts

OfficeNameAddressPhoneURL
Treasurer / Tax Collector (charges, lien sale, in rem)NYC Department of Finance (DOF)NYC DOF; 311 / borough business centers311 (212-NEW-YORK)https://www.nyc.gov/site/finance/index.page
Clerk of Court (surplus, foreclosure filings)Queens County Clerk — Supreme Court, Civil Term88-11 Sutphin Blvd, Jamaica, NY 11435(718) 298-0605https://ww2.nycourts.gov/COURTS/11jd/queensclerk/index.shtml
Recorder / Register of DeedsNYC City Register — Queens Office144-06 94th Ave, Jamaica, NY 11435(212) 487-6300 (ACRIS Contact Center)https://www.nyc.gov/site/finance/property/acris.page
Sheriff (does not conduct these sales)N/A — court-appointed Referee runs foreclosure auctionsQueens Supreme Courthouse, 88-11 Sutphin Blvd—https://www.nycourts.gov/courts/11th-judicial-district/queens-county-supreme-court-civil-term

C5. Local Procedure Notes

  • NYC code, not RPTL Art. 11: Queens delinquent-charge enforcement runs under NYC Admin Code Title 11, Ch. 4 (§§ 11-401 et seq.) — Foreclosure by action in rem (§ 11-404), public notice (§ 11-406), redemption (§ 11-407), Class 1/2 four-month post-judgment redemption (§ 11-412.1), release within two years (§ 11-424). NYC Admin Code Ch. 4 · DOF rules — Foreclosure of Tax Liens by Action In Rem
  • Lien sale vs. in rem are different tracks. Most Queens delinquencies route through the lien sale → trust → judicial foreclosure (surplus to court). The TPT in rem program targets distressed multi-charge buildings via DOF/HPD and historically returned no surplus to the owner. NYC311 — In Rem Foreclosure
  • 2026 reform in flight: land-bank legislation (Intro 570-A et al.) replaces the trust; new owner-occupant foreclosure restrictions delay foreclosure on owner-occupied 1–3 unit homes until the debt crosses a value/dollar threshold. Reported thresholds conflict across sources (e.g., 20% of market value / 70,000 elsewhere) — needs_verification. NYC Council press release · The Real Deal — land bank
  • Notable quirks: (1) Interest is 6%/9% compounded daily by assessed value, not § 924-a’s 1%/month. (2) Unclaimed judicial surplus escheats to the State Comptroller after 5 years (vs. RPTL surplus reducing the district levy upstate). (3) Recording is via the City Register / ACRIS, not a county recorder.

C6. Records Access

C7. Meta

Legal information, not legal advice. This page summarizes New York City / Queens County operational procedures as of the last_verified date and may be incomplete or out of date; NYC’s tax-lien-sale regime is actively being reformed and suspended (2025–2026) and post-Tyler surplus practice is unsettled. Verify against the cited official sources and consult a licensed New York attorney before acting.

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