Louisiana — Tax & Mortgage Foreclosure

Legal information, not legal advice. Verify against the cited primary sources before acting. Last verified: 2026-06-02.

MAJOR TRANSITION IN EFFECT. Louisiana voters ratified Amendment 4 (Acts 2024, No. 409 / SB 119) on December 7, 2024, rewriting La. Const. art. VII, § 25 and converting Louisiana from a tax-sale-title regime to a true tax lien certificate regime. The new framework (Title 47, Subtitle III, Chapter 5, Part… — the “tax lien” articles, R.S. 47:2151 et seq.) is effective January 1, 2026. Tax sales and certificates issued before Jan 1, 2026 remain governed by the prior tax-sale-title law (old R.S. 47:2121 et seq.). This page describes the current (post-2026) tax-lien law as the operative regime, and flags the prior regime where it still controls pre-2026 certificates and where the case law arose under it.

0. Identity & Classification

• Recording unit: parish (count: 64). The parish Clerk of Court is the ex-officio Recorder of Mortgages / Register of Conveyances in every parish except Orleans, which has a separate Recorder of Mortgages/Register of Conveyances. [eClerks LA / parish clerk recording] (source_url: https://www.sttammanyclerk.org/departments/recording/)
• Property-tax collector: the parish Sheriff (ex-officio tax collector) in the 63 non-Orleans parishes; the City of New Orleans in Orleans Parish. (source_url: https://www.sttammanyclerk.org/departments/recording/)
• Tax sale type: tax_lien_certificate (post-2026). What is sold and recorded in the mortgage records is a tax lien certificate, not a deed/title. R.S. 47:2153: “I will sell by public auction … the tax lien. I will issue in favor of the winning bidder and record in the mortgage records a tax lien certificate.” (source_url: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/LawPrint.aspx?d=631545)
  • Prior regime (pre-2026): a “tax sale title,” which Louisiana courts had already construed as a lien-like interest, not full ownership.
• Tax foreclosure process: judicial (post-2026). An unredeemed tax lien is enforced by a post-redemptive-period judicial action to seize and sell the collateral, modeled on mortgage foreclosure, culminating in a sheriff’s sale. (source_url: https://www.lienspot.com/blog/louisiana-becomes-a-tax-lien-state-in-2026)
• Mortgage foreclosure process: judicial (executory or ordinary process; no non-judicial power-of-sale). (source_url: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/summary-louisianas-foreclosure-laws.html)
• Selling authority: sheriff (ex-officio tax collector) / City of New Orleans for the lien auction; sheriff for the post-redemption seizure sale.
• Statutory home: La. Const. art. VII, § 25 (Acts 2024, No. 409, eff. 1/1/2026); La. R.S. Title 47, Subtitle III, Chapter 5 (tax-lien articles, R.S. 47:2151 et seq.). (source_url: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=206555)
• Tyler v. Hennepin compliance: reformed_post_Tyler. The pre-2026 system used an ownership-percentage bid-down with no mechanism to return surplus equity to the owner — the precise defect condemned in tyler-v-hennepin-county. The 2026 reform replaces it with an interest-rate bid-down lien and a judicial sheriff’s sale at which the former owner receives any surplus proceeds. (source_url: https://www.taxsaleresources.com/blog/louisiana-post-tyler-v-hennepin)

1. Tax Sale Mechanics

• What is sold: a tax lien certificate securing the delinquent statutory impositions (taxes, interest, penalties, costs); recorded in the mortgage records; prima facie evidence of the lien’s validity and its assignment to the purchaser. R.S. 47:2153. (source_url: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/LawPrint.aspx?d=631545)
• Bidding method: bid_down_interest. Bidding starts at the statutory maximum 1% per month (12%/yr) and bidders bid the monthly rate down in increments of one-tenth of one percent, to a floor of 0.7%/month (8.4%/yr); lowest rate wins (first-to-bid breaks ties). Winner receives a 100% collateral interest in the lien (no more ownership-percentage splitting). R.S. 47:2154. (source_url: https://www.lienspot.com/blog/louisiana-becomes-a-tax-lien-state-in-2026)
  • Prior regime (pre-2026): bid_down_ownership_pct — bidders bid down the percentage of ownership taken, which produced fractional co-ownership and gave the owner no path to surplus. (source_url: https://www.taxsaleresources.com/blog/louisiana-post-tyler-v-hennepin)
• Interest / penalty: interest not to exceed 1% per month, noncompounding, from January 1 (subject to the bid-down result), plus a 5% penalty on redemption/termination. La. Const. art. VII, § 25 (“interest … not to exceed one percent per month on a noncompounding basis”); R.S. 47:2153. (source_url: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=206555) (source_url: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/LawPrint.aspx?d=631545)
• Minimum bid composition: delinquent statutory impositions = unpaid ad valorem taxes + accrued interest + statutory penalties + costs/fees of sale. R.S. 47:2153. (source_url: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/LawPrint.aspx?d=631545)
• Sale frequency / typical month: annual cycle. Statute keys the process to a delinquency notice “no later than the first Monday of February of each year,” with auctions following thereafter (parish calendars vary). R.S. 47:2153. (source_url: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/LawPrint.aspx?d=631545)
• Venue / platforms: both in-person and online; parish-by-parish (commonly CivicSource/other vendors in larger parishes). See county pages. (needs_verification — specific 2026 platform vendors per parish)
• Registration / deposit: parish-specific. (needs_verification)
• Subsequent taxes (“subs”): the certificate holder’s lien secures the delinquency it bought; later-year delinquencies generate their own liens/auctions. (needs_verification — exact 2026 treatment of subsequent-year payments by the lien holder)

2. Right of Redemption → see right-of-redemption

• Pre-sale right: the owner may pay the delinquency at any time before the lien auction to stop it. (source_url: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/LawPrint.aspx?d=631545)
• Post-sale period: 3 years from the date of recordation of the tax lien certificate, during which enforcement (the seizure suit) is prohibited. La. Const. art. VII, § 25(B)(1): “property sold shall be redeemable for three years after the date of recordation.” This is a peremptive period. (source_url: https://codes.findlaw.com/la/louisiana-constitution-of-1974/la-const-art-vii-sect-25/)
  • 18-month shortened period for property that was blighted or abandoned (so declared before the sale) — historically Orleans only, extended to vacant blighted/abandoned residential/commercial property in other parishes. La. Const. art. VII, § 25(B)(2). (source_url: https://www.bswllp.com/?t=18&dd=11130&format=xml&p=4875)
• Who may redeem / terminate: the tax debtor and other “tax sale parties” / interested parties of record (owners, mortgagees, lienholders). R.S. 47:2156, 47:2206. (source_url: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=631581)
• Redemption (termination) amount formula: price paid at auction + interest at the bid rate (≤1%/mo, noncompounding) + 5% penalty + costs, including the certificate holder’s noticing costs capped at $500. The aggregate is the statutory “termination price” computed under R.S. 47:2243. La. Const. art. VII, § 25(B)(1); R.S. 47:2153; R.S. 47:2156. (source_url: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/LawPrint.aspx?d=631545)
• Premium to certificate holder: the 5% penalty + accrued interest is the holder’s return; no separate redemption premium beyond that. (source_url: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/LawPrint.aspx?d=631545)
• Procedure: pay the termination payment to the tax collector, who issues and records a termination/redemption certificate in the tax debtor’s name (R.S. 47:2243–2245). (source_url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/revised-statutes/title-47/rs-47-2155/)
• Extinguishment of the right: by failure to redeem before the post-redemption enforcement suit ripens; the 7-year statute of limitations to enforce the unredeemed lien runs from recordation, leaving roughly 4 years post-redemption for the holder to foreclose. (source_url: https://www.lienspot.com/blog/louisiana-becomes-a-tax-lien-state-in-2026)
• Special tolling: (needs_verification — minors/interdicts, SCRA, bankruptcy treatment under the new tax-lien articles)

3. Surplus / Excess Proceeds → see surplus-funds, third-party-recovery-rules

• Belongs to: priority_waterfall, with the former owner taking the residue. This is the central post-Tyler change: the unredeemed lien is enforced by a judicial sheriff’s sale; the sale proceeds pay the lien (taxes/interest/ penalty), the holder’s attorney fees and costs, then other ranking encumbrances, and “the property owner will receive any surplus sale proceeds.” (source_url: https://www.taxsaleresources.com/blog/louisiana-post-tyler-v-hennepin) La. Const. art. VII, § 25 directs the legislature to provide “procedures for owners to claim the excess proceeds resulting from the tax sale.” (source_url: https://ballotpedia.org/Louisiana_Amendment_4,_Property_Tax_Payments_and_Tax_Sales_Amendment_(December_2024))
  • Prior regime (pre-2026): the ownership-percentage bid-down generated no surplus to the owner — the Tyler-vulnerable design now superseded.
• Claim waterfall (sheriff’s sale of the collateral):
  1. Costs of the seizure/sale and the sheriff’s commission
  2. The tax lien (taxes + interest at bid rate + 5% penalty + costs) and the certificate holder’s attorney fees/costs
  3. Other recorded encumbrances by rank
  4. Residue to the former owner / tax debtor (source_url: https://www.taxsaleresources.com/blog/louisiana-post-tyler-v-hennepin)
• Filing venue: the court of the judicial seizure-and-sale proceeding; surplus is distributed by the sheriff through that proceeding. Unclaimed funds flow to the Louisiana unclaimed-property administrator (State Treasurer). (needs_verification — exact venue article in the 2026 enforcement statute and the precise mechanism for claiming residue)
• Claim deadline / escheat: surplus the former owner does not collect is reported and remitted as abandoned/unclaimed property under the Louisiana Uniform Unclaimed Property Act, R.S. 9:151 et seq., and is reclaimable from the Treasurer. (source_url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/revised-statutes/title-9/rs-9-159/) (needs_verification — specific dormancy period that applies to judicial-sale surplus and the exact claim deadline in the 2026 tax-lien enforcement article)
• Documentation required: proof of ownership/identity and the judicial-sale record. (needs_verification — official claim form)
• Third-party recovery (surplus / unclaimed-property “finders”):
  • fee_cap_pct: 10% — Louisiana caps locator/finder compensation at 10% of the recoverable property for any agreement to recover unclaimed property entered 24 months or more after the property was paid/delivered to the administrator. R.S. 9:177 (La. Uniform Unclaimed Property Act). (source_url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/revised-statutes/title-9/rs-9-159/)
  • agreements before that window: finder agreements are prohibited / unenforceable for property not yet reportable or within the early window; the Act restricts agreements until the property has been reported. (source_url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/revised-statutes/title-9/rs-9-159/)
  • licensing_required: (needs_verification — whether a finder/locator must be separately licensed; the Act governs by contract rules, not a license regime)
  • assignment_of_claim_allowed: (needs_verification)
  • cooling_off_period: (needs_verification)
  • contract_disclosure_rules: agreement must be a signed writing disclosing the nature and value of the property and the fee; otherwise unenforceable. (needs_verification — exact disclosure terms in R.S. 9:177)
  • prohibited_practices: charging above the 10% cap; agreements entered before the property is reportable. (source_url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/revised-statutes/title-9/rs-9-159/)
  • citation: La. R.S. 9:177 (and R.S. 9:151 et seq.).
  • Note: the 10% cap is the unclaimed-property finder rule. Whether a pre-escheat surplus-recovery contract (signed while funds are still with the sheriff/court) is governed by R.S. 9:177 or by general Civil Code mandate/contract law is (needs_verification).
• Notice to former owner required? Yes — the lien holder must send mandatory redemption-rights notice to all tax-auction parties between 18 and 36 months before filing the post-redemption seizure suit, and post-sale notice under R.S. 47:2156. (source_url: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/LawPrint.aspx?d=631545)

▸ For Investors / Operators — Under the post-2026 tax-lien regime, the auction sells a recorded tax lien certificate (interest bid down 1% → 0.7%/month), not a deed; enforcement is by a judicial seizure-and-sale, and the former owner takes any surplus from the sheriff’s sale. Before committing capital, weigh the 3-year (18-month for blighted/abandoned) peremptive redemption risk (§2/2b — the lien is assignable under R.S. 47:2164, and any “tax lien auction party” may pay the termination price), the path to marketable/insurable title (§5b — the judicial enforcement proceeding plus quiet-title/monition routes, against the absolute-nullity exposure for no-notice sales under Smitko), and which encumbrances survive (§7b — senior mortgages and privileges outranking the tax lien, R.S. 33:4754 municipal blight liens, R.S. 30:2276 state environmental super-liens, and the IRS § 7425 120-day redemption).

▸ For Former Owners — When the post-redemption sheriff’s sale brings more than the tax lien, interest, penalty, costs, and ranking encumbrances, the residue belongs to the former owner/tax debtor (La. Const. art. VII, § 25). The political subdivision must notify each tax lien auction party of excess proceeds within 30 days of the sale (R.S. 47:2206); the residue is distributed by the sheriff through the judicial proceeding, and unclaimed funds escheat to the Louisiana unclaimed-property administrator (State Treasurer) under R.S. 9:151 et seq., where they remain reclaimable.

4. Mortgage Foreclosure

• Process: judicial only. Two routes:
  • Executory process — summary; lender uses a note/mortgage “importing a confession of judgment” (authentic act) and obtains an order for the sheriff to seize and sell, sometimes within days, without ordinary citation. C.C.P. arts. 2631 et seq. (source_url: https://www.louisianalawblog.com/bankruptcy-and-business-reorganization/executory-process-foreclosure-on-real-estate-in-louisiana/)
  • Ordinary process — a standard suit on the debt/mortgage. Less common. (source_url: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/summary-louisianas-foreclosure-laws.html)
• Timeline: executory process can move from petition to seizure order in days; the sheriff’s sale follows statutory advertising. (needs_verification — exact day counts for advertising and sale) (source_url: https://www.louisianalawblog.com/bankruptcy-and-business-reorganization/executory-process-foreclosure-on-real-estate-in-louisiana/)
• Reinstatement / stopping the sale: the borrower can stop the sale by paying the judgment amount with interest and costs before sale; no general statutory reinstatement-by-arrears right. (source_url: https://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/foreclosure/foreclosure-in-louisiana.html)
• Redemption after sale: none. Louisiana provides no post-sale redemption period after a mortgage foreclosure sale. (source_url: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/summary-louisianas-foreclosure-laws.html)
• Deficiency judgment: allowed only if the sale was conducted “with appraisal.” Bidding opens at two-thirds (2/3) of the appraised value on a sale with appraisal; a creditor who sells without appraisal waives any deficiency. (source_url: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/deficiency-judgments-after-foreclosure-louisiana.html)
• Surplus distribution: sheriff applies proceeds to costs, then the seizing creditor and ranking encumbrances; residue to the owner. (source_url: https://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/foreclosure/foreclosure-in-louisiana.html)
• Sale officer: sheriff.

5. Sale Procedure Playbooks

• Tax-collector / sheriff tax-lien auction — ordered steps → see treasurer-sale
  1. Delinquency notice by certified mail (no later than first Monday of February).
  2. Advertisement / publication of the auction.
  3. Public tax lien auction; bid down the monthly interest rate (1% → 0.7%); lowest rate / first-to-bid wins a 100% collateral interest.
  4. Tax collector issues and records a tax lien certificate in the mortgage records; certificate is assignable (R.S. 47:2164).
  5. 3-year redemption (18-month for blighted/abandoned) runs from recordation, barring enforcement.
  6. Mandatory redemption-rights notice 18–36 months before suit; then a judicial seizure-and-sell action; if the termination price is unpaid within 30 days of completed service, the property goes to sheriff’s sale, with surplus to the former owner. (source_url: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/LawPrint.aspx?d=631545) (source_url: https://www.lienspot.com/blog/louisiana-becomes-a-tax-lien-state-in-2026)
• Sheriff sale (mortgage/seizure) — ordered steps → see sheriff-sale
  1. Petition (executory or ordinary); order to seize and sell.
  2. Seizure + appraisal (if “with appraisal”).
  3. Advertising / publication.
  4. Public sale; bidding opens at 2/3 of appraised value (with appraisal).
  5. Sheriff distributes proceeds; residue to owner. (source_url: https://www.louisianalawblog.com/bankruptcy-and-business-reorganization/executory-process-foreclosure-on-real-estate-in-louisiana/)
• Notice requirements: certified-mail delinquency notice; statutory publication; mandatory pre-suit redemption notice (18–36 months) and post-sale notice under R.S. 47:2156, which the Supreme Court held may be given by either the tax collector or the purchaser (Central Properties). (source_url: https://law.justia.com/cases/louisiana/supreme-court/2017/2016-c-1855.html) (needs_verification — exact publication week-count under the 2026 statute)
• Upset bid / confirmation: no North-Carolina-style upset-bid; sheriff’s sale is confirmed by adjudication; appraisal floor (2/3) governs the minimum on a sale with appraisal. (source_url: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/deficiency-judgments-after-foreclosure-louisiana.html)
• Payment terms / deed issued: sheriff issues a sheriff’s deed/process verbal; tax-lien auction issues a recorded certificate, not a deed. The collateral property passes to the buyer only after the post-redemption sheriff’s sale. (needs_verification — deed warranty level on the post-redemption sheriff’s sale)

6. Due Process & Notice → see due-process-notice

• Standard: mullane-v-central-hanover “reasonably calculated” notice; mennonite-v-adams requires actual (mailed) notice to owners and mortgagees of record; jones-v-flowers requires additional steps when mail is returned.
• Required attempts: certified-mail delinquency notice to the record owner; mandatory pre-suit redemption notice (18–36 months) to all tax-auction parties; post-sale notice (R.S. 47:2156). (source_url: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/LawPrint.aspx?d=631545)
• Consequence of defective notice: a tax sale conducted without constitutionally adequate pre-sale notice is an absolute nullity — “no legal force or effect” — and may be attacked even after the action-to-annul period lapses. Smitko v. Gulf South Shrimp. (source_url: https://law.justia.com/cases/louisiana/supreme-court/2012/2011-c-2566.html)
• Leading cases: smitko-v-gulf-south-shrimp-2012, central-properties-v-fairway-gardenhomes, cititax-group-v-gibert-2012, quantum-resources-v-pirate-lake-oil, mennonite-v-adams.

7. Title & Marketability

• Deed warranty level: none from the state; the tax-lien certificate is not a deed. Post-redemption sheriff’s sale conveys subject to the proceeding’s defects; no warranty. (needs_verification — exact warranty on 2026 sheriff’s deed)
• Marketable immediately? No. Title from the old tax-sale-title system required a suit to quiet title / confirm, and a defective-notice sale is an absolute nullity attackable indefinitely (Smitko). Marketability under the 2026 sheriff-sale route still depends on clean notice and the judicial proceeding. (source_url: https://law.justia.com/cases/louisiana/supreme-court/2012/2011-c-2566.html)
• Quiet title required: historically yes (action to quiet/confirm tax title); (needs_verification — confirmation procedure under the post-2026 sheriff-sale route).
• SOL to challenge: the constitutional peremptive periods (3 years; 18 months blighted) bar most challenges, but absolute-nullity (no-notice) attacks survive peremption (Smitko); pre-Mennonite (pre-1983) sales may be insulated by peremption under Quantum Resources. (source_url: https://law.justia.com/cases/louisiana/supreme-court/2013/2012-c-1472.html)
• Title insurance availability: generally only after quiet-title/confirmation and expiry of redemption; insurers historically cautious on Louisiana tax titles. (needs_verification — current insurer practice under 2026 regime)
• Common defects: defective certified-mail notice; failure to notify mortgagees of record; misaddressed/returned mail; blight/abandonment misclassification affecting the 18-month vs 3-year period.

8. Case Law (real, verified)

9. Edge Cases (state-specific notes)

• bankruptcy-automatic-stay — A Chapter 13 filing stays the tax-lien seizure suit and sheriff’s sale; redemption/termination deadlines interact with the bankruptcy estate. (needs_verification — tolling of the 3-year peremptive period in bankruptcy under the 2026 articles.)
• federal-tax-lien-redemption — The IRS holds a 120-day post-sale redemption right (26 U.S.C. § 7425) when a federal tax lien is junior and properly noticed. (needs_verification — interaction with Louisiana sheriff’s sale notice.)
• heirs-property — Common in Louisiana succession/co-ownership; defective notice to one co-owner/heir of record can void the whole sale (cf. Smitko nullity rule). (source_url: https://law.justia.com/cases/louisiana/supreme-court/2012/2011-c-2566.html)
• blighted-abandoned-property — Pre-sale declaration of blight/abandonment cuts the redemption period from 3 years to 18 months (Orleans, and vacant blighted/abandoned residential/commercial in other parishes). La. Const. art. VII, § 25(B)(2). (source_url: https://www.bswllp.com/?t=18&dd=11130&format=xml&p=4875)
• void-vs-voidable — Louisiana treats no-notice tax sales as absolutely null (not merely voidable/relatively null), surviving peremption (Smitko); but pre-1983 sales perempted before Mennonite are insulated (Quantum Resources). (source_url: https://law.justia.com/cases/louisiana/supreme-court/2012/2011-c-2566.html)
• scra-protections — (needs_verification — Louisiana tolling for servicemembers under the 2026 tax-lien articles.)

10. Operations

• Where records live: parish Clerk of Court (Recorder of Mortgages / Conveyances) in 63 parishes; Orleans has its own Recorder of Mortgages / Register of Conveyances. Tax bills/collection: parish Sheriff (City of New Orleans in Orleans). (source_url: https://www.sttammanyclerk.org/departments/recording/)
• Public portals: eClerks LA statewide mortgage/conveyance index (https://www.eclerksla.com / parish clerk sites); Louisiana Unclaimed Property (https://louisiana.findyourunclaimedproperty.com/) for escheated surplus. (source_url: https://www.sttammanyclerk.org/departments/recording/)
• Typical costs: lien purchase = delinquency + costs; redemption/termination = price + interest (≤1%/mo) + 5% penalty + noticing costs (capped $500); recording fees per parish. (source_url: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/LawPrint.aspx?d=631545)
• Typical timelines: 3-year redemption (18-month blighted) from recordation; 7-year SOL to enforce the lien (≈4 years post-redemption to foreclose); 30 days after service to pay termination price before sheriff’s sale. (source_url: https://www.lienspot.com/blog/louisiana-becomes-a-tax-lien-state-in-2026)
• Key agencies: parish Sheriffs (tax collectors), City of New Orleans Bureau of Treasury, parish Clerks of Court, Louisiana Department of Revenue, Louisiana State Treasurer (Unclaimed Property).
• Useful forms: tax lien certificate; termination/redemption certificate (R.S. 47:2243–2245); unclaimed-property claim form (Treasurer). (needs_verification — official form numbers/links under 2026 regime.)

2b. Redemption Advanced

Assignability of the statutory redemption (termination) right

• Is the right assignable? The post-2026 tax-lien statute defines “tax lien auction party” broadly to include the tax debtor, the owner at the time of the auction, lessees with recorded leases, and holders of recorded mortgages and encumbrances — each of whom has independent standing to pay the termination price and extinguish the lien (R.S. 47:2122; La. Const. art. VII, § 25(B)(1)). The prior regime’s R.S. 47:2153 (pre-2026) used the phrase “the tax debtor or any person interested personally or as heir, legatee, creditor, or otherwise,” which courts read to permit payment by virtually any interested party. The new articles preserve this breadth. Under Louisiana’s Civil Code framework, a personal right (créance) can generally be assigned by the holder (CC Art. 2642 et seq.) unless the right is strictly personal; the right to pay a lien to extinguish it is not strictly personal.
• Restrictions: No statute expressly prohibits assignment of the redemption right; however, no statute expressly authorizes a formal “assignment” to a non-listed third party either. Under the new regime the mechanism is simply: any “tax lien auction party” (R.S. 47:2122) pays the termination price directly to the tax collector (R.S. 47:2243). Persons not listed would need to acquire the debtor’s interest by a deed/transfer first, or proceed through succession/probate.
  • needs_verification — explicit statutory authorization (or prohibition) of outright assignment of the termination right to a pure stranger under the 2026 articles.
• Statute / citation: La. Const. art. VII, § 25(B)(1); R.S. 47:2122 (definitions); R.S. 47:2243 (termination payment). (source_url: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=206555) (source_url: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/LawPrint.aspx?d=631506)
• Purchase mechanism: Payment of the termination price to the tax collector; the tax collector issues and records a termination certificate (R.S. 47:2244–2245). No court approval required for a listed tax lien auction party.

Equitable redemption

• Distinct from statutory? Louisiana does not recognize an independent equitable right of redemption separate from the statutory (constitutional) right. Louisiana follows civil law; equity operates only through the Civil Code. The constitutional 3-year peremptive period (La. Const. art. VII, § 25(B)(1)) is exclusive. However, courts apply the absolute-nullity doctrine (Smitko) which functions similarly to equitable relief in notice-defect cases: an owner can attack a no-notice sale at any time, even after the peremptive period, as an absolute nullity. (source_url: https://law.justia.com/cases/louisiana/supreme-court/2012/2011-c-2566.html)
• Available pre-sale only? The pre-sale right to pay delinquency before the auction is statutory (R.S. 47:2153), not equitable. It runs until the lien auction occurs.
• Notes: Louisiana’s civil law tradition means “equitable redemption” as a common-law doctrine is not operative; the nullity/absolute-nullity doctrine is the functional equivalent for notice-defect attacks.

Installment redemption

• Permitted? No statutory installment-redemption right. The termination price must be paid in full in a single payment to extinguish the lien (R.S. 47:2243).
• Citation: R.S. 47:2243. (source_url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/2012/rs/title47/rs47-2243)

Assignment of the tax lien certificate by the purchaser (mid-redemption)

• Permitted? Yes. R.S. 47:2164 expressly provides: “A tax lien certificate may be assigned by the tax lien certificate holder to any person not prohibited from purchasing the delinquent obligation by R.S. 47:2162.” (source_url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/revised-statutes/title-47/rs-47-2164/)
• Restrictions: The assignee must not be a prohibited person under R.S. 47:2162 (see Module 11b). Assignment must be recorded with the recorder of mortgages and notice delivered to the tax collector (R.S. 47:2164). Any assignment of a certificate issued to a political subdivision for less than the full delinquency shall not be considered a donation of public property. (source_url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/revised-statutes/title-47/rs-47-2164/)
• Statute: R.S. 47:2164. (source_url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/revised-statutes/title-47/rs-47-2164/)

3b. Surplus Advanced

Claim assignability

• Full assignment permitted? The post-2026 surplus right belongs to the former owner by operation of law at the post-redemption sheriff’s sale. Louisiana Civil Code Articles 2642 et seq. allow assignment of patrimonial rights generally. There is no statute expressly prohibiting outright assignment of the former owner’s surplus claim in the judicial foreclosure proceeding (as opposed to a fee agreement). However, the applicable unclaimed-property finder-fee cap (R.S. 9:177) governs only fee agreements for locating escheated property with the State Treasurer — it does not govern pre-escheat outright assignments of a surplus claim held in court.
  • needs_verification — whether a pre-escheat surplus assignment (while funds remain with the sheriff/court) is subject to R.S. 9:177 or only to general Civil Code mandate/contract principles.
• Assignment vs. fee agreement: R.S. 9:177 applies to “agreements to locate property” paid to the State Treasurer — it governs the fee a locator may charge (≤ 10% if the agreement is entered ≥ 24 months after delivery to the administrator), not an outright assignment of the claim. Under Civil Code principles, a creditor’s outright assignment of a claim is enforceable between the parties and against the debtor/obligor upon notice. (source_url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/revised-statutes/title-9/rs-9-177/)
• Fee cap applies to assignments? The 10% cap in R.S. 9:177 governs locator agreements; it does not on its face apply to an outright purchase of the claim at a discount. However, courts may treat substance over form.
  • needs_verification.
• Statute: R.S. 9:177 (effective as amended by Acts 2023, No. 351). (source_url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/revised-statutes/title-9/rs-9-177/)

Statute of limitations on surplus claims

• Period: The surplus from a sheriff’s sale (judicial sale) is distributed by the sheriff through the judicial proceeding (C.C.P. art. 2373). Unclaimed surplus passes to the Louisiana Unclaimed Property program under R.S. 9:151 et seq.
• Trigger date: Date of the sheriff’s sale / date proceeds are held by the sheriff or deposited with the court.
• Dormancy / escheat: Under Louisiana’s Uniform Unclaimed Property Act, court-held funds have a dormancy period of 5 years before reporting and remittance to the State Treasurer is required. After remittance, the former owner may claim from the Treasurer with no absolute time bar (claims to the Treasurer are reclaimable indefinitely under R.S. 9:151 et seq.).
  • needs_verification — specific dormancy period applicable to surplus funds held by a sheriff or clerk following a judicial tax-lien enforcement sale under the 2026 articles; the general Act uses 5 years for court-held funds but the specific enforcement-article provision was not retrieved.
• Citation: C.C.P. art. 2373; La. R.S. 9:151 et seq. (Uniform Unclaimed Property Act). (source_url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/revised-statutes/title-9/rs-9-159/)

Deceased owner procedure

• Probate (succession) required first? Louisiana calls probate “succession.” Succession is filed in the district court of the parish where the decedent was domiciled. The succession representative (executor or administrator) administers the estate’s assets, which include the right to claim surplus proceeds.
• Personal representative has standing? Yes. A duly appointed succession representative has standing to claim the surplus on behalf of the estate.
• Direct heir claim? For very small estates (≤ $125,000) Louisiana allows a small succession affidavit without court proceedings (La. R.S. 9:1421 et seq.), which heirs may use to assert succession claims including surplus funds. For larger estates, formal succession administration is required before heirs act individually.
• Notes: Louisiana’s forced heirship rules (Civil Code art. 1493 et seq.) and unique succession law mean that multiple heirs may have competing interests; in practice, interpleader (concursus under C.C.P. art. 4651 et seq.) is used when multiple claimants arise. (source_url: https://goea.louisiana.gov/media/1w1lq3sz/probateandsuccession.pdf)
  • needs_verification — exact procedural steps for a succession representative to claim sheriff-sale surplus under the 2026 tax-lien enforcement articles.

Competing claimant procedure

• Filing race (first to file wins)? No. Louisiana distributes sheriff’s sale proceeds by legal priority of liens and encumbrances (C.C.P. art. 2373), not by a first-to-file race. The sheriff distributes: costs of sale, the seizing creditor, ranking encumbrances in order, then residue to the former owner.
• Interpleader (concursus)? Yes — Louisiana’s version of interpleader is called concursus (C.C.P. art. 4651 et seq.). If competing claimants assert rights to surplus beyond the priority waterfall, the sheriff or a claimant may institute concursus and deposit the funds with the court for judicial determination.
• Priority rules: rank of recorded liens/privileges/mortgages as of the date of the judicial sale governs. HOA liens rank by recordation date (not super-priority). Federal tax liens rank per 26 U.S.C. § 6323.
• Citation: C.C.P. art. 2373; C.C.P. art. 4651. (source_url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/code-of-civil-procedure/)

Fraudulent conveyance / revocatory action exposure

• Assignment voidable by creditors? Yes. Louisiana does not follow the UFTA/UVTA; instead it relies on the Civil Code revocatory action (action paulienne), codified at CC Art. 2036–2044. A creditor may annul any act of the debtor — including an assignment of the surplus claim — if the act causes or increases the debtor’s insolvency and, for onerous contracts, the counterparty knew or should have known of that effect. (source_url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/2012/cc/cc2036)
• Applicable statute: La. Civil Code art. 2036 (revocatory action). The prescriptive period for the action is 1 year from the creditor’s knowledge of the act, or 3 years from the date of the act, whichever is shorter (CC Art. 2041).
• Notes: An outright assignment of surplus at a steep discount — while the owner is insolvent — is a classic revocatory-action target, exposed to creditor challenge within the 1-year/3-year prescription window.

Surplus claimant notice

• Court must notify lienholders? Under the 2026 enforcement statute (R.S. 47:2206), the political subdivision must notify “each tax lien auction party” of excess proceeds no later than 30 days after the sale. (source_url: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=631581)
• Method: Written notice (form prescribed by statute); R.S. 47:2206 requires service consistent with the notice procedures used in the enforcement proceeding.
• Timeline: ≤ 30 days after sale; interested parties submit affidavits asserting their interest and proportional entitlement to the political subdivision.

5b. Title Advanced

Quiet title: when required, type, court, timeline, cost

• When required vs. optional: Under the post-2026 tax-lien regime, the “quiet title” step is effectively replaced by the judicial enforcement proceeding (seizure-and-sale suit under R.S. 47:2230 et seq.), which is itself a judicial proceeding in district court. After the sheriff’s sale, the winning bidder acquires collateral via sheriff’s deed; no separate quiet title action is required unless a defect is suspected.
  • Under the pre-2026 tax-sale-title regime (still operative for certificates issued before Jan 1, 2026), a holder of an expired-redemption certificate had three quiet-title options: (a) R.S. 47:2266 ordinary action (civil suit against all interested parties; 6-month nullity period triggered by service); (b) Monition (R.S. 47:2271 et seq.) (summary proceeding; publication rather than personal service; 6-month nullity period from first publication); (c) Affidavit procedure (R.S. 47:2157 pre-2026) (non-judicial; recorder cancels interests after affidavit and mailed notice; 6-month period from mailing). (source_url: https://probonodeskmanual.loyno.edu/defending-homeownership/823-quieting-title)
• Action type: judicial (R.S. 47:2266 route = ordinary civil action; monition = summary judicial; post-2026 enforcement = judicial by design).
• Court: District court of the parish where the property is located.
• Typical timeline: R.S. 47:2266 action: service + 6-month nullity period + judgment = roughly 8–14 months total, assuming no contests. Monition: publication period + 6 months = similar. Contested quiet titles can run 2–3 years.
• Typical cost range: Attorney fees $2,500–$8,000+ for uncontested; court costs and publication fees $500–$1,500+; totals $3,000–$10,000+ uncontested, materially higher if contested.
  • needs_verification — current attorney-fee market rates for Louisiana quiet-title actions.
• Cures all pre-sale defects? A quiet title judgment under R.S. 47:2266 bars nullity actions by served parties after the 6-month period. It does not cure an absolute nullity (no-notice constitutional defect) — Smitko held those survive even a confirming judgment. A post-2026 enforcement-proceeding judgment cures defects within the scope of the proceeding for parties properly served.
• Citation: La. R.S. 47:2266; La. R.S. 47:2271 et seq. (source_url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/revised-statutes/title-47/rs-47-2266/)

Deed seasoning

• Insurers require seasoning? Yes, in practice. Title insurers have historically been unwilling to issue standard policies on Louisiana tax-sale-derived title without either a quiet-title judgment or significant time elapsed (sometimes referred to as “seasoning”). Under the new 2026 sheriff’s-sale mechanism, the judicial enforcement proceeding itself provides a cleaner title path, but insurers are still adjusting to the new regime.
• Typical years: Under the pre-2026 regime, many insurers waited 3–5 years or required a quiet-title judgment. Under the 2026 judicial sheriff’s-sale route, insurer practice is unsettled; some may insure immediately after the judicial proceeding if notice was adequate.
  • needs_verification — current (post-2026) insurer practice and any written underwriting guidelines for the new sheriff-sale route.
• Rationale: The absolute-nullity doctrine (Smitko): a no-notice tax sale has no legal force or effect and can be challenged indefinitely; insurers price this residual risk via seasoning requirements.

Title insurance

• Immediate availability? No as a routine matter under the pre-2026 regime; possibly under the 2026 judicial-enforcement route if the enforcement proceeding was procedurally clean and all parties were notified.
• Conditions for immediate: A completed, properly noticed judicial sheriff’s-sale proceeding with no pending nullity claim; all known tax-lien auction parties notified. Quiet-title judgment strengthens the position materially.
• Insurers known to write Louisiana tax-sale/sheriff’s-sale title: Stewart Title, Fidelity National Title, and Old Republic have historically written Louisiana real estate title (including tax-sale-related); Tax Title Services LLC also operates in Louisiana for tax deed/certificate certification. Specific underwriting appetite post-2026 is unsettled.
  • needs_verification — confirmed insurer willingness to write post-2026 sheriff-sale conveyances without quiet-title judgment.
• Quitclaim/special-warranty only? Sheriff’s deeds in Louisiana are without warranty (non-warranty deed); title policies, if issued, cover the risk of prior-title defects but require the insured title to rest on the sheriff’s deed from a clean judicial proceeding.

Marketable Title Act

• Exists? Louisiana does not have a general Marketable Record Title Act (MRTA) applicable to all real property. Louisiana title practice relies on a 40-year search standard from Louisiana Uniform Title Standards / virtual-underwriter practice. Immovable property mortgages and encumbrances may prescribe under Civil Code prescription rules (10-year liberative prescription for recorded privileges not renewed), but there is no Marketable Record Title Act with a defined lookback extinguishing old interests.
  • needs_verification — confirm whether any Louisiana statute uses the term “Marketable Record Title Act” or its functional equivalent.
• Lookback: 40 years per Louisiana Uniform Title Standards (industry standard, not a statutory MRTA).
• Statute: none (industry standard only).

Judicial confirmation before deed issues

• Required? Under the post-2026 regime, the deed (sheriff’s deed/process verbal) issues from the sheriff at the judicial sheriff’s sale; no separate court confirmation step beyond the judgment of the enforcement proceeding is required.
• Under pre-2026 regime: Tax-sale-title was transferred by the tax collector’s deed after the redemption period; the deed was already issued; quiet title or monition was required afterward to confirm title as against interested parties, not as a prerequisite to the deed itself.
• Tribunal: District court (for quiet title / enforcement judgment).
• Timeline: Enforcement judgment typically entered after 30 days of service + cure period; sheriff’s sale then set.
• Citation: R.S. 47:2230 et seq. (enforcement action); C.C.P. art. 2371 et seq. (sheriff’s sale procedure). (source_url: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/LawPrint.aspx?d=631545)

Chain-of-title cure depth

• Depth: The post-2026 judicial enforcement/sheriff’s-sale proceeding extinguishes the interests of all tax lien auction parties properly served in the enforcement action (R.S. 47:2206). It does not extinguish senior liens that pre-date the tax lien or constitutional-notice-defect-based absolute nullities (Smitko).
• Notes: At the post-redemption sheriff’s sale, the relevant chain-of-title exposures are prior recorded mortgages/encumbrances ranking ahead of the tax lien, IRS federal tax liens (NTFL), environmental super-liens, and any pending bankruptcy of the former owner.

5c. TRO & Injunctive Relief

Recognized grounds to halt a tax or mortgage foreclosure sale

• Mortgage (executory process) grounds — C.C.P. art. 2751: A court may arrest a seizure and sale by injunction when:
  1. The debt is extinguished or legally unenforceable (paid, prescribed, forged, or fraud in the procurement of the mortgage);
  2. The procedure required by law for executory process has not been followed (defective authentic act, unendorsed note, improper appraisal, defective service);
  3. The authentic evidence requirement is not met. (source_url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/code-of-civil-procedure/article-2751/)
• Tax-lien enforcement grounds: Before the redemption period expires, the owner may pay the termination price and extinguish the lien (the statutory equivalent of a pre-sale injunction). After the enforcement suit is filed, the defendant may contest on grounds of: improper notice (nullity), payment (payment nullity under R.S. 47:2163), or forbidden-purchase nullity (R.S. 47:2162).
• Constitutional grounds (any foreclosure): Bankruptcy automatic stay (28 U.S.C. § 362); SCRA protections (50 U.S.C. § 3953); constitutional due-process / notice defects; homestead exemption claims.

Legal standard

• Executory process — preliminary injunction: The defendant must demonstrate (a) a prima facie case on one of the C.C.P. art. 2751 grounds and (b) irreparable injury. Real property is unique; the threat of losing one’s home satisfies the irreparable-injury requirement. No TRO is available in an executory proceeding — only a preliminary injunction may arrest the sale (C.C.P. art. 2752). (source_url: https://probonodeskmanual.loyno.edu/defending-homeownership/61-executory-process)
• General injunctive relief (C.C.P. art. 3601): Courts may grant a TRO or preliminary injunction “where irreparable injury, loss, or damage may otherwise result.” This is the standard for challenging tax-lien enforcement suits that are not executory-process proceedings.

Court with jurisdiction

• District court of the parish where the property is located (same court as the underlying foreclosure action).

Bond requirement

• Generally required: Security is required in an amount set by the court (C.C.P. art. 2754 / art. 3610).
• Exceptions — C.C.P. art. 2753: No bond is required when the injunction is sought solely on grounds of: prescription, forgery, lack of authentic evidence, or premature enforcement. The original debtor, surviving spouse in community, heirs, legatees, and legal representatives are exempt from bond on those specific grounds. Low-income borrowers may apply for a bond waiver.
• Typical amount: Set by the court; no statutory floor for residential. In practice, courts often require a bond approximating the amounts at issue (full debt + costs).

Emergency timeline

• Preliminary injunction hearing: Must occur not less than 2 days nor more than 10 days after service of the rule to show cause (C.C.P. art. 3602). For a true emergency (same-day sale), the applicant may seek an ex parte TRO under C.C.P. art. 3603 (general matters), but in executory proceedings only a preliminary injunction is available — requiring the 2–10-day notice window. Courts may grant temporary stays ex parte in extreme circumstances under general equitable powers.
• Practical reality: Filing and serving a rule to show cause at least 2 days before the scheduled sale is essential. Emergency filings on the morning of the sale face significant procedural hurdles in Louisiana.

Effect on a sale completed before relief issues

• Prior to 2009 (old absolute-nullity regime): A sale conducted without constitutional notice was an absolute nullity (Smitko), voidable regardless of timing. Courts could declare the sale void after the fact.
• Post-2009 (relative-nullity regime for most claims): Louisiana law now limits most tax-sale attacks to relative nullities (payment, redemption, and forbidden-purchase nullities), which require action within the prescribed period. A sale completed before an injunction issues is generally not voided by the mere filing of a subsequent injunction; the claimant must instead pursue an action for nullity.
• Mortgage foreclosure completed before injunction: Once the sheriff’s gavel falls and the adjudication is complete, courts are very reluctant to unwind the sale. The buyer in good faith holds rights under C.C.P. art. 2004 (annulment of contracts for lesion/fraud); rescission requires meeting a high standard.
• Constitutional reimbursement rule: Even when a tax sale is declared a nullity, La. Const. art. VII, § 25(C) requires that the judgment of nullity has no effect until the purchaser is reimbursed the price paid plus subsequent taxes plus 10% per annum interest. (source_url: https://www.bswllp.com/our-tax-sale-title-was-annulled-now-what)
• Notes: Louisiana’s judicial-only mortgage foreclosure means there is no non-judicial (power-of-sale) foreclosure to enjoin; all foreclosures proceed through the courts.

Leading cases

smitko-v-gulf-south-shrimp-2012 (absolute nullity, no-notice tax sale); central-properties-v-fairway-gardenhomes (post-sale notice).

7b. Lien Survival & Purchaser Exposure

IRS 120-day redemption right

• Applies? Yes. 26 U.S.C. § 7425(d) gives the United States the right to redeem real property sold in a non-judicial sale to satisfy a lien prior to the federal tax lien, within 120 days from the date of sale or the period allowable under local law (whichever is longer). Louisiana’s 3-year redemption period is longer, so the federal right effectively merges into Louisiana’s broader redemption window.
• Procedure: The IRS must receive 25 days’ prior written notice (by registered/certified mail or personal service) of the tax sale under 26 U.S.C. § 7425(c)(1). If proper notice is given, the sale discharges the federal lien as to the property; if notice is not given, the federal lien survives the sale.
• For judicial sales (including the post-2026 Louisiana judicial enforcement/sheriff’s sale): 26 U.S.C. § 7425(a) provides that when the U.S. is not a party, a judicial sale extinguishes the federal lien only if the lien was not filed before the judgment. If the lien was filed, the U.S. must be joined as a party (28 U.S.C. § 2410).
• Citation: 26 U.S.C. § 7425(c)–(d); 26 C.F.R. § 301.7425-4. (source_url: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/7425)

HOA super-priority

• Super-priority exists? No. Louisiana is not a super-priority lien state for HOA/condominium assessments. HOA and condominium association assessment privileges rank by date of recordation relative to other encumbrances. A first mortgage recorded before the assessment lien takes priority over it.
• Condominium statute (R.S. 9:1123.115): The condominium association has a privilege superior to all other liens except: (1) privileges, mortgages, and encumbrances recorded before the declaration; (2) mortgages and encumbrances on the unit recorded before the assessment lien. This is a recordation-priority rule, not a super-priority.
• Cap: N/A — no super-priority; priority follows recordation date.
• Survives tax sale? The HOA/COA assessment privilege, like any junior lien, is extinguished by a properly conducted tax-lien enforcement sheriff’s sale that pays or settles all ranking encumbrances. If the HOA lien is senior to the tax lien (uncommon), it would survive.
• Survives mortgage foreclosure? An HOA assessment lien junior to the foreclosing first mortgage is extinguished by the mortgage foreclosure. A bank foreclosure takes priority over the association’s junior lien; the lender need not compensate the association.
• Statute: R.S. 9:1123.115 (condominiums); HOA privileges under general recorded-lien priority rules. (source_url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/revised-statutes/title-9/rs-9-1123-115/)

CERCLA / environmental liens

• CERCLA lien survives tax sale? Federal CERCLA liens (42 U.S.C. § 9607(l)) are “superliens” that prime all encumbrances on the contaminated property except certain pre-existing state tax liens. Whether a Louisiana tax-lien enforcement sale extinguishes a CERCLA super-lien depends on whether the U.S. received proper notice under 26 U.S.C. § 7425. Environmental law practitioners recommend a Phase I ESA and CERCLA lien search before any tax-sale purchase.
• State superfund super-lien? Louisiana has a state environmental super-lien under the Louisiana Environmental Quality Act (La. R.S. 30:2276); state cleanup costs can give rise to a privilege that primes other encumbrances on contaminated property. In a prior narrow ruling, a purchaser at a Louisiana tax sale was permitted to rescind when state environmental authorities asserted a super-lien that was not filed at the time of the tax sale.
  • needs_verification — current scope of Louisiana’s state environmental super-lien and its interaction with the 2026 tax-lien certificate regime.
• Notes: Environmental liens are notoriously complex; a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment and a CERCLA/state environmental lien search are essential due-diligence items for any tax-sale purchaser in Louisiana.

Municipal code / blight liens

• Survive tax sale? Louisiana municipalities may assert a special lien and privilege for the cost of demolishing dangerous structures or remedying code violations under R.S. 33:4754 and related statutes. Under R.S. 33:4754, this municipal lien and privilege primes all other liens filed after the notice of violation is filed with the recorder of mortgages, except for other tax liens against the property. (source_url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/revised-statutes/title-33/rs-33-4754/)
• Key risk: A municipal code/blight lien filed before the tax-lien auction may rank ahead of the tax-lien certificate holder’s interest and survive the enforcement proceeding unless paid.
• Notes: Orleans Parish and other municipalities actively use blight-lien enforcement; purchasers should search the recorder-of-mortgages records and local code-enforcement records for pre-existing blight liens. (source_url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/revised-statutes/title-33/rs-33-4754/)

Mechanic / materialmen liens

• Survive tax sale if noticed? Yes. Louisiana’s materialmen’s lien (privilege) under R.S. 9:4801 et seq. attaches to the immovable from the date of first delivery of materials or first labor. If the lien is properly filed within the statutory period and ranks ahead of the tax lien by recordation date, it survives the tax-lien enforcement sale.
• Notes: Unlike many common-law states, Louisiana materialmen’s liens can prime first mortgages (they can “jump” the mortgage priority under certain conditions). Purchasers should obtain a lien certification and review the recorder-of-mortgages records for materialmen’s liens.

Junior mortgage exposure

• Purchaser takes subject to senior encumbrances? Yes. A purchaser at the post-redemption sheriff’s sale takes the property free of junior encumbrances that are extinguished by the sale, but subject to any senior encumbrances (mortgages, privileges) that outrank the tax lien. This is a common mistake: bidders assume the sheriff’s sale clears all title, but senior liens survive.
• Common mistake notes: Failure to identify a senior first mortgage that was recorded before the tax lien; failure to check for IRS federal tax liens; failure to check for CERCLA/state environmental liens; failure to identify pre-existing blight/municipal liens.

Due diligence checklist for Louisiana tax-sale purchasers

1. Full mortgage-records search at the parish Clerk of Court (recorder of mortgages) — at least 40-year chain.
2. IRS/federal tax lien search (clerk of court + IRS NTFL database).
3. UCC lien search (Secretary of State).
4. State and federal environmental lien search (LDEQ; EPA CERCLA database).
5. Municipal code / blight lien search (parish/city code enforcement).
6. HOA/COA assessment lien status and recorded privilege.
7. Bankruptcy court search (PACER) for current or recent bankruptcy by the owner.
8. Confirm proper pre-sale notice to all tax lien auction parties (Jones v. Flowers / Smitko exposure).
9. SCRA search for active-duty servicemember status of the owner.
10. Verify redemption period has expired and mandatory pre-suit notice (18–36 months) was properly sent.

10b. Purchaser Obligations During Redemption

Must the purchaser pay subsequent taxes?

• Required? The certificate holder is not legally required to pay subsequent-year taxes — those taxes remain the owner’s obligation. However, if the certificate holder elects to pay subsequent-year delinquencies, those amounts are added to the termination price the owner must pay, along with the same 5% penalty + 1%/month interest on those payments. This creates a strong economic incentive for certificate holders to pay subs to increase their return.
• Consequence of failure to pay: The certificate holder who does not pay subsequent taxes risks having those subsequent years’ liens auctioned separately; if another party buys a subsequent-year lien, the subsequent holder has an independent right to enforce.
• Citation: R.S. 47:2243 (termination price formula includes amounts paid by the certificate holder for subsequent delinquencies). (source_url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/2012/rs/title47/rs47-2243)

Must the certificate holder notify the owner before expiration?

• Required? Yes. Under R.S. 47:2156 (eff. Jan 1, 2026), the certificate holder must send written notice to all tax lien auction parties (owners, mortgagees, lien-holders of record) between 180 days and 365 days (6 to 12 months) before filing the enforcement action (the post-redemptive-period seizure suit). The notice must include: name/address/phone of the holder; a copy of the tax lien certificate; copies of documents received with the sale; and a statement that failure to pay the termination price will result in the holder filing suit to enforce the lien and the property being sold, with the owner losing all rights.
• Form: Written notice per R.S. 47:2156; certified or registered mail (or commercial courier) for mortgagees of record.
• Timing: 180–365 days (6–12 months) before filing the enforcement action. The holder must also use reasonable diligence to identify and locate each tax lien auction party.
• Consequence of failure: Failure to provide the required pre-suit notice is grounds for dismissal of the enforcement action. The notice requirement is a jurisdictional prerequisite to filing the seizure suit.
• Citation: R.S. 47:2156 (eff. Jan 1, 2026). (source_url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/revised-statutes/title-47/rs-47-2156/)

Owner’s right to occupy during the redemption period

• Owner may remain? Yes. The tax lien certificate does not transfer possession. “The right of possession and occupancy of the owner of tax sale property shall not be terminated” until a court enters judgment enforcing the lien (R.S. 47:2121 principles). The certificate holder cannot evict occupants, collect rent, or exercise any possessory rights during the 3-year redemption (termination) period.
• Purchaser may enter? No possessory entry right during the redemption period. Any attempt to take possession subjects the holder to legal penalties.
• Citation: R.S. 47:2121 (purpose and principles — property rights not extinguished until judicial enforcement). (source_url: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/LawPrint.aspx?d=631506)

Costs collectible upon termination (redemption)

• Bid price + interest: Yes — the original auction price plus interest at the bid rate (≤ 1%/month, noncompounding) from the auction date.
• 5% penalty: Yes — a flat 5% penalty on the redemption/termination amount.
• Subsequent taxes paid by holder: Yes — amounts paid by the holder for subsequent-year delinquencies, plus 5% penalty and 1%/month interest on those amounts.
• Documented noticing costs: Yes — costs incurred in sending the mandatory pre-enforcement notice, capped at $500 total.
• Other: Sheriff’s costs and attorney fees if the enforcement suit was filed before the owner paid (up to that point in the proceeding).
• Citation: R.S. 47:2243 (termination price); La. Const. art. VII, § 25(B)(1) (interest ceiling). (source_url: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/LawPrint.aspx?d=631545)

Property maintenance obligation

• Required? No statutory maintenance obligation is imposed on the certificate holder during the redemption period. The certificate is a lien instrument only; the owner retains possession and all property-management responsibilities.
• Standard: N/A (no statutory duty).
• Practical note: If the property deteriorates significantly during the redemption period, the certificate holder’s collateral value erodes; holders may seek to pay code-violation fines to protect collateral value, but this is optional.
• Citation: No specific statute; see R.S. 47:2121 (owner retains property rights and incidents of ownership). (source_url: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/LawPrint.aspx?d=631506)

11b. Restrictions & Special Rules

Entity purchase restrictions

• Natural persons only? No. Louisiana does not restrict tax lien certificate purchases to natural persons. Entities (LLCs, corporations, partnerships, trusts) may purchase tax lien certificates, subject to the insider prohibition in R.S. 47:2162.
• LLC permitted? Yes.
• Foreign entity permitted? Yes, subject to general Louisiana foreign-entity registration requirements (La. R.S. 12:1 et seq. for corporations; R.S. 12:1301 et seq. for LLCs). No specific prohibition on foreign entities purchasing tax lien certificates.
  • needs_verification — whether a foreign entity must be qualified to do business in Louisiana before purchasing or holding a tax lien certificate.
• Notes: R.S. 47:2162 is the sole express restriction on purchasers; it targets insiders (tax collectors and assessors), not entity type.
• Citation: R.S. 47:2162; R.S. 47:2164.

Insider prohibition

• Who is prohibited? The tax collector and tax assessor of the political subdivision, and any other person acting on behalf of the political subdivision whose duties are to assess or collect ad valorem taxes for that subdivision, are absolutely prohibited from acquiring any tax lien, directly or indirectly (R.S. 47:2162). (source_url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/revised-statutes/title-47/rs-47-2162/)
• Scope: Applies to all acquisitions — at auction, by assignment (R.S. 47:2164 bars assignment to persons prohibited by R.S. 47:2162), or indirectly.
• Consequences: The certificate holder who violates R.S. 47:2162 must forfeit the price paid and disgorge all profits to the tax debtor. The lien auction may be subject to an action for nullity, except that a bona fide purchaser for value without notice who buys the certificate from the offending holder is protected (the nullity cannot be raised against the good-faith assignee).
• Citation: R.S. 47:2162. (source_url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/revised-statutes/title-47/rs-47-2162/)

Right of first refusal

• Municipalities? No statutory general right of first refusal for municipalities to acquire tax lien certificates at the auction. Political subdivisions may themselves hold the certificate if no one bids (the lien is “struck to” the political subdivision), and they may later sell adjudicated property under R.S. 47:2196–47:2207.
• CDCs / nonprofits? No state-level ROFR for CDCs or nonprofits on tax lien certificates. Some local ordinances in New Orleans and other municipalities may create ROFR mechanisms for adjudicated property, but this is local (not statewide).
  • needs_verification — whether any Louisiana municipality has a formal ordinance-level ROFR on adjudicated or tax-lien-encumbered property.
• Land banks? No statutory ROFR for a state land bank on tax lien certificates.
• Match window: N/A (no statewide ROFR).
• Citation: R.S. 47:2196 (adjudicated property); R.S. 47:2207 (sale of adjudicated property).

Land bank program

• Exists? Not as a formally established state land bank authority in the sense of the Michigan or Ohio land bank model. Louisiana’s functional equivalent is the adjudicated property program: when no one bids at a tax sale (under the old pre-2026 system) or when a tax lien remains unsold, the property is adjudicated to the political subdivision (parish or city), which then holds and may sell the property through the adjudicated-property program under R.S. 47:2196 et seq. Some individual parishes (e.g., East Baton Rouge, Orleans) have formal internal adjudicated-property programs that function like land banks.
• Name: No statewide “land bank” authority; adjudicated-property programs at the parish level.
• Statute: R.S. 47:2196–47:2207 (sale or donation of adjudicated property). (source_url: https://www.brla.gov/455/Adjudicated-Property)
• Receives unsold properties? Under the pre-2026 regime, yes — property with no bidder was adjudicated to the political subdivision. Under the 2026 lien regime, if no one bids at the tax lien auction, the political subdivision holds the lien certificate and may later enforce or sell it (R.S. 47:2206).
• Operational notes: The adjudicated property program requires a 3-year post-adjudication holding period (the owner’s redemption right) before the political subdivision can sell. Orleans and East Baton Rouge have the most active programs in the state.

Deficiency judgments

• After tax sale? There is no deficiency judgment after a tax-lien enforcement sheriff’s sale. The tax-lien mechanism is a lien enforcement action: the collateral is sold; the former owner’s personal liability for the delinquency is satisfied by the sale proceeds (or discharged by the sale). There is no statutory mechanism for the certificate holder to pursue the former owner personally for any shortfall beyond the sale proceeds.
  • needs_verification — confirm no personal-liability mechanism exists for a tax-lien enforcement shortfall under R.S. 47:2230 et seq.
• After mortgage foreclosure? Deficiency judgment is permitted if and only if the sale was conducted “with appraisal” (i.e., the property was appraised before sale and bidding opened at 2/3 of appraised value). If the lender chose to sell “without appraisal” (waiving the appraisement requirement), no deficiency judgment is available — the debt is fully discharged even if the sale proceeds fall short (La. R.S. 13:4106). (source_url: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=77679)
• Fair value defense? Yes — the appraisal requirement functions as a fair-value protection: the 2/3-of-appraised-value floor prevents fire-sale prices from generating artificial deficiencies. If the lender sells with appraisal and the property goes for 2/3 of value, the fair-value protection has been honored.
• Citation: La. R.S. 13:4106 (deficiency prohibited on sale without appraisement); La. R.S. 13:4107 (appraisal requirement cannot be waived). (source_url: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=77679)

Anti-deficiency statute

• Exists? No general anti-deficiency statute for mortgage foreclosures in Louisiana. The Deficiency Judgment Act (R.S. 13:4106–4107) creates a conditional anti-deficiency rule: the lender loses the right to a deficiency only if it chose to sell without appraisement. If the lender sold with appraisement, deficiency is available.
• Scope: Applies to all mortgage foreclosures (executory and ordinary process) in Louisiana; there is no “purchase money mortgage only” carve-out (unlike California’s anti-deficiency rule). The 2008-era consumer-transaction exception (R.S. 13:4108.2) allows a deficiency without formal appraisal if the borrower voluntarily surrendered the property and waived judicial appraisal.
• Citation: R.S. 13:4106; R.S. 13:4107; R.S. 13:4108.2. (source_url: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=77679)

One-action rule

• Exists? No. Louisiana does not have a one-action rule. A lender may pursue both the collateral (via executory or ordinary foreclosure process) and a personal suit on the promissory note; the lender is not required to exhaust collateral before suing personally (subject to the election-of-remedies doctrine in limited circumstances).
• Citation: None (the rule does not exist); cf. La. C.C.P. art. 2631 et seq. (executory process allows simultaneous pursuit). (source_url: https://www.louisianalawblog.com/bankruptcy-and-business-reorganization/executory-process-foreclosure-on-real-estate-in-louisiana/)
• Notes: The absence of a one-action rule means a Louisiana lender who holds a mortgage and a personal guaranty may foreclose the mortgage and sue the guarantor in the same action. Conversely, if the lender chooses to sell without appraisement, the anti-deficiency rule of R.S. 13:4106 forecloses any subsequent personal suit on the debt.

Who this page is for

▸ For Investors / Operators — Start with §1 (post-2026 tax lien certificate auction — monthly interest bid down from 1% to a 0.7% floor; 100% collateral interest, no more ownership-percentage splitting), §2/2b (the 3-year peremptive redemption — 18-month for blighted/abandoned — and the certificate’s assignability under R.S. 47:2164), §5b (path to marketable title — the judicial enforcement proceeding, quiet-title/monition routes, and the Smitko absolute-nullity exposure for no-notice sales), §7b (encumbrances that survive — senior mortgages/privileges, R.S. 33:4754 blight liens, R.S. 30:2276 state environmental super-liens, federal tax liens, and the IRS 120-day redemption), and §11b (broad entity eligibility, the R.S. 47:2162 insider prohibition, and the adjudicated-property/land-bank channels). Note the transition: certificates issued before Jan 1, 2026 remain governed by the prior tax-sale-title law.

▸ For Former Owners — Start with §3 (the surplus — any sheriff’s-sale proceeds above the tax lien, interest, penalty, costs, and ranking encumbrances belong to the former owner; the political subdivision must notify each tax lien auction party within 30 days under R.S. 47:2206; unclaimed funds escheat to the State Treasurer’s unclaimed-property program, reclaimable thereafter), §2 (redemption — paying the termination price to the tax collector within the 3-year/18-month window to extinguish the lien), and §5c (grounds, the C.C.P. art. 2753 bond exceptions, and procedure for a preliminary injunction to arrest a seizure and sale).

11. Meta

• sources:
  • [{type: constitution, url: https://codes.findlaw.com/la/louisiana-constitution-of-1974/la-const-art-vii-sect-25/, retrieved: 2026-06-01}]
  • [{type: constitution, url: https://50constitutions.org/la/constitution/section-id-70149, retrieved: 2026-06-01}]
  • [{type: statute, url: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/LawPrint.aspx?d=631545, retrieved: 2026-06-01}] # R.S. 47:2153
  • [{type: statute, url: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=631581, retrieved: 2026-06-01}] # R.S. 47:2206
  • [{type: statute, url: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=206555, retrieved: 2026-06-01}] # tax-lien auction / Const art VII §25 effective text
  • [{type: statute, url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/revised-statutes/title-47/rs-47-2155/, retrieved: 2026-06-01}] # R.S. 47:2155 (search-confirmed)
  • [{type: statute, url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/revised-statutes/title-9/rs-9-159/, retrieved: 2026-06-01}] # Unclaimed Property Act / finder fee cap (search-confirmed)
  • [{type: case, url: https://law.justia.com/cases/louisiana/supreme-court/2012/2011-c-2566.html, retrieved: 2026-06-01}] # Smitko
  • [{type: case, url: https://law.justia.com/cases/louisiana/supreme-court/2017/2016-c-1855.html, retrieved: 2026-06-01}] # Central Properties
  • [{type: case, url: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/4988980/cititax-group-llc-v-gibert/, retrieved: 2026-06-01}] # Cititax
  • [{type: case, url: https://law.justia.com/cases/louisiana/supreme-court/2013/2012-c-1472.html, retrieved: 2026-06-01}] # Quantum Resources
  • [{type: secondary, url: https://www.taxsaleresources.com/blog/louisiana-post-tyler-v-hennepin, retrieved: 2026-06-01}]
  • [{type: secondary, url: https://www.lienspot.com/blog/louisiana-becomes-a-tax-lien-state-in-2026, retrieved: 2026-06-01}]
  • [{type: secondary, url: https://jurisdeed.com/blog/major-overhaul-for-louisiana-tax-lien-investors—what-you-need-to-know, retrieved: 2026-06-01}]
  • [{type: secondary, url: https://www.bswllp.com/?t=18&dd=11130&format=xml&p=4875, retrieved: 2026-06-01}]
  • [{type: ballot, url: https://ballotpedia.org/Louisiana_Amendment_4,Property_Tax_Payments_and_Tax_Sales_Amendment(December_2024), retrieved: 2026-06-01}]
  • [{type: secondary, url: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/summary-louisianas-foreclosure-laws.html, retrieved: 2026-06-01}]
  • [{type: secondary, url: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/deficiency-judgments-after-foreclosure-louisiana.html, retrieved: 2026-06-01}]
  • [{type: secondary, url: https://www.louisianalawblog.com/bankruptcy-and-business-reorganization/executory-process-foreclosure-on-real-estate-in-louisiana/, retrieved: 2026-06-01}]
  • [{type: official, url: https://www.sttammanyclerk.org/departments/recording/, retrieved: 2026-06-01}]
  • [{type: statute, url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/revised-statutes/title-47/rs-47-2164/, retrieved: 2026-06-02}] # R.S. 47:2164 (assignability — search-confirmed)
  • [{type: statute, url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/revised-statutes/title-47/rs-47-2162/, retrieved: 2026-06-02}] # R.S. 47:2162 (insider prohibition — search-confirmed)
  • [{type: statute, url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/2012/rs/title47/rs47-2243, retrieved: 2026-06-02}] # R.S. 47:2243 (termination price — search-confirmed)
  • [{type: statute, url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/revised-statutes/title-47/rs-47-2156/, retrieved: 2026-06-02}] # R.S. 47:2156 (pre-enforcement notice — search-confirmed)
  • [{type: statute, url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/revised-statutes/title-9/rs-9-177/, retrieved: 2026-06-02}] # R.S. 9:177 (finder fee cap — search-confirmed, 403 on direct fetch)
  • [{type: statute, url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/2012/cc/cc2036, retrieved: 2026-06-02}] # CC Art. 2036 (revocatory action — fetched)
  • [{type: statute, url: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=77679, retrieved: 2026-06-02}] # R.S. 13:4106 (Deficiency Judgment Act — search-confirmed)
  • [{type: statute, url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/revised-statutes/title-9/rs-9-1123-115/, retrieved: 2026-06-02}] # R.S. 9:1123.115 (HOA/COA privilege — search-confirmed)
  • [{type: statute, url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/revised-statutes/title-33/rs-33-4754/, retrieved: 2026-06-02}] # R.S. 33:4754 (municipal blight lien — search-confirmed)
  • [{type: statute, url: https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/revised-statutes/title-47/rs-47-2266/, retrieved: 2026-06-02}] # R.S. 47:2266 (quiet title — search-confirmed)
  • [{type: federal_statute, url: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/7425, retrieved: 2026-06-02}] # 26 U.S.C. § 7425 (IRS 120-day redemption — fetched)
  • [{type: secondary, url: https://probonodeskmanual.loyno.edu/defending-homeownership/823-quieting-title, retrieved: 2026-06-02}] # Loyola quiet title guide
  • [{type: secondary, url: https://probonodeskmanual.loyno.edu/defending-homeownership/61-executory-process, retrieved: 2026-06-02}] # Loyola executory process guide
  • [{type: secondary, url: https://legalclarity.org/louisiana-tax-sale-property-acquisition-process/, retrieved: 2026-06-02}] # owner possession during redemption
  • [{type: secondary, url: https://www.bswllp.com/our-tax-sale-title-was-annulled-now-what, retrieved: 2026-06-02}] # constitutional reimbursement rule
  • [{type: case, url: https://storage.courtlistener.com/pdf/2026/03/06/esplanade_mall_realty_holdings_llc_v._joseph_p._lopinto_iii_in_his.pdf, retrieved: 2026-06-02}] # Esplanade Mall Realty Holdings v. Lopinto, 2025-CA-00708 (La. 2026)
  • [{type: official, url: https://www.brla.gov/455/Adjudicated-Property, retrieved: 2026-06-02}] # EBR adjudicated property
  • [{type: official, url: https://goea.louisiana.gov/media/1w1lq3sz/probateandsuccession.pdf, retrieved: 2026-06-02}] # LA succession guide
• needs_verification:
  • Exact operative text of R.S. 9:177 (Acts 2023, No. 351) — direct fetch returned 403. Cap confirmed as 10% via search snippets only; whether pre-escheat surplus assignments fall under it is unresolved.
  • Whether a separate tax-lien recovery-agent licensing regime exists; assignment of surplus claims before escheat; cooling-off period; exact contract-disclosure terms under R.S. 9:177.
  • Explicit statutory authorization (or prohibition) of outright assignment of the redemption/termination right to a non-listed third party under the 2026 articles (R.S. 47:2243 et seq.).
  • Exact 2026 enforcement-article venue/deadline for the former owner to claim sheriff-sale surplus; dormancy period (5 years?) before escheat of court-held judicial-sale surplus.
  • 2026 publication week-count, registration/deposit requirements, and platform vendors per parish.
  • Tolling of the 3-year peremptive redemption period for minors/interdicts, SCRA servicemembers, and bankruptcy debtors under the new tax-lien articles.
  • Deed warranty level on the post-2026 sheriff’s sale deed (process verbal).
  • Whether foreign entities must be qualified to do business in Louisiana before purchasing or holding a tax lien certificate.
  • Whether any Louisiana municipality has a formal ordinance-level ROFR on adjudicated or tax-lien-encumbered property.
  • Confirm no personal-liability/deficiency mechanism exists for a tax-lien enforcement shortfall under R.S. 47:2230 et seq.
  • Louisiana state environmental super-lien current scope and interaction with the 2026 tax-lien certificate regime.
  • Current (post-2026) title insurer underwriting guidelines for sheriff-sale conveyances without quiet-title judgment.
  • Exact attorney-fee market rates for Louisiana quiet-title actions (cost estimate for 5b).
• open_questions:
  • How are pre-2026 tax-sale-title certificates wound down (the transition “grandfather” mechanics) where redemption is still running on Jan 1, 2026?
  • Does Orleans Parish run a materially different calendar/auction now?
  • Will title insurers underwrite 2026 sheriff-sale conveyances without quiet-title?
  • The Esplanade Mall Realty Holdings v. Lopinto (2025-CA-00708, La. Mar. 6, 2026) opinion has been confirmed via Liskow summary and CourtListener PDF link; should be added as a formal case page — esplanade-mall-realty-holdings-v-lopinto.
• cross_links: right-of-redemption, surplus-funds, third-party-recovery-rules, treasurer-sale, sheriff-sale, due-process-notice, tyler-v-hennepin-county, mennonite-v-adams, jones-v-flowers, mullane-v-central-hanover, smitko-v-gulf-south-shrimp-2012, central-properties-v-fairway-gardenhomes, cititax-group-v-gibert-2012, quantum-resources-v-pirate-lake-oil, bankruptcy-automatic-stay, federal-tax-lien-redemption, heirs-property, blighted-abandoned-property, void-vs-voidable, scra-protections, esplanade-mall-realty-holdings-v-lopinto
• changelog:
  • 2026-06-01 — Initial page. Drafted under the post-2026 tax-lien regime (Amendment 4 / Acts 2024 No. 409, eff. 1/1/2026), with prior tax-sale-title regime flagged where it still controls. 4 required topics covered by verified cases (redemption, surplus via Tyler, due_process, sale_procedure). Honest gaps flagged above.
  • 2026-06-02 — Added modules 2b (Redemption Advanced), 3b (Surplus Advanced), 5b (Title Advanced), 5c (TRO & Injunctive Relief), 7b (Lien Survival & Purchaser Exposure), 10b (Purchaser Obligations During Redemption), 11b (Restrictions & Special Rules). Added Esplanade Mall Realty Holdings v. Lopinto (La. 2026) to open_questions (case confirmed via Liskow summary + CourtListener but not yet added as formal case page). Updated gap_score, completeness_score, and last_verified. All new modules cite primary sources actually retrieved or search-confirmed; unverifiable items flagged needs_verification.
  • 2026-06-02 — Applied the neutral-reference + segmented-CTA voice: neutralized investor-directed phrasing in 3b/7b and inserted the two CTA callout pairs (after §3 and as a “Who this page is for” section before §11). No facts, citations, or modules changed. Restored the standard closing disclaimer.

Local pages

County deep dives: caddo-la, calcasieu-parish-la, east-baton-rouge-la, jefferson-la, lafayette-la, orleans-parish-la, st-tammany-la Unclaimed funds agency: unclaimed-property-louisiana

Legal information, not legal advice. This page summarizes Louisiana tax and mortgage foreclosure law for educational purposes and may be incomplete or out of date, particularly given the tax-lien regime’s January 1, 2026 transition. Statutes and case law change. Verify every cited primary source and consult a licensed Louisiana attorney before acting. Last verified: 2026-06-02.