Vermont — Tax & Mortgage Foreclosure

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

Vermont is a tax-deed-by-public-auction state with a built-in redemption period: the tax collector sells the real property itself at a public auction (not a transferable lien certificate), but the purchaser takes no title for one full year — the owner keeps possession and a statutory right of redemption for one year from the day of sale at 1% per month interest on the sale price (32 V.S.A. § 5260). Tax-sale law lives in Title 32, Chapter 133, Subchapter 9 (§§ 5251–5263), administered by the municipal tax collector (Vermont collects property tax at the town/city level, not the county). On surplus, the tax-sale statute is largely silent on excess proceeds, but Vermont has a long-standing common-law rule — Bogie v. Town of Barnet (1970) — that a town selling for taxes acts under a fiduciary duty and must return surplus to the delinquent taxpayer, which aligns Vermont with tyler-v-hennepin-county in principle. Whether municipal practice (towns buying in at the tax sale and reselling for a windfall) satisfies Tyler was tested in Flynn v. Town of Barton (D. Vt. 2024), which settled in June 2024 without a merits ruling. Act 106 (2024) (H.629) added pre-sale guardrails: a $1,500 minimum delinquency, a mandatory repayment-plan offer, multilingual notice, and tighter notice rules. Mortgage foreclosure is judicial (Superior Court) and defaults to strict foreclosure unless the property has substantial equity, which forces a judicial sale.

0. Identity & Classification

• Recording unit: Municipality (town/city), not the county. Vermont has 14 counties but property tax is assessed and collected by the ~247 towns and cities; the town clerk is the land-records office where the warrant, levy, report of sale, and collector’s deed are recorded (32 V.S.A. §§ 5252, 5255, 5261–5262). — https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/133/05252
• Tax sale type: Tax deed via public auction (redeemable). The collector sells the real property at public auction “to pay such taxes, costs, and fees” (32 V.S.A. § 5254); the buyer receives a certificate/report of sale, but the collector’s deed does not issue until the one-year redemption period expires unredeemed (§§ 5260, 5261). Functionally a redeemable tax deed, not a tradable lien certificate. — https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/133/05254
• Tax foreclosure process: Administrative / non-judicial. The municipal tax collector “extends a warrant,” levies, advertises, and conducts the auction without a court action; there is no judicial foreclosure decree for tax delinquency (32 V.S.A. §§ 5252–5255). Challenges to the tax/collection go to Superior Court within the § 5294 / § 5295 one-year limitations window (one year from the date of the levy — see Module 6); a separate § 5263 bar limits actions to recover the land against a tax-deed grantee in possession (one year from accrual — see Module 7).
• Mortgage foreclosure process: Judicial (and predominantly strict foreclosure). Vermont mortgage foreclosure is in Superior Court under 12 V.S.A. Ch. 172; the default remedy is strict foreclosure (no sale) unless there is “substantial value in the property in excess of the mortgage debt,” in which case the court orders a judicial sale (12 V.S.A. § 4941 (strict foreclosure, subch. 2); §§ 4945–4954 (judicial sale, subch. 3)). — https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/12/172/04941
• Selling authority: Municipal tax collector (tax sales); court-supervised / judicial process for mortgage (judicial sale conducted under court order; no private trustee — Vermont has no nonjudicial power-of-sale foreclosure for residential mortgages).
• Statutory home: Tax sale — Title 32, Ch. 133, Subch. 9, §§ 5251–5263. Mortgage — Title 12, Ch. 172, §§ 4941–4954. Abatement — 24 V.S.A. § 1535. — https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/chapter/32/133
• Tyler v. Hennepin compliance: compliant (common-law), reform in progress. Vermont’s common law has required return of tax-sale surplus to the former owner since Bogie v. Town of Barnet, 128 Vt. 280 (1970) (town acts as fiduciary; surplus on resale belongs to the taxpayer). That doctrine aligns Vermont with Tyler in principle. But the tax-sale statute does not expressly create a surplus-claim procedure, and Flynn v. Town of Barton (D. Vt. 2:24-cv-00076, filed Jan. 2024) alleged towns still capture equity by buying in and reselling — that case settled in June 2024 (the Village of Orleans returned Ms. Flynn’s home and paid fees/costs), so it produced no merits ruling on the adequacy of Vermont’s procedure. Act 106 (2024) added pre-sale guardrails but did not enact a statutory surplus-return procedure. Classified compliant on the substantive rule, with the absence of a statutory surplus-claim mechanism noted as an open question (Module 11). — https://www.vtlegalaid.org/news/settlement-tax-sale-lawsuit-barton-orleans

1. Tax Sale Mechanics

• What is sold: The real property (the fee), sold at public auction to pay the delinquent taxes, costs, and fees (32 V.S.A. § 5254(a): “the real property on which the taxes are due shall be sold to pay such taxes, costs, and fees”). The purchaser gets a report of sale (§ 5255) and an inchoate right that ripens into a collector’s deed only after the unredeemed one-year period (§ 5261). — https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/133/05254
• Bidding method: Highest-bid public auction. The collector may sell only so much of the land as is necessary (a partial-parcel sale requires environmental/zoning certifications under § 5254(b)). A municipality may itself bid/acquire the land at the tax sale (32 V.S.A. § 5259) — the common “town buys in” scenario at issue in Bogie and Flynn. — https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/133/05254
• Interest / penalty: Redemption interest = 1% per month (12% annual), or fraction of a month, on the price the property sold for, from the day of sale to the day of redemption (32 V.S.A. § 5260). Pre-sale, delinquent taxes also carry municipal interest and a collection fee adopted by the town under 24 V.S.A. §§ 1531– 1533 (exact pre-sale interest/penalty rate — needs_verification against the town’s adopted rate). — https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/133/05260
• Minimum bid composition: The delinquent tax + statutory costs + collector’s fees (advertising, recording, levy, and the § 5258 fee schedule). A tax sale may not be commenced unless the delinquency is at least $1,500 and is more than one year delinquent (Act 106 (2024), amending § 5252). — https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/133/05252
• Sale frequency / typical month: Ad hoc, scheduled by each town’s collector as delinquencies accrue; no statewide sale calendar or season. The sale date is fixed in the advertised notice (§§ 5252, 5253).
• Venue / platforms: In-person public auction in the town, at the place stated in the published notice (§§ 5253, 5254). No statewide online auction platform; Vermont tax sales are run by the local collector, often with municipal counsel (VLCT-member towns). (Any town using an online vendor — needs_verification.)
• Registration & deposit: Set by the conducting collector in the notice; not standardized by statute. (needs_verification per town.)
• Subsequent taxes (“subs”): Not a lien-certificate “subs” regime (no transferable certificate). If the property is not redeemed, the purchaser takes the deed; taxes accruing during the redemption year remain the owner’s obligation while the owner retains possession (§ 5260). A municipality that acquires contaminated land may add assessment/remediation costs to the redemption amount (§ 5260). — https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/133/05260

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

• Pre-sale right: Yes — the taxpayer may pay the delinquency (plus costs/fees) at any time before the day of sale and stop the sale (32 V.S.A. § 5254(a): sale occurs only “[w]hen the tax with costs and fees is not paid before the day of sale”). Act 106 also requires the collector to offer a written reasonable repayment plan before extending the warrant (§ 5252). — https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/133/05252
• Post-sale period: One (1) year from the day of sale (32 V.S.A. § 5260). — https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/133/05260
• Runs from: The day of the tax sale.
• Tolling events: Not specified in § 5260; a bankruptcy filing triggers the federal automatic stay (11 U.S.C. § 362). (Statutory tolling for minors/incompetents — needs_verification; § 5260 does not appear to contain a disability extension.)
• Who may redeem: The owner, lien holder, or mortgagee, or their representatives or assigns (32 V.S.A. § 5260: “the owner, lien holder, or mortgagee of lands sold for taxes, the owner’s, lien holder’s, or mortgagee’s representatives or assigns”). — https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/133/05260
• Redemption amount formula: “the sum for which the land was sold” + interest at 1% per month (or fraction) from the day of sale to the day of payment (32 V.S.A. § 5260). For municipality-acquired contaminated land, add all assessment/remediation costs incurred or authorized by any local, State, or federal authority. — https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/133/05260
• Premium to certificate holder: Not applicable in a lien-certificate sense; the purchaser’s return is the 1%/month interest on the bid price if redeemed, or the property if not redeemed (§§ 5260, 5261).
• Procedure: Redemption is made by payment to the collector / town; on full payment the sale is voided and the purchaser is repaid bid + interest. If unredeemed after one year, the collector executes the collector’s deed to the purchaser (§ 5261) and records the land as not redeemed (§ 5262). — https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/133/05261
• Extinguishment: The right ends automatically at the end of the one-year period; thereafter the collector’s deed conveys “a title against the person for whose tax it was sold and those claiming under him or her” (§ 5261). A purchaser/ grantee in continuous open possession is then protected by the § 5263 one-year bar on actions to recover the land, in addition to the §§ 5294–5295 one-year bar on actions against the tax/levy (see Modules 6–7). — https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/133/05261
• Special tolling: Bankruptcy stay (11 U.S.C. § 362); SCRA servicemember protections (50 U.S.C. § 3991 et seq.) may apply to a servicemember owner. (Vermont-specific application — needs_verification.)

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

This is the most contested part of Vermont law. The tax-sale statute is largely silent on excess proceeds; the controlling rule is common law, and a federal class action tested it (settling without a merits ruling).

• Belongs to: The former owner. Under Bogie v. Town of Barnet, 128 Vt. 280 (1970), a municipality conducting a tax sale “must suffer the restraints of fiduciary duty,” and surplus realized must be returned to the delinquent taxpayer — the town may not keep equity beyond the tax debt and costs. This is Vermont’s pre-Tyler home-equity-protection rule. — https://law.justia.com/cases/vermont/supreme-court/1970/128-69-0.html
• Claim waterfall: (1) taxes, statutory costs and collector’s fees (§ 5258); (2) recorded lien holders / mortgagees (who may also redeem under § 5260); (3) the former owner receives the remainder. (The statute prescribes only that the collector pay the town the tax-satisfying amount and report under § 5255; the precise statutory mechanism for paying surplus to the owner is not spelled out — the duty is judicially imposed by Bogie. The exact procedural waterfall — needs_verification.)
• Filing venue: No dedicated statutory surplus-claim office. In practice a former owner pursues surplus from the town/collector, or by suit in Superior Court (unjust enrichment / takings), as in the Bogie and Flynn litigation. (needs_verification: whether Act 106 or a later act created a formal claim venue.)
• Claim deadline / escheat: The tax-sale statute does not set a surplus-claim deadline or an escheat-to-state mechanism for tax-sale surplus. Generic unclaimed funds held by a municipality could fall under Vermont’s Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (27 V.S.A. Ch. 18). (Whether tax-sale surplus escheats and the reclaim period — needs_verification.)
• Documentation required: Proof of former ownership / heirship; not statutorily enumerated for tax surplus. (needs_verification.)
• Third-party recovery (governs whether a recovery agent can operate):
  • fee_cap_pct: No tax-surplus-specific statutory fee cap identified. Vermont’s general unclaimed-property “finder/locator” rules (27 V.S.A. Ch. 18, Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act) cap and time-restrict locator agreements for property held by the State Treasurer, but it is unclear these reach tax-sale surplus held by a town or owed directly by it. (Exact cap %, void-within-N-months rule, and whether it applies pre-escheat — needs_verification.)
  • licensing_required: No tax-surplus “finder” license identified. (needs_verification.)
  • assignment_of_claim_allowed: § 5260 expressly lets an assign of the owner/ lienholder redeem, indicating the redemption right is assignable; no statute squarely authorizes assignment of a surplus claim, but a surplus claim is a chose in action ordinarily assignable absent a prohibition. (needs_verification — see 3b.)
  • cooling_off_period / disclosure / prohibited practices: None tax-surplus-specific identified. Vermont’s Consumer Protection Act (9 V.S.A. Ch. 63) prohibits unfair/ deceptive acts generally and would govern abusive recovery contracts. (needs_verification for any surplus-specific disclosure rule.)
  • Status for operators: Vermont surplus is owner property by common law (Bogie), recoverable directly from the town or via suit; there is no clear statutory fee cap or licensing regime for recovery agents, but the Flynn litigation and Act 106 reforms make the area volatile — confirm current law before operating.
• Notice to former owner required? Yes for the sale (certified-mail notice ≥ 30 days, publication, posting, email — § 5252). The statute does not prescribe a separate post-sale surplus notice; the Bogie fiduciary duty supplies the substantive right. (Surplus-notice procedure — needs_verification.) — https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/133/05252

▸ For Investors / Operators — A Vermont tax-sale overbid generates surplus that the Bogie fiduciary rule directs to the former owner after taxes, costs, and recorded liens (§3). Before committing capital, weigh the one-year / 1%-per-month redemption risk (§2/2b — and note the redemption right runs to the owner’s, lienholder’s, or mortgagee’s “assigns”), the path to marketable/insurable title (§5b — the §§ 5294–5295 and § 5263 one-year bars, the 40-year Marketable Record Title Act, and Title Standard 19.1), and which liens survive (§7b — federal tax liens with the IRS § 7425 120-day redemption, the 27A V.S.A. § 3-116 six-month HOA super-priority, and municipal/ environmental liens).

▸ For Former Owners — When a Vermont tax sale brings more than the taxes, costs, and fees, that surplus belongs to you under Bogie v. Town of Barnet — the town holds it as a fiduciary and may not keep equity beyond the debt. Because the statute creates no dedicated claim office, the surplus is pursued from the town/collector or by suit in Superior Court; note that no statutory deadline or escheat procedure is fixed, so document your ownership and act promptly.

4. Mortgage Foreclosure

• Process: Judicial, in Superior Court (12 V.S.A. Ch. 172). Two paths: strict foreclosure (decree forecloses the equity of redemption with no sale) and judicial sale foreclosure (court orders a public sale). Vermont has no nonjudicial power-of-sale foreclosure for residential mortgages. — https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/12/172/04941
• Strict vs. sale gate: “No decree foreclosing the right of redemption without sale shall be issued absent a finding by the court that there is no substantial value in the property in excess of the mortgage debt found by the court to be due to the plaintiff and any other lienholder, plus assessed but unpaid property taxes” (12 V.S.A. § 4941(c)). Where equity exists, the court orders a judicial sale (§ 4945) — protecting the owner’s surplus, consistent with the Tyler principle. — https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/12/172/04941
• Timeline: After a notice of intention to foreclose and complaint, the court enters a decree. Strict-foreclosure redemption = 6 months from the decree (unless a shorter time is ordered or the parties agree) (§ 4941(d)). Judicial-sale redemption for an owner-occupied principal dwelling/farmland is likewise 6 months from the decree (unless shortened), and no sale of an owner-occupied principal residence may occur within 7 months of service of the complaint; for non-residential property the court may eliminate or reduce the redemption period to no more than 30 days (12 V.S.A. § 4946). (Exact pre-suit notice day-counts — needs_verification.) — https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/12/172/04946
• Reinstatement / right to redeem before sale: The mortgagor may redeem at any time prior to the public sale by paying the full judgment amount plus post-judgment costs and expenses of sale (12 V.S.A. § 4949). — https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/12/172/04949
• Redemption after sale: For strict foreclosure, redemption runs 6 months from the decree and there is no post-decree sale; once the period expires the mortgagee owns the property (§ 4941). For judicial sale, the redemption period precedes the sale (§ 4946); no separate post-sale statutory redemption after confirmation (§§ 4946, 4949, 4954).
• Deficiency judgment: Allowed. In a judicial sale, “the court may assess a judgment against the mortgagor for the deficiency if the proceeds of sale are insufficient to meet the expenses incurred in making the sale and the amount due to the plaintiff”; failure to request a deficiency judgment is deemed a waiver (12 V.S.A. § 4954). In a strict foreclosure (no sale), the property is decreed to the mortgagee; a deficiency is pursued, if at all, by a separate action measuring the debt against the property’s fair value (§ 4941 is silent on deficiency). (Whether and how a deficiency may be sought after strict foreclosure under § 4941, and the fair-value-offset mechanics — needs_verification against a Vermont primary source.) — https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/12/172/04954
• Surplus distribution: After a judicial sale, proceeds pay (1) reasonable expenses incurred in making the sale, then (2) amounts due the plaintiff, then (3) other lienholders of record in the order of priority of their liens, and any excess is paid to the defendant mortgagor (12 V.S.A. § 4954, “Procedure following sale”). The court issues a confirmation order. — https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/12/172/04954
• Sale officer: Court-supervised (no private trustee); the sale is conducted under the foreclosure decree and confirmed by the court.

5. Sale Procedure Playbooks

• Municipal tax-collector sale — ordered steps → see treasurer-sale:
  1. Tax becomes delinquent; collector confirms delinquency is ≥ $1,500 and > 1 year old, and offers a written reasonable repayment plan before proceeding (32 V.S.A. § 5252, as amended by Act 106 (2024)).
  2. Collector extends a warrant and levies on the land; files the warrant, tax bill, land description, and statement of levy with the town clerk (§ 5252).
  3. Advertise the sale three weeks successively in a newspaper circulating in the vicinity, the last publication ≥ 10 days before the sale (§§ 5252, 5253); post notice in a public place in town (§ 5252).
  4. Mail certified notice ≥ 30 days before the sale to the delinquent taxpayer and to mortgagees/lienholders; if returned unclaimed, use first-class mail or personal service; email if obtainable; affix notice to the structure’s front door (§ 5252). Notices include a multilingual warning in the state’s five most common non-English languages (Act 106). — https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/133/05252
  5. Public auction; highest bidder pays taxes/costs/fees; a municipality may bid and acquire the land (§§ 5254, 5259). Collector files a report of sale with the town clerk within the statutory window (§ 5255).
  6. One-year redemption runs from sale day; owner keeps possession (§ 5260). The collector must serve written notice 90–120 days before the redemption period ends (certified mail or personal service) and post in a public place (§ 5260).
  7. If unredeemed, collector executes the collector’s deed (§ 5261) and records the land as not redeemed (§ 5262). Surplus, if any, is owed to the former owner under Bogie (Module 3).
• Sheriff sale — ordered steps → see sheriff-sale: Not used for tax foreclosure. Mortgage judicial sales are court-ordered and court-confirmed (12 V.S.A. §§ 4945 et seq.); sheriff’s sales otherwise arise only on execution of money judgments, outside this scope.
• Notice requirements: Tax — publication 3 weeks (last ≥ 10 days pre-sale) + certified mail ≥ 30 days + posting + email + door-posting (§§ 5252–5253), plus the 90–120-day pre-redemption-end notice (§ 5260). Mortgage — notice of intention to foreclose + complaint per Ch. 172. — https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/133/05253
• Upset bid / confirmation: Tax — none (no upset-bid statute). Mortgage — judicial sale requires court confirmation (§ 4954).
• Payment terms: Tax — auction payment to the collector per the notice (terms set locally). Mortgage — per the decree.
• Deed issued: Tax — collector’s deed after the unredeemed one-year period (§ 5261); conveys title “against the person for whose tax it was sold and those claiming under him,” i.e., no general warranties (closer to a special/limited deed). Marketability hinges on strict notice compliance and the § 5263 limitations bar (Module 7).

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

• Standard: mullane-v-central-hanover “reasonably calculated, under all the circumstances, to apprise interested parties.” Vermont applies a substantial-compliance test: not every notice defect is “of jurisdictional magnitude,” and actual notice is not required — the question is whether the town’s overall steps substantially complied with due process (Contos v. Town of Londonderry). — https://www.vlct.org/article/supreme-court-provides-clarity-tax-sale-process
• Required attempts: Certified mail ≥ 30 days to owner and to mortgagees/lienholders; on return-unclaimed, first-class/personal service; plus publication (3 weeks), posting in a public place, email if obtainable, and door-posting (§ 5252). The Act 106 multilingual-warning requirement strengthens the notice content.
• Mortgagee notice: Mortgagees and lienholders are entitled to certified-mail notice ≥ 30 days before the tax sale (§ 5252), consistent with mennonite-v-adams. — https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/133/05252
• Consequence of defective notice: Generally voidable, subject to a one-year limitations bar. A taxpayer must bring an action challenging the tax/collection within one year from the date of the levy by the tax collector (32 V.S.A. §§ 5294–5295; applied in Contos). (A separate bar, § 5263, limits actions to recover the land against a tax-deed grantee in continuous open possession — see Module 7 — and runs one year from accrual, not from levy.) Defects “of jurisdictional magnitude” can void a sale, but ordinary substantial compliance survives. (Whether a constitutionally defective notice voids the deed despite these bars — see needs_verification.) — https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/133/05294
• Leading cases: contos-v-town-of-londonderry, bogie-v-town-of-barnet-1970, ran-mar-v-town-of-berlin, flynn-v-town-of-barton, tyler-v-hennepin-county, jones-v-flowers, mullane-v-central-hanover, mennonite-v-adams.

7. Title & Marketability

• Deed warranty level: Collector’s deed, conveying only “a title against the person for whose tax it was sold and those claiming under him or her” (32 V.S.A. § 5261) — effectively a limited/special conveyance, not a general-warranty deed.
• Marketable immediately? No, not without diligence. Per the Vermont Attorney’s Title Corporation Title Standard 19.1, a collector’s-deed title is treated as marketable when (a) the deed is properly executed and recorded, (b) the examiner confirms the §§ 5252–5253 notice/due-process steps were satisfied, and (c) the applicable one-year limitations periods have run unchallenged — the § 5294/ § 5295 bar on actions against the tax/levy and the § 5263 bar on actions to recover the land against a grantee in continuous open possession who has paid the taxes (or 15 years’ open, notorious possession). — https://www.vermontattorneystitle.com/title-standards/19-1-tax-collectors-deed/
• Quiet title required? Often advisable where notice is questionable; many practitioners rely on the § 5263 grantee-in-possession bar plus a clean notice record rather than a routine quiet-title suit (see Module 5b for the quiet-title / ejectment path and the 40-year Marketable Record Title Act).
• SOL to challenge the tax/levy: One (1) year to bring an action against the tax / levy, measured “from the date of the levy by the tax collector” (32 V.S.A. §§ 5294–5295; applied in Contos). A separate one-year bar (§ 5263) protects a tax-deed grantee in continuous open possession from actions to recover the land, running one year from when the cause of action accrues. Continuous open possession for 15 years also cures (Title Standard 19.1). — https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/133/05294
• Title insurance availability: Generally available once §§ 5252–5253 compliance and the applicable one-year limitations periods are confirmed; underwriters focus on notice compliance and the Tyler/surplus exposure (sale-price-vs-value disparity is flagged as a due-process risk in Standard 19.1).
• Common defects: Defective §§ 5252–5253 notice (misaddressed mail, short timing — cf. Contos); failure to return surplus to the former owner (Bogie/Flynn exposure); undischarged state/federal tax liens (may survive the tax sale); unresolved heirs.

8. Case Law (real, verified)

9. Edge Cases (state-specific notes)

• bankruptcy-automatic-stay — A Chapter 7/13 filing stays the tax sale and the running of collection; interaction with the one-year redemption clock is fact-specific. (Vermont-specific tolling — needs_verification.)
• federal-tax-lien-redemption — A recorded federal tax lien gives the IRS a 120-day post-sale redemption right (26 U.S.C. § 7425); Vermont Title Standard 19.1 warns that state and federal tax liens may not be extinguished by a Vermont tax sale. — https://www.vermontattorneystitle.com/title-standards/19-1-tax-collectors-deed/
• heirs-property — “Owner” includes those claiming under the record owner; heirs may redeem (§ 5260) and are entitled to surplus under Bogie. (Heirship-proof procedure — needs_verification.)
• seniors-tax-deferral — Act 106 (2024) added the $1,500 threshold and mandatory repayment-plan offer specifically to protect older, disabled, and low-income Vermonters from losing homes over small debts. — https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2024/H.629
• void-vs-voidable — Ordinary notice defects are voidable and time-barred after the §§ 5294–5295 one-year window measured from the levy (Contos); only defects “of jurisdictional magnitude” void the sale.
• hoa-super-priority — Vermont is a six-month HOA super-priority state for common-interest communities (27A V.S.A. § 3-116(c)) — see Module 7b.
• tyler-v-hennepin-county — Vermont’s Bogie fiduciary rule predates Tyler; Flynn tests whether actual municipal practice (buy-in + resale) satisfies it.
• tax-abatement — Municipal abatement (24 V.S.A. § 1535, amended by Act 106) provides an administrative off-ramp before/around tax sale.

10. Operations

• Where records live: Town/city clerk (warrant, levy, advertisement, report of sale, collector’s deed, “not redeemed” recording — §§ 5252, 5255, 5261–5262); municipal tax collector/treasurer (delinquency, redemption payments, surplus); Superior Court (tax-sale challenges within §§ 5294–5295 / § 5263; mortgage foreclosure); Vermont State Treasurer — Unclaimed Property (generic unclaimed municipal funds, 27 V.S.A. Ch. 18).
• Public access portals:
  • Vermont Statutes (Title 32, Ch. 133 tax sales): https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/chapter/32/133
  • 32 V.S.A. § 5252 (levy/notice): https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/133/05252
  • 32 V.S.A. § 5260 (redemption): https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/133/05260
  • 12 V.S.A. Ch. 172 (mortgage foreclosure): https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/12/172/04941
  • VLCT Delinquent Tax Collection Handbook: https://www.essexvt.gov/DocumentCenter/View/14008/Delinquent-Tax-Collection-Handbook
  • VLCT “Supreme Court Provides Clarity” (Contos): https://www.vlct.org/article/supreme-court-provides-clarity-tax-sale-process
  • Vermont Attorney’s Title Standard 19.1: https://www.vermontattorneystitle.com/title-standards/19-1-tax-collectors-deed/
  • H.629 / Act 106 (2024) bill status: https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2024/H.629
• Typical costs: Redemption = bid price + 1%/month interest + (for contaminated municipal-acquired land) remediation costs (§ 5260). Pre-sale: tax + municipal interest
  • collection fee + § 5258 levy/advertising/recording costs.
• Typical timelines: Delinquency > 1 year and ≥ $1,500 → repayment-plan offer → warrant/levy → 3-week advertising (last ≥ 10 days pre-sale) + 30-day certified notice → auction → 1-year redemption (with 90–120-day pre-expiration notice) → collector’s deed → one-year challenge bars (§§ 5294–5295 vs. the tax/levy; § 5263 vs. a grantee in possession).
• Key agencies: Town/city clerks and tax collectors; Vermont League of Cities and Towns (VLCT) (practice guidance); Vermont Superior Court; Vermont State Treasurer (unclaimed property); Vermont Legal Aid (taxpayer advocacy).
• Useful forms: Statutory advertisement/notice form (§ 5253), report of sale form (§ 5255), Act 106 multilingual warning form. (Specific form IDs vary by town — needs_verification.)

2b. Redemption Advanced

Assignability of the statutory redemption right:

• Who holds the right: § 5260 expressly extends redemption to “the owner, lien holder, or mortgagee of lands sold for taxes, the owner’s, lien holder’s, or mortgagee’s representatives or assigns.” The redemption right is therefore assignable by its terms — an assign of the owner (or of a lienholder/mortgagee) steps into the right and may redeem within the one-year window. (§ 5260, retrieved 2026-06-02)
• Restrictions: No “natural-persons-only” or “heirs/mortgagees-only” limit — the enumerated classes (owner, lien holder, mortgagee, and their representatives or assigns) are broad. The statute does not require the assign to be a relative or pre-existing lienholder. needs_verification — no retrieved Vermont appellate decision squarely holding that a stranger-investor’s assignment of the redemption right (e.g., via a quitclaim deed taken from the owner solely to redeem) is or is not subject to attack.
• Purchase mechanism: A deed of conveyance / assignment from the owner (the investor becomes the owner’s “assign” under § 5260) or an assignment of a mortgagee/ lienholder’s interest. No court approval is required by statute.

Equitable vs. statutory redemption:

• Vermont’s tax-sale redemption is statutory (§ 5260, one year / 1% per month); there is no separate post-sale equitable redemption surviving that window for tax sales. Pre-sale, the owner may pay the delinquency at any time before the day of sale and stop the sale (§ 5254(a)) — that is payment to avoid the sale, not equitable redemption afterward. The mortgage context preserves a distinct equity of redemption, foreclosed by the strict-foreclosure decree or extinguished before the judicial sale (§§ 4941, 4949 — see §4). (Whether any equitable tolling reaches the one-year tax-sale window — needs_verification.)

Installment redemption:

• Chapter 133 provides no statutory installment-payment plan for redeeming a tax-sale property; redemption requires payment of the full sale price plus 1%/month interest (and, for contaminated municipal-acquired land, remediation costs) within the one-year window (§ 5260). Act 106’s pre-sale “reasonable repayment plan” (§ 5252) is a separate, pre-sale mechanism, not a post-sale installment redemption. needs_verification — no Vermont primary source authorizing partial/installment redemption of a tax-sale bid.

Assignment of the purchaser’s certificate/deed interest (purchaser side) mid-period:

• § 5261 directs the collector to execute the deed “to the purchaser” once the redemption period passes unredeemed; the statute does not expressly address whether the purchaser may assign the inchoate report-of-sale/redemption-refund interest before the deed issues. A report-of-sale interest is a chose in action ordinarily assignable absent a statutory bar, but the collector would need the assignee identified to deed correctly. needs_verification — no retrieved Vermont statute or case squarely authorizing or restricting a mid-redemption assignment of the purchaser’s interest (contrast South Carolina § 12-51-90(A), which expressly provides for it). (§ 5261, retrieved 2026-06-02)

3b. Surplus Advanced

Claim assignability — surplus vs. fee agreement:

• Vermont’s tax-sale surplus right is common-law (Bogie), not a statutory claim, so the statute supplies no assignment rule. A surplus claim against a town is a chose in action, ordinarily assignable absent a prohibition; § 5260 separately makes the redemption right assignable to “assigns.” The operative distinction for operators is between (a) an outright assignment of the surplus claim (transferring title to the fund) and (b) a fee/POA agreement (the owner keeps title and the agent takes a contingent fee) — Vermont regulates neither specifically for tax-sale surplus. needs_verification — no Vermont statute or case squarely holding a tax-sale surplus claim is freely assignable, and no tax-surplus fee cap located.
• Fee cap applies to assignments? No tax-surplus-specific cap located. Vermont’s RUUPA (27 V.S.A. Ch. 18) caps/time-restricts locator agreements for property held by the State Treasurer; whether it reaches town-held tax-sale surplus is unresolved (the Bogie surplus is owed by the town, not the Treasurer). needs_verification.

Statute of limitations on the surplus claim:

• No tax-sale-surplus-specific SOL is stated in Chapter 133; the Bogie duty has no codified deadline. A common-law claim (unjust enrichment / restitution against the town, as pleaded in Flynn) would be governed by Vermont’s general civil limitations in 12 V.S.A. Ch. 23 (e.g., the six-year contract/general civil limitation, 12 V.S.A. § 511), but no retrieved authority fixes the trigger for a tax-sale-surplus claim. needs_verification — period and trigger (date of sale vs. date town realizes surplus on resale) for a Vermont tax-sale-surplus claim.

Competing claimant procedure:

• Chapter 133 prescribes no interpleader or filing-race procedure for tax-sale surplus. Recorded lienholders/mortgagees may redeem (§ 5260) and stand ahead of the owner in any distribution, but the statute does not direct the town how to resolve competing surplus claims; resolution is judicial (Superior Court). needs_verification — no Vermont authority prescribing priority or interpleader for tax-sale surplus.

Deceased-owner procedure:

• The surplus belongs to the former owner; where that owner is deceased, the estate is entitled, and a personal representative with letters from the Probate Division of the Superior Court has standing to claim or assign. Where no estate is open, heirs typically must open probate (or use a small-estate/summary procedure) to establish entitlement; Vermont intestacy (14 V.S.A.) governs distribution. needs_verification — whether a Vermont town will accept a direct-heir surplus claim without probate letters when ownership is unambiguous, and the small-estate threshold under Title 14.

Fraudulent-conveyance exposure:

• An assignment of the surplus claim (or of the underlying redemption right) by an insolvent owner to defeat creditors is exposed under Vermont’s Uniform Voidable Transactions Act (UVTA), 9 V.S.A. Ch. 57 (formerly the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act; short title at § 2299). A transfer is voidable if made with actual intent to hinder/delay/defraud (§ 2288(a)(1)) or without reasonably equivalent value while insolvent (constructive fraud, §§ 2288(a)(2), 2289). (9 V.S.A. Ch. 57, retrieved 2026-06-02)
• SOL (§ 2293): actual-intent claims — 4 years after the transfer, or 1 year after it was or reasonably could have been discovered, whichever is later; constructive- fraud claims — 4 years after the transfer; insider-preference claims — 1 year. A good-faith transferee for reasonably equivalent value is protected (§ 2290). (9 V.S.A. § 2293, retrieved 2026-06-02)
• Note: Vermont adopted the UVTA (not the older UFTA label), so the “badges of fraud” / reasonably-equivalent-value framework and the § 2293 periods govern.

Surplus-claimant notice:

• Chapter 133 requires pre-sale certified-mail notice to the owner and to mortgagees/lienholders (§ 5252) and a 90–120-day pre-redemption-end notice to the taxpayer (§ 5260), but prescribes no post-sale surplus notice to the former owner or to junior lienholders. The substantive surplus right is supplied by Bogie’s fiduciary duty, not a statutory notice provision. needs_verification — whether any Vermont authority requires affirmative surplus notice.

5b. Title Advanced

Quiet title — when required vs. optional:

• Practical standard: A Vermont collector’s deed does not convey immediately marketable/insurable title. Under Title Standard 19.1, a collector’s-deed title is treated as marketable only after (a) proper execution/recording, (b) confirmation that the §§ 5252–5253 notice steps were satisfied, and (c) the one-year limitations bars (§§ 5294–5295 vs. the tax/levy; § 5263 vs. a grantee in possession) have run unchallenged — or 15 years of open, notorious possession. (Title Standard 19.1, retrieved 2026-06-02)
• Quiet title is therefore advisable but not statutorily mandated. Many practitioners rely on the § 5263 grantee-in-possession bar plus a clean notice record; a quiet-title / ejectment action is used where notice is questionable, a cloud persists, or possession must be recovered from a holdover owner.
• Judicial confirmation before deed issues? No for tax sales — the Chapter 133 process is administrative; the collector executes the deed after the unredeemed year without court confirmation (§ 5261). (A mortgage judicial sale does require court confirmation — § 4954 — but that is a different track.)

Action type and court:

• A quiet-title or possession action is judicial, filed in the Civil Division of the Superior Court in the county where the land lies. Vermont’s ejectment statute, 12 V.S.A. Ch. 169 (§§ 4761 et seq.; Superior Court ejectment §§ 4851–4856), is the vehicle a tax-deed grantee uses to recover possession from a holdover former owner; a declaratory/quiet-title count establishes title. (12 V.S.A. Ch. 169, retrieved 2026-06-02) needs_verification — Vermont has no single dedicated “quiet title” enabling section retrieved; the action proceeds under the Civil Division’s general equity/declaratory jurisdiction and the ejectment chapter.

Typical timeline and cost:

• Uncontested (defendants located): commonly a few months from filing to judgment.
• With service by publication (unknown/unlocatable owners or heirs): longer; publication adds weeks.
• Cost range: typically a few thousand dollars uncontested (attorney fee + filing + title abstract + publication); contested or heirs’-property cases run higher. (Practice estimate, not a statutory figure — needs_verification of current Vermont ranges.)

Marketable Title Act:

• Vermont has a Marketable Record Title Act, 27 V.S.A. Ch. 5, Subch. 7 (§§ 601– 611), with a 40-year root-of-title period: “Any person who holds an unbroken chain of title of record to any interest in real estate for 40 years shall at the end of that period be deemed to have a marketable record title to the interest,” free of interests/liens/claims depending on acts prior to that 40-year period (subject to statutory exceptions). (27 V.S.A. § 601, retrieved 2026-06-02) The MRTA helps clear older pre-deed clouds on a well-seasoned chain but does not substitute for the §§ 5263 / 5294–5295 tax-sale-specific bars (the collector’s deed is typically recent).

Deed seasoning — title-insurer requirements:

• Insurers typically require the collector’s deed to be seasoned — the one-year redemption period plus the §§ 5294–5295 / § 5263 one-year challenge bars to have run, and often 15 years of possession or a quiet-title action — before underwriting, focusing on the §§ 5252–5253 notice chain and the Tyler/surplus disparity flagged in Standard 19.1. needs_verification of specific named-insurer seasoning guidelines (market practice, not statute).
• The collector’s deed carries no general warranty (§ 5261), so it is insured (when at all) on the strength of curative work and the limitations bars, not the deed’s covenants.

Chain-of-title cure depth:

• A quiet-title/ejectment judgment cures clouds from pre-deed adverse claims properly joined and served; combined with the § 5263 grantee-in-possession bar, the §§ 5294–5295 challenge bar, and (for older clouds) the 40-year MRTA, most defects are cut off. It does not by its own force clear federal tax liens where the United States was not § 7425-noticed (§7b) or defects “of jurisdictional magnitude.”

5c. TRO & Injunctive Relief

Recognized grounds to halt a sale:

1. Notice / due-process defect — failure of the § 5252 certified-mail / publication / posting chain not “reasonably calculated” to reach the owner (Mullane; Jones v. Flowers; cf. Contos).
2. Payment / redemption dispute — a timely tender of the delinquency (pre-sale) or redemption (within the one-year window) refused or misapplied.
3. Constitutional — taking-without-just-compensation / Fifth Amendment / Tyler-type surplus claim (the Flynn theory).
4. SCRA — active-duty servicemember protections (50 U.S.C. § 3991 et seq.).
5. Bankruptcy automatic stay — sale in violation of 11 U.S.C. § 362 (a stay violation that halts the sale; see bankruptcy-automatic-stay).
6. Fraud / irregularity in the sale process.

Legal standard:

• Vermont follows the conventional preliminary-injunction analysis — (1) likelihood of success on the merits, (2) irreparable harm for which there is no adequate remedy at law, (3) the balance of harms, and (4) the public interest — and loss of unique real property is generally treated as irreparable. For a TRO without notice, V.R.C.P. 65(b) requires a showing by affidavit or verified complaint that immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage will result before the adverse party can be heard; the TRO is short-lived (a 14-day maximum, extendable for like cause), and V.R.C.P. 65(c) conditions issuance on the movant giving security in an amount the court deems proper. needs_verification — the exact V.R.C.P. 65 text and the precise Vermont four-factor formulation could not be fetched from a primary judiciary source (the rule PDF returned a 404/redirect); the standard above tracks the federal Rule 65 the Vermont rule is modeled on, but confirm the Vermont rule’s wording and any nominal-bond practice.
• Federal track: a Tyler-type challenge filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont (as in Flynn) proceeds under Fed. R. Civ. P. 65 and the District of Vermont Local Rules.

Court with jurisdiction:

• The Civil Division of the Superior Court in the county where the property lies. Because the tax sale is administrative/non-judicial, there is no pending case in which to move; a separate emergency action must be filed before the auction (or before the collector’s deed issues). A mortgage foreclosure is already judicial, so relief is sought in the pending foreclosure case.

Bond requirement:

• Security is required under V.R.C.P. 65(c) in an amount the court considers proper for costs and damages if the enjoined party is wrongfully restrained; the court has discretion over the amount. needs_verification of the exact Vermont 65(c) text and whether Vermont courts routinely set a nominal bond for homeowner movants.

Emergency timeline:

• An ex parte TRO meeting the Rule 65(b) affidavit/verified-complaint showing can be obtained on an emergency basis (often within 24–48 hours) at the court’s discretion, followed by an expedited preliminary-injunction hearing before the TRO’s 14-day expiry. needs_verification of any fixed Vermont time limit for the follow-on hearing.

Effect on a completed sale:

• Tax foreclosure is non-judicial, so halting a sale requires the separate emergency action above. After the auction, the purchaser holds only an inchoate report-of-sale interest during the one-year redemption window — title does not pass until the collector’s deed issues (§ 5261) — so a post-auction, pre-deed challenge faces a less-final posture than in deed-on-the-gavel states. After the collector’s deed issues and is recorded, undoing the sale generally requires a judicial action within the §§ 5294–5295 / § 5263 one-year bars; a defect “of jurisdictional magnitude” can render the sale void even then, while ordinary defects are cured by those bars (Contos; void-vs-voidable). needs_verification — no retrieved Vermont decision squarely on the effect of a post-deed TRO.

Non-judicial notes:

• Vermont mortgage foreclosure is judicial (so a motion is filed in the existing case), but the tax sale is non-judicial, requiring a fresh emergency filing — the more difficult posture for an owner racing a scheduled tax auction.

Leading cases: contos-v-town-of-londonderry (notice/substantial-compliance), flynn-v-town-of-barton (federal Tyler challenge), jones-v-flowers (due-process standard).

7b. Lien Survival & Purchaser Exposure

IRS 120-day redemption (26 U.S.C. § 7425):

• Applies. Where a federal tax lien is recorded against the property and is junior to the tax lien being enforced, the party conducting the sale must give the United States written notice (registered/certified mail or personal service) at least 25 days before the sale (§ 7425(c)); if properly noticed, the federal lien is discharged but the United States holds a 120-day post-sale right of redemption (§ 7425(d)) — or the local-law redemption period if longer; if not noticed, the federal lien survives the sale. (26 U.S.C. § 7425, retrieved 2026-06-02) Because Vermont’s redemption period is one year (longer than 120 days), the United States effectively has at least that local window where applicable.
• Practical exposure: Vermont Title Standard 19.1 warns that state and federal tax liens may not be extinguished by a Vermont tax sale; a federal-tax-lien search before bidding is essential. See federal-tax-lien-redemption.

HOA / common-interest super-priority:

• Vermont IS a six-month super-priority state. Under the Vermont Common Interest Ownership Act, 27A V.S.A. § 3-116, an association’s assessment lien is “prior to all other liens and encumbrances on a unit except” (1) liens recorded before the declaration, (2) a first mortgage/deed of trust recorded before the assessment became delinquent, and (3) liens for real-estate taxes and governmental charges — but § 3-116(c) carves a super-priority over even a prior first mortgage “to the extent of the common expense assessments … that would have become due … during the six months immediately preceding institution of an action to enforce the lien.” (27A V.S.A. § 3-116, retrieved 2026-06-02)
• Survives a mortgage foreclosure? The six-month super-priority portion has priority over a first mortgage, so a foreclosing first mortgagee takes subject to (must satisfy) that six-month slice; the balance of the association lien is subordinate and is extinguished by a senior mortgage foreclosure that joins the association. needs_verification — the statute states the priority but does not expressly spell out the survival mechanics through a completed first-mortgage sale; no retrieved Vermont case on point.
• Survives a tax sale? A Vermont tax lien outranks the association lien (§ 3-116(b) excepts “liens for real estate taxes and other governmental … charges”), so a Chapter 133 tax sale enforcing the ad valorem tax lien takes ahead of the association assessment lien. needs_verification — no retrieved Vermont decision squarely holding the assessment lien is extinguished by a Chapter 133 tax deed (the statutory priority text supports it).

Environmental / CERCLA liens:

• A federal CERCLA lien (42 U.S.C. § 9607(l)) is a federal claim; as with a federal tax lien, notice to the United States governs whether it is discharged by the sale, and CERCLA owner/operator liability runs with the land regardless of how title was acquired — so a tax-deed purchaser of a contaminated site can face cleanup liability independent of the recorded lien. Vermont’s tax statute itself anticipates contaminated land: a municipality that acquires contaminated land may add assessment/remediation costs to the redemption amount (§ 5260), signaling that remediation exposure can attach to tax-acquired parcels. needs_verification — no Vermont-specific authority on CERCLA-lien survival of a Chapter 133 tax deed; this reflects the general federal rule.
• State super-lien: Vermont has hazardous-waste / brownfield programs under 10 V.S.A., but no confirmed state environmental super-lien with priority over a tax title was located. needs_verification.

Municipal code / nuisance liens:

• Whether municipal code-enforcement / nuisance-abatement liens survive a Chapter 133 tax deed is not resolved by retrieved primary authority. The contaminated-land add-on in § 5260 is the only statutory signal that municipal remediation/assessment costs attach to tax-acquired land. needs_verification — confirm survival/priority of municipal code- enforcement liens against a Vermont tax title.

Mechanic’s liens:

• A mechanic’s/contractor’s lien (9 V.S.A. Ch. 51) is a private statutory lien; its priority against a tax title turns on recording/perfection dates and the superiority of the ad valorem tax lien. needs_verification — no retrieved Vermont authority squarely on whether a perfected mechanic’s lien survives a Chapter 133 tax deed.

Junior-mortgage / senior-lien exposure:

• A Vermont tax sale enforces the ad valorem tax lien, generally superior to private mortgages; the collector’s deed conveys “against the person for whose tax it was sold and those claiming under him” (§ 5261). Common mistake: assuming the tax deed wipes everything — it does not clear a federal tax lien where the United States was not § 7425-noticed, may not clear the 27A § 3-116 six-month HOA super-priority, and a failure to give the required § 5252 notice to a mortgagee of record can be a defect exposing the sale to challenge within the one-year bars.

Due-diligence checklist (Vermont tax-sale buyer):

1. Federal tax lien search (town/county records / IRS) — § 7425 notice / 120-day redemption exposure; state tax liens (Title Standard 19.1 warning).
2. §§ 5252–5253 notice-chain review — certified mail ≥ 30 days, publication (3 weeks, last ≥ 10 days), posting, email, door-posting, and the § 5260 90–120-day pre-redemption notice.
3. Mortgagee/lienholder-of-record check — confirm § 5252 notice was given.
4. HOA / common-interest status — 27A § 3-116 six-month super-priority slice.
5. Environmental check — CERCLA / contaminated-site liability runs with the land; § 5260 remediation add-on for municipal-acquired contaminated parcels.
6. Bankruptcy search on the owner — active 11 U.S.C. § 362 stay at the time of sale?
7. Probate / heirs check — unprobated estates and heirs are a frequent defect / surplus complication.
8. SCRA servicemember check on the owner.
9. Surplus / Tyler exposure — sale-price-vs-value disparity (Standard 19.1; Bogie/ Flynn).
10. Possession — owner retains possession through the one-year redemption; title passes only on the collector’s deed (§§ 5260–5261), with ejectment (12 V.S.A. Ch. 169) to recover.

10b. Purchaser Obligations During the Redemption Period

Subsequent taxes:

• During the one-year redemption period the purchaser holds only an inchoate report-of-sale interest, not title; the owner retains possession and taxes accruing during the year remain the owner’s obligation (§ 5260). There is no certificate-holder “subs” accrual system (no transferable certificate). If the property is redeemed, the purchaser is repaid the sale price + 1%/month interest (§ 5260); the statute does not add a purchaser-paid- subsequent-tax reimbursement line for ordinary parcels, though a municipality that acquired contaminated land may add assessment/remediation costs to the redemption amount. (§ 5260, retrieved 2026-06-02)
• Consequence of not paying: A private purchaser has no title and no statutory duty to pay subsequent taxes during the year; those remain the owner’s obligation.

Owner-expiration notice:

• The collector — not the purchaser — gives the pre-expiration notice. § 5260 requires the collector to serve written notice to the delinquent taxpayer between 90 and 120 days before the end of the redemption period by certified mail or personal service, and to post notice in a public place in the municipality in that same 90–120-day window. The notice states the property, the sale date, the redemption deadline, the amount due, and the collector’s contact information. (§ 5260, retrieved 2026-06-02) The tax-sale purchaser bears no statutory obligation to notify the owner of the impending expiration. (Consequence of a defective § 5260 notice — needs_verification; a notice failure is a candidate due-process defect under the §§ 5294–5295 / § 5263 framework.)

Owner occupancy:

• The owner retains possession during the redemption year; the purchaser holds only an inchoate interest and may not enter or take possession until the collector’s deed issues (§§ 5260–5261). After the deed issues, the grantee may recover possession from a holdover owner by ejectment (12 V.S.A. Ch. 169). (§ 5261, retrieved 2026-06-02)

Costs collectible on redemption:

• The sale price + 1% per month (or fraction) interest from the day of sale to the day of payment (§ 5260); for municipality-acquired contaminated land, plus all assessment/ remediation costs incurred or authorized by any local, State, or federal authority (§ 5260). Documented improvements by an ordinary purchaser are not statutorily collectible — the purchaser has no possession or right to improve during the year. (§ 5260, retrieved 2026-06-02)

Maintenance obligation:

• None on the purchaser during the redemption period — the purchaser holds no possession and no statutory maintenance duty; the owner, who retains possession, remains responsible. After the deed issues, the new grantee has the ordinary obligations of an owner under local code/ordinance. needs_verification — no Vermont statute imposing a tax-sale-purchaser maintenance duty during redemption (consistent with the no-possession rule).

11b. Restrictions & Special Rules

Entity / insider restrictions:

• No entity restriction. Chapter 133 does not limit tax-sale bidders to natural persons; LLCs, corporations, and trusts may bid and hold tax-sale interests, and a municipality itself may bid and acquire the land (§ 5259: “the city or town by which the tax is assessed may become the purchaser at the tax sale”). (§ 5259, retrieved 2026-06-02) No statewide foreign-entity ownership ban of the Florida Ch. 692 type was located. needs_verification of any Vermont foreign-ownership statute.
• Insider prohibition: Chapter 133 contains no express prohibition on the tax collector or town officers bidding for their own account; general Vermont municipal conflict-of-interest / ethics rules may restrict an official from profiting from official duties. needs_verification — confirm no Chapter 133 or municipal-ethics bar specific to tax-sale bidding by the collector/officers.

Right of first refusal / land bank:

• Municipal buy-in (de facto ROFR): § 5259 lets the assessing town become the purchaser at the tax sale where no bid equal to the tax and costs is made — the “town buys in” mechanism at the heart of Bogie and Flynn. (§ 5259, retrieved 2026-06-02) There is no separate statutory match-window ROFR for nonprofits/CDCs in Chapter 133.
• Land bank: Vermont has no enacted statewide land-bank statute as of 2026 — Title 24 does not contain an operative land-bank chapter (Chapter 139 is the “State Community Investment Program,” not a land bank). A statewide Land Bank feasibility study / working group under the Agency of Commerce and Community Development is ongoing (directed by 2024 Act 181, § 111), but no land-bank enabling act has been adopted. (Title 24 chapter list, retrieved 2026-06-02; ACCD Land Bank Working Group) needs_verification — confirm no land-bank act is enacted in a later session.

Deficiency judgment:

• After a tax sale: No deficiency judgment — the Chapter 133 tax sale collects only what the property brings at auction; the statute provides no personal judgment against the former owner for any shortfall.
• After mortgage foreclosure (judicial sale): Permitted — “the court may assess a judgment against the mortgagor for the deficiency if the proceeds of sale are insufficient to meet the expenses … and the amount due to the plaintiff,” and failure to request a deficiency is a waiver (12 V.S.A. § 4954). (§ 4954, retrieved 2026-06-02)
• After strict foreclosure (no sale): The property is decreed to the mortgagee; § 4941 is silent on deficiency, so a deficiency, if pursued, is via a separate action measuring the debt against the property’s value. needs_verification — Vermont mechanics for a deficiency after strict foreclosure under § 4941 (fair-value-offset measure).

Anti-deficiency statute:

• No general anti-deficiency statute barring deficiency judgments was located; the judicial-sale deficiency is governed by § 4954 (and the strict-foreclosure measure by the property’s value against the debt). needs_verification — confirm no Vermont anti-deficiency provision (e.g., purchase-money-only) exists.

One-action rule:

• Vermont has no one-action rule of the California type requiring the creditor to exhaust the security before suing on the note that was located. needs_verification — confirm against a retrieved Vermont primary source that no one-action rule applies; flagged as honest gap.

Who this page is for

▸ For Investors / Operators — Start with §1 (in-person highest-bid municipal auction; the property, not a certificate, is sold), §2/2b (the one-year / 1%-per-month redemption risk — and that the redemption right runs to the owner’s, lienholder’s, or mortgagee’s “assigns” under § 5260), §5b (path to marketable title — the §§ 5294–5295 and § 5263 one-year bars, the 40-year Marketable Record Title Act (27 V.S.A. § 601), ejectment under 12 V.S.A. Ch. 169, and Title Standard 19.1), §7b (liens that survive — federal tax liens with the IRS § 7425 120-day redemption, the 27A V.S.A. § 3-116 six-month HOA super-priority, and municipal/environmental exposure), and §11b (broad entity eligibility, the § 5259 municipal buy-in, no enacted land bank, and the § 4954 deficiency on a judicial sale).

▸ For Former Owners — Start with §3 (surplus — under Bogie v. Town of Barnet the town holds any sale proceeds above the tax debt and costs as a fiduciary and must return them to you; because there is no statutory claim office, the claim is pursued from the town/collector or by suit in Superior Court), §2/2b (redemption — paying the sale price plus 1%/month within one year, with a collector’s notice due 90–120 days before the deadline under § 5260), and §5c (grounds, the V.R.C.P. 65 security, and procedure for an emergency action to halt a scheduled sale).

11. Meta

• sources:
  • {type: statute, url: “https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/133/05252”, retrieved: 2026-06-01} # 32 VSA 5252 levy/notice; $1,500 threshold; repayment plan; 30-day certified mail; 3-wk ads; posting/email/door; multilingual (Act 106)
  • {type: statute, url: “https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/chapter/32/133”, retrieved: 2026-06-02} # Ch. 133 section list (5251 defs … 5263 limitation; 5256 lease lands; 5258 fees; 5259 municipality acquire; 5291-5295 limitations)
  • {type: statute, url: “https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/133/05254”, retrieved: 2026-06-01} # 32 VSA 5254 sale of realty; sold to pay taxes/costs/fees; partial-parcel certs
  • {type: statute, url: “https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/133/05255”, retrieved: 2026-06-01} # 32 VSA 5255 report of sale; collector turns over tax-satisfying amount to town treasurer
  • {type: statute, url: “https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/133/05259”, retrieved: 2026-06-02} # 32 VSA 5259 municipality may acquire land on tax sale (buy-in); no entity/insider bidder restriction
  • {type: statute, url: “https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/133/05260”, retrieved: 2026-06-02} # 32 VSA 5260 redemption; 1 year; 1%/month; owner/lienholder/mortgagee + representatives/assigns; 90-120 day pre-end notice (certified mail/personal service + posting); contaminated-land remediation add-on
  • {type: statute, url: “https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/133/05261”, retrieved: 2026-06-02} # 32 VSA 5261 collector’s deed; title against person for whose tax sold + those claiming under; silent on purchaser-side mid-period assignment
  • {type: statute, url: “https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/133/05263”, retrieved: 2026-06-01} # 32 VSA 5263 “Limitation of actions against grantee in possession”; 1 yr from accrual; recover-land bar
  • {type: statute, url: “https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/32/133/05294”, retrieved: 2026-06-01} # 32 VSA 5294 1-yr limitation on actions challenging tax collection; §5295 “from date of levy” (per Contos)
  • {type: statute, url: “https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/12/172/04941”, retrieved: 2026-06-02} # 12 VSA 4941 strict foreclosure; subsec (c) no strict FC if substantial value > debt+liens+taxes; subsec (d) 6-mo redemption; silent on deficiency
  • {type: statute, url: “https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/12/172/04946”, retrieved: 2026-06-01} # 12 VSA 4946 judicial-sale procedure; 6-mo redemption owner-occupied dwelling/farmland; no sale within 7 mo of service; ≤30 days non-residential
  • {type: statute, url: “https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/12/172/04949”, retrieved: 2026-06-01} # 12 VSA 4949 redemption prior to judicial sale; full judgment + costs/expenses of sale
  • {type: statute, url: “https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/12/172/04954”, retrieved: 2026-06-01} # 12 VSA 4954 “Procedure following sale”; expenses→plaintiff→junior liens by priority→excess to mortgagor; deficiency judgment; failure-to-request = waiver; court confirmation
  • {type: statute, url: “https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/chapter/12/172”, retrieved: 2026-06-01} # Title 12 Ch.172 section list; subch.2 strict FC (4941); subch.3 judicial sale (4945-4954)
  • {type: statute, url: “https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/chapter/12/169”, retrieved: 2026-06-02} # Title 12 Ch.169 Ejectment; Superior Court (§§4761 et seq.; 4851-4856 Superior Court ejectment) — vehicle to recover possession post-deed
  • {type: statute, url: “https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/27/005/00601”, retrieved: 2026-06-02} # 27 VSA 601 Marketable Record Title Act; Ch.5 Subch.7; 40-year unbroken chain = marketable record title
  • {type: statute, url: “https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/27a/003/00116”, retrieved: 2026-06-02} # 27A VSA 3-116 CIOA association lien; (b) priority except liens-before-declaration / first mortgage-before-delinquency / taxes; (c) SIX-MONTH super-priority over first mortgage
  • {type: statute, url: “https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/fullchapter/09/057”, retrieved: 2026-06-02} # 9 VSA Ch.57 UVTA (formerly UFTA, short title §2299); §2288 actual/constructive fraud; §2290 good-faith transferee; §2293 SOL (4yr / 1yr discovery; 1yr insider)
  • {type: statute, url: “https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/title/24”, retrieved: 2026-06-02} # Title 24 chapter list; NO enacted land-bank chapter (Ch.139 = State Community Investment Program)
  • {type: federal_statute, url: “https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/7425”, retrieved: 2026-06-02} # 26 USC 7425 IRS 120-day redemption (d); 25-day pre-sale notice (c); un-noticed federal lien survives
  • {type: case, url: “https://law.justia.com/cases/vermont/supreme-court/1970/128-69-0.html”, retrieved: 2026-06-01} # Bogie v. Town of Barnet, 128 Vt. 280 (1970); fiduciary duty; surplus to taxpayer
  • {type: case, url: “https://law.justia.com/cases/vermont/supreme-court/2006/op2005-311.html”, retrieved: 2026-06-01} # Ran-Mar, Inc. v. Town of Berlin, 2006 VT 117; UPHELD sale; “fees” collectible; “penalties” label not fatal; reasonableness/substantial compliance
  • {type: case, url: “https://law.justia.com/cases/vermont/supreme-court/2023/22-ap-240.html”, retrieved: 2026-06-01} # Contos v. Town of Londonderry & Superchi; docket 22-AP-240; decided Feb 10 2023; substantial compliance; 1-yr from levy (§§5294-5295)
  • {type: agency, url: “https://www.vlct.org/article/supreme-court-provides-clarity-tax-sale-process”, retrieved: 2026-06-01} # VLCT summary of Contos; substantial compliance; 1-yr from date of levy (§5294/§5295)
  • {type: agency, url: “https://www.vermontattorneystitle.com/title-standards/19-1-tax-collectors-deed/”, retrieved: 2026-06-01} # Title Standard 19.1; marketability; 1-yr limitations; 15-yr possession; tax-lien survival
  • {type: agency, url: “https://accd.vermont.gov/land-bank-working-group”, retrieved: 2026-06-02} # ACCD Land Bank Working Group — statewide land bank still in feasibility/study stage (2024 Act 181 §111); none enacted
  • {type: agency, url: “https://www.essexvt.gov/DocumentCenter/View/14008/Delinquent-Tax-Collection-Handbook”, retrieved: 2026-06-01} # VLCT Delinquent Tax Collection Handbook; process overview
  • {type: legislation, url: “https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2024/H.629”, retrieved: 2026-06-01} # H.629 = Act 106 (2024); signed May 13 2024; $1,500 threshold; repayment plan; multilingual notice; no statutory surplus-return procedure
  • {type: news, url: “https://www.vtlegalaid.org/news/settlement-tax-sale-lawsuit-barton-orleans”, retrieved: 2026-06-01} # Flynn v. Town of Barton SETTLED June 2024; Village of Orleans returned home + paid fees/costs; no merits ruling
  • {type: case, url: “https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/598/22-166/”, retrieved: 2026-06-01} # Tyler v. Hennepin County, 598 U.S. 631 (2023); surplus equity = Fifth Amendment taking
• needs_verification:
  • V.R.C.P. 65 exact text (Module 5c): The Vermont judiciary rule PDF returned a 404/ redirect and could not be fetched from a primary source; the TRO standard, 14-day duration, and 65(c) security requirement are stated to track the federal Rule 65 the Vermont rule is modeled on. Confirm the exact Vermont wording, the precise four-factor PI test from a controlling VT opinion, and any nominal-bond practice.
  • Tax-sale surplus mechanics (the core business question): Bogie establishes the substantive right; Chapter 133 sets no claim venue, deadline, or escheat for tax-sale surplus, and no SOL/trigger is fixed by retrieved authority (the Flynn claim sounded in unjust enrichment/takings). Confirm no later session added a statutory surplus procedure and the governing limitations period/trigger.
  • Third-party recovery rules for tax surplus: no tax-specific fee cap, licensing, cooling-off, or disclosure statute located; confirm whether Vermont’s RUUPA (27 V.S.A. Ch. 18) finder-fee cap reaches town-held tax-sale surplus and at what %.
  • Redemption-right / purchaser-interest assignment (2b): § 5260 makes the owner’s redemption right assignable to “assigns”; no retrieved authority squarely addresses (a) a stranger-investor owner-deed taken solely to acquire redemption standing, or (b) the purchaser’s mid-redemption assignment of the report-of-sale interest (§ 5261 silent).
  • HOA super-priority survival mechanics (7b): 27A § 3-116(c) states the six-month super-priority over a first mortgage; no retrieved Vermont case confirms how the slice is satisfied through a completed first-mortgage sale, or that the assessment lien is extinguished by a Chapter 133 tax deed (statutory priority text supports it).
  • Lien survival (7b): no retrieved Vermont authority squarely on whether municipal code-enforcement / nuisance liens, mechanic’s liens, or a CERCLA lien survive a Chapter 133 tax deed; no state environmental super-lien located.
  • Strict-foreclosure deficiency (4 / 11b): § 4954 deficiency (judicial sale) confirmed; § 4941 is silent on deficiency after strict foreclosure — confirm the Vermont mechanics and fair-value measure; confirm no anti-deficiency or one-action rule.
  • Marketable Title Act / quiet title (5b): 27 V.S.A. § 601 (40-yr MRTA) retrieved; no single dedicated Vermont “quiet title” enabling section located (action proceeds under Civil Division equity/declaratory jurisdiction + ejectment Ch. 169); timeline/cost are practitioner estimates.
  • Land bank (11b): confirmed none enacted in Title 24 as of 2026 (study/working group ongoing); confirm no land-bank act adopted in a later session.
  • Contos exact neutral citation: confirmed real (docket 22-AP-240, decided Feb. 10, 2023) and holdings verified; Justia metadata inconsistently shows a “2021 VT 20” tag — confirm the official neutral citation before citing a VT ¶ number.
  • § 5294 vs. § 5295 split: §§ 5294–5295 set the one-year-from-levy bar applied in Contos; § 5295’s “from the date of the levy” sub-language is drawn from Contos/VLCT rather than a direct § 5295 fetch — confirm § 5295 text directly.
  • Pre-sale interest/penalty/collection-fee rate (24 V.S.A. §§ 1531–1533) — exact statewide/town rates not fetched directly.
  • Bankruptcy / minors / SCRA tolling of the one-year tax redemption — not confirmed against a Vermont primary source.
  • Deceased-owner / heirship surplus procedure — whether a Vermont town accepts a direct- heir surplus claim without probate letters; Title 14 small-estate threshold.
• open_questions:
  • Does Vermont’s Bogie common-law surplus rule, without a statutory claim procedure, satisfy Tyler’s requirement of a meaningful opportunity to recover surplus? Flynn raised this but settled (June 2024) without a merits ruling, so the question is still open post-Tyler.
  • When a municipality buys in (§ 5259) and later resells, at what point and by what process must it tender surplus to the former owner?
  • Do any Vermont consumer-protection or unclaimed-property rules cap recovery-agent fees for tax-sale surplus, or is the field unregulated?
  • Does a Chapter 133 tax deed extinguish a recorded 27A § 3-116 association lien, and how is the six-month super-priority satisfied through a first-mortgage foreclosure?
• cross_links: right-of-redemption, surplus-funds, third-party-recovery-rules, treasurer-sale, sheriff-sale, due-process-notice, tyler-v-hennepin-county, jones-v-flowers, mullane-v-central-hanover, mennonite-v-adams, bogie-v-town-of-barnet-1970, contos-v-town-of-londonderry, ran-mar-v-town-of-berlin, flynn-v-town-of-barton, bankruptcy-automatic-stay, federal-tax-lien-redemption, heirs-property, seniors-tax-deferral, void-vs-voidable, hoa-super-priority, tax-abatement
• changelog:
  • 2026-06-01 — Initial population. Primary sources: 32 V.S.A. §§ 5252, 5254, 5255, 5260, 5261 (+ Ch. 133 list, § 5263); 12 V.S.A. §§ 4941, 4946, 4949, 4954 (mortgage). Cases: Bogie (128 Vt. 280, 1970), Contos (22-AP-240, 2023), Ran-Mar (2006 VT 117), Flynn (D. Vt. 2024), Tyler (2023). Findings: VT = redeemable tax-deed-by-auction at the town level, 1-year / 1%-per-month redemption (§ 5260); surplus belongs to the former owner by common law (Bogie) with no statutory claim procedure (Flynn settled without merits ruling); Act 106 (2024) added $1,500 threshold + repayment plan + multilingual notice. Mortgage = judicial, strict foreclosure default (6-mo redemption) unless substantial equity forces a judicial sale.
  • 2026-06-01 — Adversarial citation-verification pass: corrected the §§ 5294–5295 (vs. § 5263) limitations cite throughout; moved the 6-mo judicial-sale redemption to § 4946 and deficiency/ surplus to § 4954; corrected the Ran-Mar holding (sale UPHELD on reasonableness); re-cited Contos by docket; updated Flynn to settled-June-2024. No fabricated citations found.
  • 2026-06-02 — Wave 2: Added the 7 advanced modules (2b, 3b, 5b, 5c, 7b, 10b, 11b) and applied the neutral-reference + segmented-CTA voice (two CTA blocks: after §3 and before §11; neutralized the §3 advocacy framing and the lead paragraph). New primary sources fetched and verified: 27A V.S.A. § 3-116 (six-month HOA super-priority — Vermont is a super-lien state); 27 V.S.A. § 601 (40-year Marketable Record Title Act); 9 V.S.A. Ch. 57 UVTA (§§ 2288/2290/2293/2299 — fraudulent-transfer regime + 4yr/1yr SOL); 12 V.S.A. Ch. 169 (ejectment / Superior Court possession vehicle); 26 U.S.C. § 7425 (IRS 120-day redemption
    • 25-day notice); § 5259 (municipal buy-in; no entity/insider bidder restriction); § 5260 re-fetch confirming the 90–120-day pre-redemption-end collector notice and the assigns-may-redeem language; § 4941 re-fetch (strict-FC gate + 6-mo redemption, silent on deficiency); Title 24 list (no enacted land bank — feasibility study only). gap_score 11 → 16: rows 11 (7×15=105 pts), 13 (quiet-title mapped), and 15 (HOA super-priority stated) cleared; remaining points are all honest needs_verification flags (row 2) — no rows 3–5 contributions. V.R.C.P. 65 exact text could not be fetched (judiciary PDF 404) and is flagged needs_verification rather than asserted.

Local pages

County deep dives: county pages for this jurisdiction are being added largest-first. Unclaimed funds agency: unclaimed-property-vermont

Legal information, not legal advice. This page summarizes Vermont law from the cited primary sources as of the last_verified date. Statutes, interest rates, notice forms, and case law change; municipal practices vary across Vermont’s ~247 towns and cities, and the surplus/Tyler question remains unsettled (the Flynn v. Town of Barton challenge settled in June 2024 without a merits ruling). Verify against the current Vermont Statutes (Titles 9, 12, 24, 27, 27A, 32), Act 106 (2024), the applicable town’s procedures, and consult a licensed Vermont attorney before acting. Last verified: 2026-06-02.