Pennsylvania Tax Sales: Your Rights and How to Set Aside an Upset Sale

If your Pennsylvania property was sold at an Upset Tax Sale, or you are facing one for unpaid real estate taxes, you have due process rights under the Pennsylvania and United States Constitutions, even if you did not pay the taxes. A tax sale can often be set aside when the county Tax Claim Bureau failed to strictly comply with the notice requirements of the Real Estate Tax Sale Law. If your property was sold, contact an attorney immediately, even if the sale happened months or years ago.

Call 215-540-2653 to discuss setting aside a tax sale.

The law is very clear that the sale of real property for the collection of real estate taxes may not be implemented without the due process of law as guaranteed in the Pennsylvania and United States Constitutions. This due process requires at a minimum that an owner of land be actually notified by the government, if reasonably possible, before his land is forfeited by the state. Likewise, the burden is on the Tax Claim Bureau in all cases to demonstrate compliance with the Real Estate Tax Sales Law (“Tax Sale Law”).

Keeping these two principles in mind, if you find that your real estate has been sold at an Upset Sale or Judicial Sale without proper and required notice to you, you may be successful in overturning the sale. You should contact an attorney immediately, as soon as you learn that a sale occurred, even if it is years later.

Can Someone Take Your Property by Paying the Taxes in Pennsylvania?

In Pennsylvania, an unpaid property can be sold to a third party at an Upset Tax Sale, and there is no right to redeem the property after a valid sale. However, the buyer takes the property at the risk that the Tax Claim Bureau strictly complied with the Tax Sale Law. If the required notice was defective, the owner may petition to set aside the sale, even after the deed has transferred to the buyer.

Your Key Rights Before an Upset Tax Sale

Remember, you have due process rights guaranteed by the United States and Pennsylvania Constitutions, even if you did not pay your taxes. These are some of your key rights, and the government’s required compliance, before your home or other real estate may be sold at an Upset Sale.

1. The Tax Claim Bureau must strictly comply with every requirement of the Tax Sale Law. A failure to strictly comply with each and every statutory requirement will nullify an Upset Sale. The focus is not on the alleged neglect of the owner, but on whether the Bureau’s activities strictly complied with all of the requirements of the Tax Sale Law.

2. You have the right to four kinds of notice before an Upset Sale:
   • United States certified mail, restricted delivery, return receipt requested, postage prepaid. If the Bureau does not receive the required return receipt, similar notice must be sent to each owner at least ten (10) days before the sale by United States first class mail, proof of mailing, at the owner’s last known address.
   • Personal service upon an owner of an owner-occupied property (see below).
   • Posting of the property at least ten (10) days before the sale under 72 P.S. § 5860.602(e)(3). The posting must be conspicuous, attract attention, and be placed for all to observe.
   • Publication at least thirty (30) days before the sale in two newspapers of general circulation and once in the county legal journal.
3. You have the right to be personally served. An owner-occupied property cannot be sold at an Upset Sale unless the owner has been personally served with written notice at least ten (10) days before the sale. 72 P.S. § 5860.601(a)(3). If you are not personally served, the sale may be defective even if you had actual notice. A court may waive personal service only on “good cause” shown, and an unwarranted waiver may be challenged.

4. You have the right to additional efforts to locate you. When mailed notice is returned or there is significant doubt it was received, the Bureau must make reasonable efforts to find you, including searching telephone directories, tax assessment records, the recorder of deeds, and the prothonotary’s office, and must document those efforts in the property file.

5. You have the right to be offered a payment plan in certain circumstances. If a taxpayer offers 25% of the outstanding delinquent taxes, the Bureau is required to offer an installment agreement. 72 Pa. Stat. § 5860.603. An Upset Sale is void if the Bureau fails to calculate the amount offered or fails to offer a payment plan.

6. You have the right to pay your delinquent taxes in full before the Upset Sale. The Bureau must accept payment in full, including interest and charges, before the sale.

7. IMPORTANT: You do NOT have the right to redeem your property after a valid Upset Sale. The Tax Sale Law has no provision to redeem after a valid sale. The only post-sale right is to petition to set aside the sale. Redemption exists only before the sale.

8. You have the right to challenge the Upset Sale. If your property was sold and the Bureau failed to safeguard any of these rights, or otherwise failed to strictly comply, you may file a petition to set aside the sale, even after confirmation and even after the property is deeded to the purchaser. If the sale is set aside, you must be prepared to pay your delinquent taxes, but you do not repay the purchaser; the Bureau refunds the purchaser’s money.

How to Set Aside or Challenge a Pennsylvania Tax Sale

If your property was sold at an Upset Sale, you may file a petition to set aside the sale based on the Tax Claim Bureau’s failure to strictly comply with the Tax Sale Law or to satisfy constitutional due process. You are initially given thirty (30) days from the court’s confirmation to file objections. However, a challenge based on defective notice may be brought later, even after the deed transfers to the purchaser. Because timing still matters, you should act as soon as you learn of the sale.

Representative Results

Timoney Knox’s litigation team has set aside Pennsylvania Upset Tax Sales for defective notice, including:

• Fayette County. In Scheider v. Fayette County Tax Claim Bureau, the court overturned an Upset Sale of a family’s second home, sold over less than $500 in past-due taxes, where the Bureau addressed the required mailed notices with the owner’s name reversed (last name first), the mail was returned as undeliverable, and the owner never received notice. The court held the misaddressed notices invalid and set aside the sale.

• Delaware County. In B&B Enterprise Group LLC v. Delaware County Tax Claim Bureau, No. CV-2022-007985 (Del. Co. C.C.P. May 16, 2024), the court voided an Upset Sale of a Chester property where the Bureau repeatedly mailed notices to a wrong address, ignored mail returned as “Return to Sender,” and failed to check County records that showed the correct address. The court set aside the sale and restored ownership to the taxpayer.
  

Past results do not guarantee, warrant, or predict future outcomes. Every matter turns on its own facts.

Conclusion

If your property is sold at an Upset Sale, it is important that you contact an attorney immediately, even if months or years later. The Tax Claim Bureau is required to provide notice in strict compliance with the Tax Sale Law. For a detailed discussion of the notice rules and the case law behind them, see our companion article, Strict Compliance Required: Notice Requirements Before the Tax Sale of Your Home.

Talk to a Pennsylvania Tax Sale Attorney

If your property was sold at an Upset Tax Sale, or you are facing one, Eric B. Smith, Esquire, Chair of the Litigation Group at Timoney Knox, LLP in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, represents property owners in tax sale and real estate disputes throughout the Commonwealth.

Call 215-540-2653 or email esmith@timoneyknox.com to discuss your situation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get my property back after a Pennsylvania tax sale? There is no right to redeem your property after a valid Upset Sale. However, if the Tax Claim Bureau failed to strictly comply with the Tax Sale Law’s notice requirements, you may petition to set aside the sale, even after the deed has transferred. If successful, ownership can be restored, and you would then pay your delinquent taxes rather than repay the purchaser.

How long do I have to challenge an Upset Tax Sale? You are initially given thirty (30) days from the court’s confirmation nisi to file objections. However, there is no fixed time limit to challenge an Upset Sale on the basis of defective notice under the Tax Sale Law. Because delay can still create obstacles, you should contact an attorney as soon as you learn of the sale.

What happens to liens from other creditors after an Upset Sale? Mortgages and other liens typically remain, with only the tax liens being discharged. If your property does not sell at an Upset Sale, it is then sold at a Judicial Sale. Property sold at a Judicial Sale is sold free and clear of all liens and encumbrances.

Can I purchase my own property at an Upset Sale? No, you cannot purchase your own property at an Upset Sale, but others, including family or friends, may do so. A bidder must be authorized to participate; one may not simply appear at an Upset Sale and bid.

What must I prove to get my property back after an Upset Sale? You must prove nothing. The Tax Claim Bureau must prove that it strictly complied with the Tax Sale Law, usually by submitting its file and testimony. After the Bureau meets its burden, you may put on evidence showing the defects in the Bureau’s notice or its non-compliance.

May I still challenge the Upset Sale if someone paid for and now has the deed to my property? Yes. You may challenge the validity of an Upset Tax Sale as to the giving of notice under the act, the time of holding the sale, or the time of petitioning the court for an order of sale.

If someone now has the deed to my property after the Upset Sale, do I need to pay the buyer back? No. If you successfully challenge an Upset Sale after the deed has transferred, the Tax Claim Bureau must return the money to the buyer. You have no obligation to pay the buyer. The buyer purchased at its own risk that the Bureau complied with the Tax Sale Law.

About The Author(s):

Eric B. Smith

Mr. Smith, a partner of Timoney Knox, LLP, serves as Chair of the Firm’s Litigation Group and has been consistently recognized by Super Lawyers and Best Attorneys since 2005.  In 2017 Mr. Smith served as the President of the Montgomery Bar Association.  His commercial and real estate litigation practice spans across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

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