Can I inspect a property before bidding on it at an Ontario municipal tax sale?

Usually not in any meaningful way, and this is one of the sharpest differences from an ordinary purchase. A municipality selling under the tax sale process typically has no authority to grant access to the interior of a property that still belongs, at that point, to the person who owes the taxes, so bidders are generally limited to what they can see from the exterior or the street, along with whatever information is available through public records - property assessment data, past permits, and the title and tax history.

Because there is no financing or inspection condition attached to a tax sale tender, you are effectively bidding based on incomplete information about the property's actual condition, which is part of why these purchases carry more risk than they might first appear to. Some buyers factor this uncertainty into how much they are willing to bid; others walk away from properties where the unknowns feel too significant relative to the price.

Do as much exterior and records-based due diligence as possible before submitting a tender, and treat the interior condition as a genuine unknown rather than something you can safely assume.