What notice must a municipality give before it can sell a property through a tax sale?

Ontario's Municipal Act sets out a staged process a municipality must follow before it can sell a property for unpaid taxes, and it is designed to give the owner more than one opportunity to pay before losing the property. Once taxes have been in arrears long enough, the municipality registers a formal tax arrears certificate against the title, which puts everyone dealing with the property on public notice that a sale process could eventually follow. After that certificate is registered, a further waiting period applies before the municipality can proceed, giving the owner additional time to pay out the arrears and cancel the certificate.

If the arrears are not cleared within that period, the municipality can move to advertise and conduct the actual sale, which involves its own separate public notice to prospective bidders about the property and the tender process. Because this is a multi-stage process with real procedural requirements at each step, a defect in how notice was given can sometimes affect the validity of a later sale.

If you are bidding, ask your lawyer to confirm the notice history looks properly documented before you rely on the sale being final.