Senate Bill 2124

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 27-43-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT A TAX SALE WHERE THE CLERK INADVERTENTLY FAILS TO SEND THE REQUIRED NOTICE IS VOIDABLE; TO PROVIDE THAT THE SALE SHALL NOT BE VOID IF THE TAX SALE PURCHASER PROVIDED THE REQUIRED NOTICE; TO AUTHORIZE THE TAX SALE PURCHASER TO PROVIDE A LANDOWNER WITH NOTICE; TO REQUIRE LANDOWNERS TO PROVIDE A MAILING ADDRESS WITH THE CHANCERY CLERK OF THE COUNTY IN WHICH THE REAL PROPERTY IS LOCATED; TO PROVIDE THAT A LANDOWNER WHO FAILS TO PROVIDE AN ADDRESS FOR THE SERVICE OF NOTICE UNDER THIS SECTION MAY NOT CLAIM LACK OF NOTICE UNDER THIS CHAPTER; TO AMEND SECTION 27-43-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE A TAX SALE PURCHASER TO PROVIDE CERTAIN NOTICE TO MORTGAGEES, BENEFICIARIES AND HOLDERS OF VENDOR'S LIENS; TO AMEND SECTION 27-45-27, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE PURCHASER OF TAX SALE LANDS SHALL BE ENTITLED TO SUBSEQUENT YEARS TAXES, REASONABLE ATTORNEY FEES INCURRED BY THE TAX SALE PURCHASER IN DEFENDING HIS OR HER TITLE, THE AMOUNT PAID BY THE PURCHASER FOR REGULAR MAINTENANCE, CLEAN-UP EXPENSES, REPAIRS AND IMPROVEMENTS GENERATED THROUGH THE PURCHASER'S USE AND POSSESSION OF THE PROPERTY; TO PROHIBIT THE DEFENSE OF HOMESTEAD OR HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION IN CERTAIN ACTIONS; TO PROVIDE THAT IN THE EVENT THAT A TAX SALE IS DETERMINED VOID OR IS OTHERWISE SET ASIDE, A TAX SALE PURCHASER SHALL NOT BE CONSIDERED TO HAVE TRESPASSED ON SUCH PROPERTY WHEN ACTING IN ACCORDANCE WITH THEIR STATUTORY RIGHT OF POSSESSION; TO AMEND SECTION 29-1-21, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROHIBIT THE COURTS FROM RECOGNIZING CLAIMS BY ANY OTHER PARTY OR POLITICAL SUBDIVISION WHERE A STATE AGENCY, COUNTY, MUNICIPALITY, OR OTHER POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THE STATE, HAS APPLIED FOR TRANSFER OR PURCHASE OF THE TAX LANDS; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 27-45-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH GOVERNS WHICH PERSONS MAY REDEEM LAND SOLD AT A TAX SALE, FOR PURPOSES OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 27-45-23, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH DIRECTS THE CHANCERY CLERK TO EXECUTE DEEDS OF CONVEYANCE TO INDIVIDUALS PURCHASING LANDS AT TAX SALES, FOR PURPOSES OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 27-43-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-43-3. (1) (a) The clerk shall issue the notice to the sheriff or a constable of the county of the reputed owner's residence, with prior approval by the board of supervisors with the acknowledgement that the board will cover any incurred costs of any initial system updates required to facilitate this action if the owner is a resident of the State of Mississippi, and the sheriff or constable shall also be required to serve notice as follows:

( * * *ai) Upon the reputed owner personally, if he or she can be found in the county after diligent search and inquiry, by handing him a true copy of the notice;

( * * *bii) If the reputed owner cannot be found in the county after diligent search and inquiry, then by leaving a true copy of the notice at his or her usual place of abode with the spouse of the reputed owner or some other person who lives at his or her usual place of abode above the age of sixteen (16) years, and willing to receive the copy of the notice; or

( * * *ciii) If the reputed owner cannot be found after diligent search and inquiry, and if no person above the age of sixteen (16) years who lives at his or her usual place of abode can be found at his or her usual place of abode who is willing to receive the copy of the notice, then by posting a true copy of the notice on a door of the reputed owner's usual place of abode.

(b) The sheriff or constable shall make his or her return to the chancery clerk issuing the notice. The clerk shall also mail a copy of the notice to the reputed owner at his usual street address, if it can be ascertained after diligent search and inquiry, or to his or her post-office address if only that can be ascertained, and he or she shall note such action on the tax sales record. The clerk shall also be required to publish the name and address of the reputed owner of the property and the legal description of the property in a public newspaper of the county in which the land is located, or if no newspaper is published as such, then in a newspaper having a general circulation in the county. The publication shall be made at least forty-five (45) days prior to the expiration of the redemption period.

(c) If the reputed owner is a nonresident of the State of Mississippi, then the clerk shall mail a copy of the notice to the reputed owner in the same manner as set out in this section for notice to a resident of the State of Mississippi, except that notice served by the sheriff or constable shall not be required.

(d) Notice by mail shall be by registered or certified mail. In the event the notice by mail is returned undelivered and the notice as required in this section to be served by the sheriff or constable is returned not found, then the clerk shall make further search and inquiry to ascertain the reputed owner's street and post-office address. If the reputed owner's street or post-office address is ascertained after the additional search and inquiry, the clerk shall again issue notice as set out in this section. If notice is again issued and it is again returned not found and if notice by mail is again returned undelivered, then the clerk shall file an affidavit to that effect and shall specify in the affidavit the acts of search and inquiry made by him or her in an effort to ascertain the reputed owner's street and post-office address and the affidavit shall be retained as a permanent record in the office of the clerk and that action shall be noted on the tax sales record. If the clerk is still unable to ascertain the reputed owner's street or post-office address after making search and inquiry for the second time, then it shall not be necessary to issue any additional notice but the clerk shall file an affidavit specifying the acts of search and inquiry made by him or her in an effort to ascertain the reputed owner's street and post-office address and the affidavit shall be retained as a permanent record in the office of the clerk and that action shall be noted on the tax sale record.

(e) For examining the records to ascertain the record owner of the property, the clerk shall be allowed a fee of Fifty Dollars ($50.00); for issuing the notice the clerk shall be allowed a fee of Two Dollars ($2.00) and, for mailing the notice and noting that action on the tax sales record, a fee of One Dollar ($1.00); and for serving the notice, the sheriff or constable shall be allowed a fee of Forty-five Dollars ($45.00). For issuing a second notice, the clerk shall be allowed a fee of Five Dollars ($5.00) and, for mailing the notice and noting that action on the tax sales record, a fee of Two Dollars and Fifty Cents ($2.50), and for serving the second notice, the sheriff or constable shall be allowed a fee of Forty-five Dollars ($45.00). The clerk shall also be allowed the actual cost of publication. The fees and cost shall be taxed against the owner of the land if the land is redeemed, and if not redeemed, then the fees are to be taxed as part of the cost against the purchaser. The failure of the landowner to actually receive the notice herein required shall not render the title void, provided the clerk and sheriff or constable have complied with the duties prescribed for them in this section.

(2) (a) Should the clerk inadvertently fail to send notice as prescribed in this section, then the sale shall be voidable and the clerk shall not be liable to the purchaser or owner upon refund of all purchase money paid if the sale is found to be void.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a), the sale shall not be void if the tax sale purchaser provided notice in accordance with subsection (3) of this section or the owner of the land had actual notice of the tax sale.

(3) Within one hundred eighty (180), but not less than sixty (60) days before the two-year anniversary of the property's tax sale, a tax sale purchaser may provide notice to the reputed owner in the same manner as provided in subsection (1) of this section. Such notice provided by the tax sale purchaser may be used to satisfy the requirement that a reputed owner receive proper notice.

(4) Any owner of real estate within this state shall provide a mailing address, by which such owner may receive notice under this section, to the Chancery Clerk of the county in which the real property is located. If an owner changes their mailing address, they shall provide notice to the Chancery Clerk within ninety (90) days of the change. The owner may not claim lack of notice under this chapter if the owner fails to provide the mailing address to the Chancery Clerk in the allotted time period.

SECTION 2. Section 27-43-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-43-5. (1) It shall be the duty of the clerk of the chancery court to examine the record of deeds, mortgages and deeds of trust in his or her office to ascertain the names and addresses of all mortgagees, beneficiaries and holders of vendor's liens of all lands sold for taxes; and he or she shall, within the time fixed by law for notifying owners, send by certified mail with return receipt requested to all such lienors so shown of record the following notice, to-wit:

"State of Mississippi, To ______________________

County of ___________

You will take notice that ___________________ (here describe lands) assessed to, or supposed to be owned by __________________ was on the ______ day of _______________, 2___, sold to _____________________ for the taxes of __________________ (giving year) upon which you have a lien by virtue of the instrument recorded in this office in ______ Book _____, page _____, dated __________________, and that the title to said land will become absolute in said purchaser unless redemption from said sale be made on or before the ______ day of 2___.

This _____ day of _____, 2___.

__________________________________________

Chancery Clerk of _________ County, Miss."

(2) Within one hundred eighty (180), but not less than sixty (60) days before the two-year anniversary of the property's tax sale, a tax sale purchaser may provide notice to the mortgagees, beneficiaries and holders of vendor's liens of such lands sold for taxes to the tax sale purchaser in the same manner as provided in subsection (1) of this section. The notice provided by the tax sale purchaser may be used to satisfy the requirement that such individuals receive proper notice.

SECTION 3. Section 27-45-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-45-27. (1) (a) The amount paid by the purchaser of land at any tax sale thereof for taxes, either state and county, levee or municipal, and interest on the amount paid by the purchaser at the rate of one and one-half percent (1-1/2%) per month, or any fractional part thereof, subsequent year taxes paid by the purchaser and interest at the rate of one and one-half percent (1-1/2%) per month, reasonable attorney fees incurred by the tax sale purchaser in defending their title, the amount paid by the purchaser for regular maintenance, clean-up expenses, repairs and improvements generated through the purchaser's use and possession of the property, and all expenses of the sale and registration, thereof shall be a lien on the land in favor of the purchaser and the holder of the legal title under him or her, by descent or purchase, if the taxes for which the land was sold were due, although the sale was illegal on some other ground. In such case, a tax sale purchaser shall be entitled to all rents or other money generated from the use and possession of the property from the final date of redemption to the date the tax sale is set aside.

(b) The purchaser and the holder of the legal title under him or her by descent or purchase, may enforce the lien by bill in chancery, and may obtain a decree for the sale of the land in default of payment of the amount within some short time to be fixed by the decree. In all suits for the possession of land, the defendant holding by descent or purchase, mediately or immediately, from the purchaser at tax sale of the land in controversy, may set off against the complainant the above-described claim, which shall have the same effect and be dealt with in all respects as provided for improvements in a suit for the possession of land. But the term "suits for the possession of land," as herein used, does not include an action of unlawful entry and detainer. The defense of homestead or homestead exemption shall not be applicable in such actions.

(2) No purchaser of land at any tax sale, nor holder of the legal title under him or her by descent or distribution, shall have any right of action to challenge the validity of the tax sale.

(3) No county or municipal officer shall be liable to any purchaser at a tax sale or any recipient of a tax deed for any error or inadvertent omission by such official during any tax sale.

(4) In the event a tax sale is determined void or is otherwise set aside on some other ground, a tax sale purchaser shall not be considered to have trespassed on such property when acting in accordance with their statutory right of possession under Section 27-45-23.

SECTION 4. Section 29-1-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

29-1-21. The Secretary of State, on receiving from the chancery clerk the list of unredeemed lands sold to the state for taxes, shall enter the same in the register of tax lands by counties and in the regular order of townships, ranges and sections; and if the description of any of the lands be indefinite or defective and need to be made good by reference to the assessment roll under which it was sold, the Secretary of State may add to the description such alternative description as will clearly designate the land, prefacing the same with words "being as appears by the assessment roll of said county, for the year _____." The Secretary of State, with the approval of the Governor, may sell the tax lands in the manner provided in this chapter, at such prices and under such terms and conditions as the Secretary of State with the approval of the Governor may fix, subject to the limitations imposed in this chapter, or the Secretary of State, with the approval of the Governor, may transfer any of the tax lands to any other state agency, county, municipality or political subdivision of the state. Such agency or subdivision then may retain or dispose of those lands as provided by law. If a state agency, county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state, has applied for transfer or purchase of the tax lands, it shall have priority over all other applicants except the original owner, his heirs or assigns. The courts shall not recognize claims by the original owner, his heirs or assigns, any other party, or any political subdivision after unredeemed lands are sold to the state for taxes and received by the Secretary of State's office or conveyed to a state agency, county, municipality or other political subdivision.

SECTION 5. Section 27-45-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

27-45-3. The owner, or any persons for him with his consent, or any person interested in the land sold for taxes, may redeem the same, or any part of it, where it is separable by legal subdivisions of not less than forty (40) acres, or any undivided interest in it, at any time within two (2) years after the day of sale, by paying to the chancery clerk, regardless of the amount of the purchaser's bid at the tax sale, the amount of all taxes for which the land was sold, with all costs incident to the sale, and five percent (5%) damages on the amount of taxes for which the land was sold, and interest on all such taxes and costs at the rate of one and one-half percent (1-1/2%) per month, or any fractional part thereof, from the date of such sale, and all costs that have accrued on the land since the sale, with interest thereon from the date such costs shall have accrued, at the rate of one and one-half percent (1-1/2%) per month, or any fractional part thereof; saving only to infants who have or may hereafter inherit or acquire land by will and persons of unsound mind whose land may be sold for taxes, the right to redeem the same within two (2) years after attaining full age or being restored to sanity, from the state or any purchaser thereof, on the terms herein prescribed, and on their paying the value of any permanent improvements on the land made after the expiration of two (2) years from the date of the sale of the lands for taxes. Upon such payment to the chancery clerk as hereinabove provided, he or she shall execute to the person redeeming the land a release of all claim or title of the state or purchaser to such land, which said release shall be attested by the seal of the chancery clerk and shall be entitled to be recorded without acknowledgment, as deeds are recorded. Said release when so executed and attested shall operate as a quitclaim on the part of the state or purchaser of any right or title under said tax sale.

SECTION 6. Section 27-45-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

27-45-23. When the period of redemption has expired, the chancery clerk shall, on demand, execute deeds of conveyance to individuals purchasing lands at tax sales. Which conveyances shall be essentially in the following form to wit:

"State of Mississippi, County of ________

Be it known, that ________, tax collector of said county of ________, did, on the ________ day of ________, A.D. ________, according to law, sell the following land, situated in said county and assessed to ________ to wit: ________ (here describe the land) ________ for the taxes assessed thereon (or when sold for other taxes it should be so stated) for the year A.D. ________, when ________ became the best bidder therefor, at and for the sum of ________ Dollars and ________ Cents; and the same not having been redeemed, I therefore sell and convey said land to the said ________.

Given under my hand, the ________ day of ________, A.D. ________.

________________

Chancery Clerk."

Such conveyance shall be attested by the seal of the office of the chancery clerk and shall be recordable when acknowledged as land deeds are recorded, and such conveyance shall vest in the purchaser a perfect title with the immediate right of possession to the land sold for taxes. No such conveyance shall be invalidated in any court except by proof that the land was not liable to sale for the taxes, or that the taxes for which the land was sold had been paid before sale, or that the sale had been made at the wrong time or place. If any part of the taxes for which the land was sold was illegal or not chargeable on it, but part was chargeable, that shall not affect the sale nor invalidate the conveyance, unless it appears that before sale the amount legally chargeable on the land was paid or tendered to the tax collector.

SECTION 7. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.