When The Taxes Go Unpaid
Rev. & Tax. Code 3691 — five years tax defaulted before the power to sell, three for nonresidential commercial property
Five years. Five years or more after property has become tax defaulted, or three years or more for nonresidential commercial property, the tax collector has the power to sell, and attempts to sell, tax defaulted property that has not been redeemed. Any person may purchase at the sale.
A home is not nonresidential commercial. Nonresidential commercial property excludes a constructed single family or multifamily unit intended or used primarily as a permanent residence, or zoned as one, and real property used and zoned for producing commercial agricultural commodities.
Disaster damage. For property damaged in a declared disaster area and not substantially repaired, the five-year period is tolled until five years have elapsed from the date of the damage.
Redemption. Tax defaulted property may be redeemed until the right of redemption is terminated.
What the redemption amount includes, the notices that must be given, and what happens to any money left after a sale are set out in other sections that are not on this page. Whether a particular property can still be redeemed is a question for a licensed California attorney.
Sources for this section (2)
- Rev. & Tax. Code 3691 — The power to sell tax defaulted property after five years
- Rev. & Tax. Code 4101 — Redemption until the right is terminated
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed California attorney.