A Washington Post article about DC’s property tax lien sales sparked outrage this week. According to the investigative report, since 2005, hundreds of DC property owners have lost homes due to the sale of tax liens. One of those delinquent tax bills was only $44.
When a DC homeowner fails to pay property taxes, the DC Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) imposes a lien on the home. If the lien goes unpaid for a certain period of time, OTR sells the lien to an investor at an annual auction. The homeowner then owes the delinquent tax bill plus interest to the investor. If the homeowner is unable to pay within six months, the investor can start foreclose proceedings. In order to avoid foreclosure, the owner must pay back the original tax bill, interest, and…
