By Tax Sale Compass Editorial Team, Cloudy Days Retail Inc.
Last reviewed: October 1, 2026
The four Atlantic provinces are often grouped together, but their tax sale systems have little in common. In Nova Scotia the municipality sells. In New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island a provincial minister sells. In Newfoundland and Labrador the town council directs the sale. The right of an owner to reclaim the property after the sale ranges from six months, to a 30-day application window, to no statutory right at all. This guide sets out each system from the statute text, so you know which questions to ask before you bid.
| Province | Who sells | Before the sale | After the sale | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nova Scotia (outside Halifax) | Municipal treasurer | Sale proceeds unless arrears, interest and expenses are paid | Redemption within six months; none if arrears exceed six years | Municipal Government Act, sections 141 and 152 |
| Halifax Regional Municipality | Municipal Treasurer | Same pattern as above | Same six-month rule | Halifax Regional Municipality Charter, sections 156 and 167 |
| New Brunswick | Minister of Finance and Treasury Board | Paying taxes, penalties and costs before the sale stops it | Redemption application within 30 days of the sale | Real Property Tax Act, sections 12 and 13 |
| Prince Edward Island | Minister under the Real Property Tax Act | Paying taxes and costs before the sale stops it | No redemption provision in the Act; deed vests title free of claims | Real Property Tax Act, sections 16 and 17 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador (towns) | Town clerk, on council resolution | Sale does not proceed if arrears and expenses are paid | No redemption provision in the arrears sale Division; conveyance vests title | Towns and Local Service Districts Act, sections 152 and 158 |
When a property can be sold. Property may be sold for taxes if the previous year's taxes are not paid in full, but proceedings cannot start before June 30 of the following year. Property must be put up for sale once taxes are in arrears for the preceding three fiscal years, though council may defer proceedings for up to two years (section 134).
Notice steps. The municipality compiles a tax sale list (section 137) and mails each owner a preliminary notice giving fourteen days, or a longer period set by council policy, to pay before costs are spent (section 138). A title search follows (section 139). The owner and every person with a mortgage, lien or charge are then served a notice of intent to sell, which must say the land is liable to be sold unless arrears, interest and expenses "are paid within sixty days from the date of the notice" (section 140).
Format and advertising. The treasurer sells at public auction, or by tender with council's consent, and council may set an acceptable minimum bid or tender (section 141). The sale is advertised either at least twice in a newspaper circulating in the municipality, the first time at least thirty days before the sale, or on the municipal website for at least thirty consecutive days (section 142).
Payment. Payment must be by cash, certified cheque, money order, bank draft, irrevocable letter of credit or lawyer's trust cheque, unless council allows another method (section 148). At an auction, the buyer must immediately pay the full price or deposit an amount equal to the taxes, interest and expenses, with the balance due within three business days. A successful tenderer pays within three business days of being notified (section 149).
Certificate of sale and buyer's rights. The buyer receives a certificate of sale stating that a deed will be provided after six months if the property is not redeemed (section 150). Until then the buyer may protect the land, collect rents and use it without diminishing its value, may not cut trees, and must insure insurable buildings (section 151).
Redemption. The owner, a mortgagee, lienholder or anyone with an interest may redeem "within six months after the date of the sale." There is no right of redemption where, at the time of sale, taxes were in arrears for more than six years (subsection 152(1)). To redeem, the person pays the sum the buyer paid, interest at ten per cent per annum, taxes levied after the sale, the discharge recording fee, fire insurance premiums and repairs the treasurer approved in writing, less any balance in the tax sale surplus account and any rent the buyer earned (subsection 152(2)).
Deed. After six months without redemption, or immediately where the six-year rule removed the right, the buyer may obtain a deed on paying council's fee (section 155). The deed vests the land "free and discharged from all encumbrances," while easements and rights-of-way continue (section 156). Anyone with an interest in the land can apply to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia for surplus proceeds after the redemption period ends and within twenty years of the sale (section 147).
Halifax sells under its own Charter, but the tax sale provisions follow the same structure. The timing rules for when property may and must be sold are in section 148. Public auction, with tenders allowed with Council's consent, is in section 156. Advertising by newspaper or thirty consecutive days on the website is in section 157. Payment rules, including the deposit option and three business days for the balance, are in section 163. Redemption "within six months after the date of the sale," with the same six-year exclusion and ten per cent interest, is in section 167, and the deed is in section 170.
The Province sells. Sales under section 12 are run by the Minister of Finance and Treasury Board, not by the municipality. Municipalities that collect their own tax may ask the Minister to start proceedings on their behalf (section 12.1).
Notice steps. If taxes are unpaid on January 1 of the year after they were imposed, the Minister mails a notice that the property will be sold (subsection 12(2)). If taxes remain unpaid one month later, the Minister serves a notice stating the property will be sold (subsection 12(3)). No sale can be held unless notice is published in one issue of The Royal Gazette and the details are posted on the Department of Finance and Treasury Board website for 14 days (subsection 12(4)).
Paying before the sale. If the taxes, penalties and sale costs are paid to the Minister at any time before the sale, "the sale is not to be held" (subsection 12(5)).
Minimum price. A person selling on the Minister's behalf cannot sell for less than costs plus taxes and penalties owing. If no one bids that much, the Minister may re-offer the property at not less than 50% of its assessed value (subsections 12(5.6) and 12(5.61)).
After the sale. The buyer receives a certificate and, until the redemption period ends, may protect the property, collect rents and use it, but must not commit waste (subsections 12(6) and 12(9)).
Redemption. Section 13 starts when, "within 30 days from the date of the sale," a person applies to the Minister for redemption. The buyer then certifies insurance, repair, tax and service costs and rents received. The applicant must pay, within ten days of the Minister's advice, the sale price plus "15 per cent of such sum," unpaid taxes and penalties, and the certified costs, less rents. If the property is not redeemed under section 13, the Minister collects real property transfer tax from the buyer and registers the deed on the buyer's behalf (subsection 14(1)). Subject to listed exceptions, including the lien for the current year's taxes, the deed vests ownership "freed of all claims, mortgages or other financial encumbrances" (subsection 14(3)).
The Minister mails a notice within twenty-four months of taxes becoming overdue. If they are still unpaid twelve months after that notice, the Minister sends, by registered mail within sixty days, a notice that the property shall be sold. If the taxes remain unpaid seven days after that mailing, the Minister sells the property in accordance with the regulations (subsections 16(1) to 16(3)). Notice must be published in each of two consecutive weeks in a local newspaper and in two consecutive issues of the Gazette (subsection 16(4)). Payment of the taxes and all costs, including legal fees, before the sale means "the sale shall not be held" (subsection 16(5)). The buyer receives a deed or certificate of ownership that vests ownership "freed of all claims and encumbrances" (section 17). The Act itself contains no right to redeem after the sale. We have not reviewed the regulations that govern the sale procedure, so confirm with the Province before relying on that.
This 2023 Act governs arrears sales by towns. When tax, water and sewer fees or local improvement fees are 18 months in arrears, the town clerk serves a notice of arrears that the property may be sold unless paid within 90 days (section 146). Council then directs an arrears sale by resolution (section 150). The clerk serves written notice of the sale, the recipient has 14 days to appeal to the town, and the advertisement must run at least 30 days before the sale (section 151). The clerk sells at public auction unless the arrears, interest and expenses "are then, or have been previously, paid" (section 152). If no one bids enough, the sale is adjourned for one to two weeks and the property may then be sold for whatever can be realized (section 153). A buyer must immediately pay the price or deposit the arrears and expenses (section 156). The town's conveyance vests the property "absolutely free from encumbrances except a claim of the Crown and an easement" (section 158). Division 9 contains no redemption right after the sale. This summary covers towns under this Act only.
Nova Scotia, six months or one year? Six months. Subsection 152(1) of the Municipal Government Act and subsection 167(1) of the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter both say "within six months after the date of the sale." We found no one-year redemption period in either statute.
New Brunswick, 30 days or two years? Thirty days to apply. The two-year figure appears in subsection 12(14) of the Real Property Tax Act, but it concerns sale proceeds owed to the former owner that remain undisbursed two years after the sale, which are forfeited to the Crown. It is not a redemption period.
This example is invented to show how the Nova Scotia formula works. It is not a real listing.
A Nova Scotia property is sold at auction for $30,000. The taxes, interest and expenses owing were $6,000, so after they are paid, $24,000 goes to the tax sale surplus account (section 146). Assume nothing else is paid out of the surplus. Three months later the owner redeems. The buyer paid no taxes, insurance or repairs and earned no rent.
The buyer receives the $30,000 and the interest (section 153), and their right to the property ends when the redemption money is paid (section 154). The treasurer calculates the actual figure, and disputes can go to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. If the taxes had been in arrears for more than six years at the sale, there would be no redemption at all, and the buyer could request the deed right away.
The Nova Scotia and New Brunswick pages on Tax Sale Compass show active and on-file counts from our latest daily update. Inactive records are open for research. Active listing detail is part of Premium, at Canadian dollars 9.99 per month or 99.90 per year. See how we count listings, redemption periods by province, how to read a tax sale notice and provincial tax sale systems.
Tax Sale Compass, operated by Cloudy Days Retail Inc. of Cold Lake, Alberta, is an information service. This guide is general information, not legal advice. Tax Sale Compass is not the auctioneer and is not a party to any sale. Verify every sale, deadline, payment method and redemption right with the municipality or provincial office that published the notice.