By Tax Sale Compass Editorial Team, Cloudy Days Retail Inc.
Last reviewed: October 1, 2026
Most lines in a tax sale notice are there because a statute says they must be. Once you know which law put each line there, the notice is easier to read, and you can see what it does not tell you.
This guide takes apart an Alberta Gazette public auction notice, an Ontario tax sale tender advertisement and a Quebec notice of sale for unpaid taxes. For each field we give the section that requires it, what it tells you and what you still have to find out. It is an anatomy lesson, not a checklist. When you are ready to confirm a specific sale before bidding, use our separate buyer checklist, How to Verify a Municipal Tax Sale Notice.
In Alberta, every tax sale must be a public auction advertised in one issue of The Alberta Gazette 40 to 90 days before the sale, and in one issue of a local newspaper 10 to 20 days before (Municipal Government Act, section 421(1)). In the September 15, 2026 issue we reviewed, these notices ran under the heading "Public Sale of Land (Municipal Government Act)". Section 421 sets the minimum content.
Required by section 421(2). This is the one date you can plan around, but the municipality may adjourn the auction to any date within 60 days and post a notice of the new date (section 422). Still to check: whether a posted adjournment notice exists.
Required by section 421(2) ("a description of each parcel"). In the issue we reviewed, urban parcels usually appeared as a row with a tax roll number, lot, block and registered plan number. Rural parcels appeared with the part of section, section, township, range and meridian, and rows generally carried the certificate of title number. What it tells you: the certificate of title number lets you order a title search from Alberta Land Titles, where you will see the tax recovery notification and every caveat and encumbrance. Still to check: civic address, which is often missing, and the physical boundaries.
Not necessarily printed. Council must set a reserve bid "as close as reasonably possible to the market value" for each parcel (section 419), but section 421 does not require the figure itself in the advertisement. Some notices print a reserve bid column; many only state that each parcel is subject to a reserve bid. Still to check: the actual figure, from the municipality.
Required by section 421(2) ("the conditions of sale"). The content comes from council under section 419(b), so it changes most between notices. Notices in the issue we reviewed covered the deposit and how to pay it, when the balance is due, as-is sale, vacant possession, registration costs and goods and services tax. What it tells you: how much money you need on the day and how fast you need the rest.
Required by section 421(3). It reflects section 424: an unsold parcel may go to the municipality under a "Tax Forfeiture" title and be sold later near market value (section 425).
Some notices also repeat two statutory rules: arrears may be paid until the parcel is declared sold (section 423(3)), and municipal officials may not bid unless directed to bid for the municipality (section 429). Notices typically close with the place and date of signing and the chief administrative officer's name.
Alberta's step-by-step process is in Alberta Tax Recovery, Step by Step.
Under Ontario Regulation 181/03 (the Municipal Tax Sales Rules made under the Municipal Act, 2001), a tender sale is advertised once in The Ontario Gazette and once a week for four weeks in a local newspaper (section 5(2)). The Gazette notice and the first newspaper week must use the prescribed Form 6, "Sale of Land by Public Tender". In weeks two to four the newspaper may run a shorter version, provided the full Form 6 is posted on a website for those weeks (section 5(3)). That shorter version must contain five things (section 5(4)), and they make a good skeleton for reading any Ontario tender notice.
Required by section 5(4), item 1. The treasurer of that municipality conducts the sale (Municipal Act, 2001, section 379(5)).
Required by section 5(4), item 2: the street address and municipality, or the location if there is no street address. Still to check: the legal description and the registered tax arrears certificate on title, which covers one separately assessed parcel only (Act, section 373(4)).
Required by section 5(4), item 3. The regulation builds the day around 3 p.m. local time: a written withdrawal must arrive before 3 p.m. on the last day (section 8(1)), and tenders are opened in public as soon as possible after 3 p.m. (section 9(1)). The deadline must be at least seven days after the last advertisement (section 5(6)).
Required by section 5(4), item 4, which says to "set out the cancellation price as of the first day of advertising". The Act makes the cancellation price the minimum (section 379(2.1)). It covers the tax arrears, current taxes, interest, penalties and the municipality's reasonable costs (section 371(1)). What it does not mean: it is not an estimate of value, and the treasurer has no duty to get the best price (section 379(14)).
Required by section 5(4), item 5: "This sale is governed by the Municipal Act, 2001 and the Municipal Tax Sales Rules made under that Act", plus a website or contact for more information. That sentence tells you which rulebook applies, including the following tender rules, which bind you whether or not the advertisement repeats them:
If council has passed a by-law excluding mobile homes on the land from the sale, the advertisement must say so (Act, section 379(3) and (4)). If you see this line, the mobile home is not part of what you are buying.
An auction advertisement under Form 8 follows the same pattern, but with "the time and place of the auction" and a "minimum bid amount" instead of a tender deadline (section 13(4)). At an auction the highest bidder must pay immediately (section 16). Ontario's full process is in Ontario Tax Sales Explained.
Quebec has two parallel regimes. Under the Cities and Towns Act, council orders its own clerk to sell (sections 511 to 538). Under the Municipal Code of Québec, the regional county municipality's clerk-treasurer sells, working from statements the local municipalities send (articles 1022 to 1060).
Required by Cities and Towns Act, section 513. The clerk must give this public notice within 30 days of council's order. Under the Municipal Code the default is the second Thursday of March at 10 a.m., unless the regional county council sets another date by by-law (article 1026).
Required by section 513: a description "according to the provisions of the Civil Code", stating the owner's name according to the assessment roll. Consecutive cadastral numbers belonging to one owner may be listed in abridged form. What it tells you: the cadastral lot number you need to search the Québec land register.
Under the Municipal Code, the list published with the notice shows, next to each immovable, "the amount of the taxes for which it is liable" (article 1026). Under the Cities and Towns Act, the amount to be raised on each immovable, including a share of the sale costs, is announced at the sale (section 517).
Required where they apply by section 513 (and article 1026.3). Council may give the buyer a payment period instead of requiring immediate payment, and may provide that the second-highest bidder takes over if the winner fails to pay. If a payment period is granted, it may also allow remote bids. The notice must mention those decisions and, for remote bidding, how and when bids are received and the closing date. If the notice is silent, the purchaser must pay immediately (section 519).
The notice is published twice in a local newspaper, and the sale cannot be held until 15 days after the second publication (section 514). Each owner on the valuation roll also gets registered mail (section 515). Under the Municipal Code, the two newspaper publications fall during the second month before the month of the sale (article 1027).
The one-year right of redemption. The owner may redeem "at any time within the year following the day of adjudication" by repaying the price, including the cost of the certificate of adjudication, with interest at ten per cent per annum, a fraction of a year counting as a whole year (Cities and Towns Act, section 531; under the Municipal Code, article 1057 sets the same rate, with payment made to the regional county municipality's clerk-treasurer). During that year the buyer may take possession but may not remove timber or buildings (section 521), and a notarial deed of sale follows only after the year (sections 525 and 526).
| Field | Alberta Gazette auction notice | Ontario tender advertisement | Quebec sale notice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sale date and place | Required (section 421(2)) | Tender deadline required (Regulation section 5(4)) | Required (Cities and Towns Act section 513) |
| Property description | Required; roll, legal land description, title number common | Street address or location | Civil Code description and owner's name |
| Price information | Reserve bid near market value (section 419); figure not always printed | Minimum tender = cancellation price, required | Amount to be raised announced at the sale (section 517); Municipal Code list shows taxes owing (article 1026) |
| Buyer terms | Council's conditions of sale (section 421(2)) | Set by the regulation (20 per cent deposit, 14 days) | Payment period or second-bidder decisions, if any (section 513) |
| Owner's last chance | Until declared sold (section 423(3)) | Until the one-year cancellation period ends (Act section 375(1)) | One year after the sale (section 531) |
The three entries below are invented to show the reading method. They are not real notices, parcels or municipalities.
Alberta. A Gazette row reads: Roll 4471, Lot 7, Block 3, Plan 0821234, certificate of title 152001234, with a condition that "each parcel is subject to a reserve bid". Read it as: an urban lot on a registered plan. Order a title search with that certificate of title number, then ask the municipality for the reserve bid, because council set it near market value and the notice does not print it. The sale date in the notice is firm unless an adjournment notice is posted.
Ontario. A week-three newspaper advertisement reads: Township of Maple Bend; 12 Birch Road, Maple Bend; tenders until 3:00 p.m. local time on a stated date; minimum tender amount $18,400; plus the two required statements. Read it as: the full Form 6 is online, the minimum is the cancellation price on the first day of advertising, and a $25,000 tender needs a deposit of at least $5,000 (20 per cent) by money order, certified cheque or bank draft. The balance, land transfer tax and accumulated taxes come due within 14 days of the mailing of the treasurer's notice.
Quebec. A Cities and Towns Act notice lists lot 9 999 999 of the Québec cadastre, owner as shown on the assessment roll, sale at the town hall at 10 a.m. on a stated date, with a payment period that council granted and the notice states. Read it as: search the land register for that lot, plan to pay within the period the notice states rather than on the spot, and budget for the possibility that the owner redeems within a year, repaying your price with ten per cent annual interest.
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. Every sale must be verified with the municipality that published the notice, and you should get advice from a lawyer, or in Quebec a lawyer or notary, in the province concerned before you bid.