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Public Act 094-0662
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| SB2053 Enrolled |
LRB094 05570 BDD 35619 b |
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AN ACT concerning revenue.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, |
represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by changing |
Sections 21-310 and 21-315 as follows:
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(35 ILCS 200/21-310)
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Sec. 21-310. Sales in error.
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(a) When, upon application of the county collector, the |
owner of the
certificate of purchase, or a
municipality which |
owns or has owned the property ordered sold, it appears to
the |
satisfaction of the court which ordered the property sold that |
any of the
following subsections are applicable, the court |
shall declare the sale to be a
sale in error:
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(1) the property was not subject to taxation, or all or |
any part of the
lien of taxes sold has become null and void |
pursuant to Section 21-95
or unenforceable pursuant to |
subsection (c) of Section 18-250 or subsection
(b) of |
Section 22-40,
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(2) the taxes or special assessments had been paid |
prior to the sale of
the property,
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(3) there is a double assessment,
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(4) the description is void for uncertainty,
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(5) the assessor, chief county assessment officer, |
board of review,
board of appeals, or other county official |
has made an error (other than an
error of judgment as to
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the value of any property),
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(5.5) the owner of the homestead property had tendered |
timely and full
payment to the county collector that the |
owner reasonably believed was due and
owing on the |
homestead property, and the county collector did not apply |
the
payment to the homestead property; provided that this |
provision applies only to
homeowners, not their agents or |
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third-party payors,
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(6) prior to the tax sale a voluntary or involuntary |
petition has been
filed by or against the legal or |
beneficial owner of the property requesting
relief under |
the provisions of 11 U.S.C. Chapter 7, 11, 12, or 13,
or
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(7) the property is owned by the United States, the |
State of Illinois,
a municipality, or a
taxing district.
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(b) When, upon application of the owner of the certificate |
of purchase
only, it appears to the satisfaction of the court |
which ordered the property
sold that any of the following |
subsections are applicable, the court shall
declare the sale to |
be a sale in error:
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(1) A voluntary or involuntary petition under the |
provisions of 11
U.S.C. Chapter 7, 11, 12, or 13 has been |
filed
subsequent to the tax sale and prior to the issuance |
of the tax deed.
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(2) The improvements upon the property sold have been |
substantially
destroyed or rendered uninhabitable or |
otherwise unfit for occupancy subsequent
to the tax sale |
and prior to the issuance of the tax deed.
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(3) There is an interest held by the United States in |
the property sold
which could not be extinguished by the |
tax deed.
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(4) The real property contains a hazardous
substance, |
hazardous waste, or underground storage tank that would
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require cleanup or other removal under any federal,
State, |
or local law, ordinance, or regulation, only if the tax |
purchaser
purchased the property without actual knowledge |
of the hazardous substance,
hazardous waste, or |
underground storage tank. This paragraph (4) applies only |
if the owner of the
certificate of purchase has made |
application for a sale in error at any time
before the |
issuance of a tax deed.
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(c) When the county collector discovers, prior to the |
expiration of the period of redemption
within one year after |
the
date of sale if taxes were sold at an annual tax sale or |
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within 180 days after
the date of sale if taxes were sold at a |
scavenger tax sale, that a tax sale
should not have occurred |
for one or more of the reasons set forth in
subdivision (a)(1), |
(a)(2), (a)(6), or (a)(7) of this Section, the county
collector |
shall notify the last known owner of the certificate of |
purchase by
certified and regular mail, or other means |
reasonably calculated to provide
actual notice, that the county |
collector intends to declare an administrative
sale in error |
and of the reasons therefor, including documentation |
sufficient
to establish the reason why the sale should not have |
occurred. The owner of the
certificate of purchase may object |
in writing within 28 days after the date of
the mailing by the |
county collector. If an objection is filed, the county
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collector shall not administratively declare a sale in error, |
but may apply to
the circuit court for a sale in error as |
provided in subsection (a) of this
Section. Thirty days |
following the receipt of notice by the last known owner of
the |
certificate of purchase, or within a reasonable time |
thereafter, the county
collector shall make a written |
declaration, based upon clear and convincing
evidence, that the |
taxes were sold in error and shall deliver a copy thereof to
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the county clerk within 30 days after the date the declaration |
is made for
entry in the tax judgment, sale, redemption, and |
forfeiture record pursuant to
subsection (d) of this Section. |
The county collector shall promptly notify the
last known owner |
of the certificate of purchase of the declaration by regular
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mail and shall promptly pay the amount of the tax sale, |
together with interest
and costs as provided in Section 21-315, |
upon surrender of the original
certificate of purchase.
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(d) If a sale is declared to be a sale in error, the county
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clerk shall make entry in the tax judgment, sale, redemption |
and
forfeiture record, that the property was erroneously sold, |
and the county
collector shall, on demand of the owner of the |
certificate of purchase, refund
the amount paid, pay any |
interest and costs as may be ordered under Sections
21-315 |
through 21-335, and cancel the certificate so far as it relates |
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to the
property. The county collector shall deduct from the |
accounts of the
appropriate taxing bodies their pro rata |
amounts paid.
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(Source: P.A. 91-177, eff. 1-1-00; 91-357, eff. 7-29-99; |
91-924, eff. 1-1-01;
92-224, eff. 1-1-02; 92-729, eff. |
7-25-02.)
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(35 ILCS 200/21-315)
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Sec. 21-315. Refund of costs; interest on refund.
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(a) If a sale in
error under Section 21-310, 22-35, or |
22-50
is declared, the amount refunded
shall also include all |
costs paid by the owner of the
certificate of
purchase or his |
or her assignor which were posted to the tax judgment, sale,
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redemption and forfeiture record.
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(b) In those cases which arise solely under grounds set |
forth in Section
21-310, the amount refunded shall also include
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interest
on the refund of the amount paid
for the certificate |
of purchase, except as otherwise provided in this Section.
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Interest shall be awarded and paid to the tax purchaser at the |
rate of 1% per
month from the date of sale to the date of |
payment, or in an amount equivalent
to the penalty interest |
which would be recovered on a redemption at the time of
payment |
pursuant to the order for sale in error, whichever is less. |
Interest
shall not be paid when the sale in error is made |
pursuant to paragraph (2) or
(4) of
subsection (b) of Section |
21-310, Section 22-35, Section 22-50, any ground
not enumerated |
in Section 21-310, or in any other case where the court
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determines that the
tax purchaser had actual knowledge prior to |
the sale of the grounds on which
the sale is declared to be |
erroneous.
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(c) When the county collector files a petition for sale in |
error under
Section 21-310 and mails a notice thereof by
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certified or registered mail to the
last known owner of the |
certificate of purchase, any interest otherwise
payable under |
this Section shall cease to accrue as of the date the
petition |
is filed, unless the tax purchaser agrees to an order for sale |
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in
error upon the presentation of the petition to the court. |
Notices under
this subsection may be mailed to the last known |
owner of the
certificate of
purchase. When the
owner of the |
certificate of purchase contests the collector's petition
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solely to determine whether the grounds for sale in error are |
such as to
support a claim for interest, the court may direct |
that the principal
amount of the refund be paid to the owner of |
the certificate of purchase
forthwith. If the court thereafter |
determines that a claim for interest
lies under this Section, |
it shall award such interest from the date of sale
to the date |
the principal amount was paid. If the owner of the certificate |
of purchase files an objection to the county collector's |
intention to declare an administrative sale in error, as |
provided under subsection (c) of Section 21-310, and, |
thereafter, the county collector elects to apply to the circuit |
court for a sale in error under subsection (a) of Section |
21-310, then, if the circuit court grants the county |
collector's application for a sale in error, the court may not |
award interest to the owner of the certificate of purchase for |
the period after the mailing date of the county collector's |
notice of intention to declare an administrative sale in error.
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(Source: P.A. 92-224, eff. 1-1-02; 92-729, eff. 7-25-02.)
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