Did a Louisiana tax debtor's continued possession extend the tax-sale redemption period?

Plain-English summary

LaSalle Parish's tax collector asked whether a property owner who remained in possession after a tax sale gained extra time to redeem. The Attorney General answered no under the constitutional rule then in force. The three-year period ran from recordation of the tax sale, and continued possession did not suspend or interrupt it.

The opinion relied on the Louisiana Supreme Court's Harris v. Fuller decision, which treated the redemption period as peremptive rather than prescriptive. It distinguished a sentence in La. R.S. 47:2221 about prescription not running against an owner in possession: the AG said that sentence could not change the constitutional redemption period.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2006. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy.

Common questions

Did remaining on the property pause the redemption clock?

No. The AG said continued possession did not suspend or interrupt the constitutional three-year period it analyzed.

When did that period begin under the opinion?

The opinion said it began on the date the tax sale was recorded.

Why did the statutory sentence about possession not change the answer?

The AG explained that the sentence concerned prescription, while the Supreme Court had classified the constitutional redemption period as peremptive.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion quoted La. R.S. 47:2221 and the then-applicable Article VII, Section 25(B)(1) redemption provision. It followed Harris v. Fuller in separating the peremptive redemption period from prescriptive periods addressed by other tax-sale provisions.

Citations

• La. R.S. 47:2221 (tax-sale redemption language).
• Article VII, Section 25(B)(1) of the Louisiana Constitution (redemption period as quoted).
• Harris v. Fuller (Louisiana Supreme Court decision discussed; the source extract's reporter abbreviation is garbled).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/05-0274

Original opinion text

January 27, 2006
Opinion Number 05-0274

159 Taxation–Sale of Land for Delinquent Taxes Article VII, Section 25(B)(1) of La. Const.
La. R.S.47:2221
Mr. Don M. Moses
Chief Deputy Tax Collector Summary: Constitutionally mandated three-year
LaSalle Parish Sheriff’s Department redemptive period for property sold for non-payment of taxes is preemptive, and therefore, cannot be suspended
P.O. Box 70
or interrupted.
Jena, LA 71342

Dear Mr. Moses:

You have requested an opinion from this office regarding the period of time in which property sold for nonpayment of taxes may be redeemed and whether this period can be suspended or interrupted by the tax debtor’s continued possession of the property. In short, a tax debtor may redeem such property for three years after the date of recordation of the tax sale. The tax debtor’s continued possession of the property does not interrupt or suspend this period. We refer you to the following:

La. R.S. 47:2221. Right to Redeem.
Property sold at a tax sale shall be redeemable in accordance with Section 25 of Article VII of the constitution of 1974. Nothing in this Section shall be construed so as to affect in any way, the principle that as to a tax debtor-owner in possession, prescription does not begin against him and in favor of the tax title purchaser until such tax debtor-owner has been first dispossessed.

La. Constitution Article VII, Section 25(B).
(B) Redemption. (1)The property sold shall be redeemable for three years after the date of recordation of the tax sale, by paying the price given, including costs, five percent penalty thereon, and interest at the rate of one percent per month until redemption.

The Louisiana Supreme Court, in Harris v. Fuller, 532 S0.2d 1367 (La. 1988), determined that the three-year period for redemption mandated by the constitution is peremptive, and therefore, cannot be suspended or interrupted. A peremptive period is a period of time, fixed by law, for the existence of a right. Unless timely exercised, the right is extinguished upon the expiration of the peremptive period. Peremptive periods may not be renounced, interrupted, or suspended. (See La. Civil Code Articles 3458 and 346.)

Page 2

Opinion Number 05-0274
Mr. Don M. Moses, Chief Deputy Tax Collector
LaSalle Parish Sheriff’s Department
Page - 2-

The Harris Court also addressed your second question concerning the tax debtor’s possession of the property and the beginning of the prescriptive period. R.S. 47:2221 was amended by Act 577 of 1978 to include language referencing the running of prescription. The court noted the identical language was also added to R.S. 47:2226 on the annulment of tax sales, and to R.S. 47:2228, the procedure for quieting tax titles. The language added to each section is as follows:

Nothing in this Section shall be construed so as to affect in any way, the principle that as to a tax debtor-owner in possession, prescription does not begin against him and in favor of the tax title purchaser until such tax debtor- owner has been first dispossessed.

While the Court recognized the legislative intent to amend all three sections to properly reference the new Constitution of 1974 and to add language regarding the running of prescription, it found the language added to R.S. 47:2221 to be meaningless in light of its determination that the redemptive period is peremptive, and not prescriptive. The Court stated:

The reference in R.S. 47:2221 to “prescription” not beginning to run against a tax-debtor owner in possession cannot be given effect. Because the three year constitutional period is peremptive, and not prescriptive, the articles of the Civil Code relating to peremption are in direct conflict with the applicability here of such concepts as suspension or interruption. Insofar as redemption is concerned, the 1978 amendment to R.S.47:2221 cannot be given effect. Harris v. Fuller, 532 S0.2d 1367 (La. 1988) at 1371.

Accordingly, a tax debtor’s continued possession of the property will not suspend or interrupt the three-year redemptive period. This period is peremptive, and therefore, cannot be suspended or interrupted. The language concerning possession and prescription added to R.S. 47:2221 by the 1978 amendment does not change the effect of the statute.

We trust this adequately addresses your questions. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact our office.

Yours very truly,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
Attorney General

BY:__________
DENISE B. FITZGERALD
Assistant Attorney General
CCF, jr./DBF/dam

Page 3

Opinion Number 05-0274
Syllabus

159 Taxation – Sale of Land for Delinquent Taxes
Article VII, Section 25(B)(1) of La. Constitution
La. R.S. 47:2221, 47:2226, and 47:2228

Summary: Constitutionally mandated three-year redemptive period for property sold for non-payment of taxes is preemptive, and therefore, cannot be suspended or interrupted.

Mr. Don M. Moses
Chief Deputy Tax Collector
LaSalle Parish Sheriff’s Department
P.O. Box 70
Jena, LA 71342

Date Received:

Date Released: January 27, 2006

Denise B. Fitzgerald
Assistant Attorney General