8.3.1 Right of Redemption

Tax debtors have a constitutional right to redeem property sold at a tax sale by paying the delinquent taxes, accrued taxes, interest, and penalties within the time for redemption.1  “Once the property owner timely redeems his property, the rights of the tax sale purchaser to the ownership or possession of the property are dissolved.”2  Louisiana law favors redemption of property sold at tax sales.3

• 1The redemptive period is 3 years (or 18 months if the property is blighted). La. Const. art. VII, § 25(B).
• 2Smith v. Brumfield, 2013-1171, p. 16 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1/15/14), 133 So. 3d 70, 79.
• 3Fleckinger v. Smith, 319 So. 2d 881, 885 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1975); ACORN Cmty. Land Ass’n of La. v. Zeno, 2005-CA-1489 (La. App. 4 Cir. 6/21/06), 936 So. 2d 836.