Rhode Island § 44-9-43 - Tax Sales

§ 44-9-43. Refund of purchase price when title based on collector’s sale, treasurer’s assignment, or sale without foreclosure adjudged invalid.

(a) If, as the result of a petition, the title based on a collector’s sale, treasurer’s assignment, or sale without foreclosure is determined to be invalid by the superior court because of errors or irregularities in the tax proceedings upon which it was based, the clerk, upon request, shall issue a certificate to that effect. The treasurer of the city or town where the land affected by the title is situated, upon receipt of a deed from the petitioner conveying all of the interest that he or she may have under it, together with the certificate, shall refund to the holder the amount paid, therefor plus statutory interest at the rate of one percent (1%) per month from the date of payment until the date of refund, notwithstanding the provisions of § 45-15-5. The taxing authority may recover any interest paid to a tax sale purchaser under this section from the delinquent assessed owner of the property as if the tax sale of the property had not been held.

(b) If, prior to the filing of a petition, the title based on a collector’s sale, treasurer’s assignment, or sale without foreclosure is determined to be invalid by mutual agreement of the municipality and tax title holder, because of errors or irregularities in the tax proceedings upon which it was based, the treasurer of the city or town where the land affected by the title is situated, upon receipt of a deed from the tax title holder conveying all of the interest that they may have under it, shall refund to the holder the amount paid therefor plus statutory interest at the rate of one percent (1%) per month from the date of payment until the date of refund, notwithstanding the provisions of § 45-15-5. The taxing authority may recover any interest paid to a tax sale purchaser under this section from the delinquent assessed owner of the property as if the tax sale of the property had not been held. Nothing in this subsection shall abrogate the authority of a municipality’s tax collector to redeem from a tax sale purchaser, in accordance with § 44-9-21, before an action to foreclose the right of redemption under § 44-9-25 has been filed, any property sold at tax sale where the collector determines administrative error has occurred.