Real estate public auction

When a property has tax arrears for more than one year, a tax recovery notification or lien is registered on the property. If the tax arrears are not paid in full, The City of Calgary is able to recovery uncollected property taxes by holding a Real estate public auction. The public auction is held with a reserve bid at a fair market value. The public auction can be prevented with payment of the full tax arrears. At time of full payment of the tax arrears The City will discharge a tax recovery notification or lien.

In accordance with the Municipal Government Act, The City of Calgary holds a public auction once per year to recover unpaid property tax.

The date, time, and location of the public auction as well as any updates are posted on this page when available.

When it becomes available, you can view a list of the tax sale properties at a link that will be added to this page. The property tax sale list is updated weekdays by 10 a.m. (except holidays). As tax arrears are paid in full, the applicable properties are removed from the list.

The list includes the following information:

• civic address (after approximately mid-March)
• roll number
• legal description
• outstanding taxes
• reserve bids after (approximately mid-March)
• terms and conditions of sale
• Agreement of Purchase and Sale

All properties are viewed externally and an estimate of the fair market value of each property is made. This estimate of market value is the reserve bid, which is the minimum price at which The City of Calgary will be willing to sell the property at the public auction.

Properties will be deleted and removed from the tax sale list as the tax arrears are paid, up to and including on the day of the auction. Once a property is removed from the list, it is no longer part of the auction and is not available for bidding.

No. All properties are viewed externally and an estimate of the fair market value of each property is made. This estimate of market value is the reserve bid, which is the minimum price at which The City of Calgary will be willing to sell the property at the public auction.

No. You cannot legally enter onto a property that is advertised for tax sale. This is not a typical property sale. The City of Calgary does not "own" the properties being offered for sale at the public auction and the current registered owner on title or a tenant may still be occupying the property.

Entering onto a property advertised for tax sale is considered to be trespassing.

No registration is required in order to attend the public auction. The tax sale is open to the public. 

If you are interested in purchasing a property at the tax sale public auction, review the properties being offered for sale on the morning of the auction. If the property you are intending to purchase is still available, attend the auction to bid on the property.

At the public auction, the auctioneer will explain the bidding process and the terms and conditions. A brief description of each property will be read out, with bids being accepted immediately thereafter. A property is considered sold when the auctioneer declares the property to be sold. If no bids on a property are received, the auctioneer will declare bids to be closed for that property. Once bids have been declared closed on a property, no further bidding will be accepted in relation to that property.

Review The City of Calgary’s Agreement of Purchase and Sale for further information. 

The auctioneer, the municipal councillors, the City Manager and officers and employees of The City of Calgary are prohibited from bidding for or buying any parcel of land offered for sale at the public auction unless section 429(1) of the Municipal Government Act applies.  All others can bid.

No. Only offers meeting the minimum reserve that are made before the auctioneer declares bids to be closed for that property will be accepted. The successful bidder will be required to sign The City of Calgary’s Agreement of Purchase and Sale on the date of the public auction, with a formal agreement of purchase and sale to be delivered to the successful bidder within 15 days of the date of hte public auction.

No other terms and conditions will be considered. 

If no bids are made at or above the reserve bid, the reserve bid is not lowered. The auction for the applicable property will be considered closed. The City of Calgary may, after the auction, become the owner of any parcel of land that is not sold at the public auction. Such properties may be publicly marketed and sold at a later point through Calgary Real Estate & Development Services. 

The purchase price must be paid as follows:

a)       1/3 of the purchase price by way of cash or cheque at the date of public auction, or a minimum payment of $500.00, whichever is greater; and

b)      the balance of the purchase price, plus any applicable GST, on the Closing Date (no later than 60 days after the date of the public auction).

The Closing Date will be 60 days after the date of the public auction or such earlier date that is mutually agreed to in writing by both parties. 

No. All properties offered for sale at the public auction are being offered on an “as is, where is” basis and The City of Calgary makes no representations and gives no warranty whatsoever with respect to any property being offered for sale at the public auction.

No. If the relevant property is occupied by a tenant, the successful bidder will be responsible for the obligation and expense of obtaining vacant possession.