Terms Used In New Jersey Statutes 54:5-19

  • collector: when used in relation to the collection of taxes or water rents or other public assessments, includes all officers charged with the duty of collecting such taxes, water rents or assessments, unless a particular officer is specified. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • month: means a calendar month, and the word "year" means a calendar year. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
  • person: includes corporations, companies, associations, societies, firms, partnerships and joint stock companies as well as individuals, unless restricted by the context to an individual as distinguished from a corporate entity or specifically restricted to one or some of the above enumerated synonyms and, when used to designate the owner of property which may be the subject of an offense, includes this State, the United States, any other State of the United States as defined infra and any foreign country or government lawfully owning or possessing property within this State. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • real property: include lands, tenements and hereditaments and all rights thereto and interests therein. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
  • State: extends to and includes any State, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia and the Canal Zone. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
54:5-19. The term “collector” as hereinafter used includes any such officer, and the term “officer” includes the collector.

A municipality shall have the authority to conduct both standard and accelerated tax sales.

When unpaid taxes or any municipal lien, or part thereof, on real property remain in arrears at the close of the fiscal year, the collector or other officer charged by law in the municipality with that duty, shall enforce the lien by selling the property in the manner set forth in this article by holding a standard tax sale in the following fiscal year.

When unpaid taxes or any municipal lien, or part thereof, on real property remains in arrears on the 11th day of the eleventh month in the fiscal year when the taxes or lien became in arrears, the collector or other officer charged by law in the municipality with that duty, shall enforce the lien by selling the property in the manner set forth in this article by conducting an accelerated tax sale by selling the property in the manner set forth in this article, provided that the sale is conducted and completed no earlier than in the last month of the fiscal year. Whenever the due date for the fourth quarter property tax installment payment has been extended for real property pursuant to the provisions of subsection a. of R.S.54:4-67, a municipality shall not conduct an accelerated tax sale with respect to that installment pursuant to this section.

In either a standard or an accelerated tax sale, the municipality may by resolution direct that when unpaid taxes or other municipal liens or charges, or part thereof, are in arrears as of the 11th day of the eleventh month of the fiscal year, such sale shall include only such unpaid taxes or other municipal liens or charges as were in arrears in the fiscal year designated in such resolution, and may by resolution, either general or special, direct that there shall be omitted from such sale any or all such unpaid taxes, and other municipal liens, or parts thereof, on real property, upon which regular, equal monthly installment payments are being made, in pursuance to such agreement as may be authorized by said resolution between the collector and the owner or person interested in the property upon which such delinquent taxes may be due; provided, that said agreement shall require payment of such installment payments in amounts large enough to pay in full all delinquent taxes, assessments and other municipal liens held by the municipality, in not more than five years from the date of such agreement; provided, that the extension of time for payment of such arrearages herein authorized shall not apply to any parcel of property which prior thereto has been included in any plan theretofore adopted by any municipality of this State under and pursuant to the provisions of any public statute of this State whereunder prior extensions for the payment of delinquent taxes were authorized; provided further, that the right of any person interested in such property to pay such arrears in such installments shall be conditioned on the prompt payment of the installments of taxes for the current year in which such agreement is made, and all subsequent taxes, assessments and other municipal liens imposed or becoming a lien thereafter, including all installments thereafter payable on assessments theretofore levied, and also the prompt payment of all installments of arrears as hereinbefore authorized; and provided further, that in case any such installment of arrears or any new taxes, assessments or other liens are not promptly paid, that is to say, within thirty days after the date when the same is due and payable, then such agreement shall be void, and in any such case the collector, or other officer charged by law with that duty, shall proceed to enforce such lien by selling in the manner in this article provided.

amended 1944, c.108; 1991, c.75, s.43; 1997, c.99, s.5; 2009, c.320, s.1; 2015, c.203, s.2.