N.Y. Real Property Tax Law § 1125: Personal notice of commencement of foreclosure proceeding

§ 1125. Personal notice of commencement of foreclosure proceeding. 1.

(a) Parties entitled to notice. The enforcing officer shall on or before

the date of the first publication of the notice above set forth cause a

notice to be mailed to (i) each owner and any other person whose right,

title, or interest was a matter of public record as of the date the list

of delinquent taxes was filed, which right, title or interest will be

affected by the termination of the redemption period, and whose name and

address are reasonably ascertainable from the public record, including

the records in the offices of the surrogate of the county, or from

material submitted to the enforcing officer pursuant to paragraph (d) of

this subdivision, (ii) any other person who has filed a declaration of

interest pursuant to section eleven hundred twenty-six of this title

which has not expired, and (iii) the enforcing officer of any other tax

district having a right to enforce the payment of a tax imposed upon any

of the parcels described upon such petition.

(b) Notification method. (i) Such notice shall be sent to each such

party both by certified mail and ordinary first class mail, subject to

the provisions of subparagraph (iv) of this paragraph. The notice shall

be deemed received unless both the certified mailing and the ordinary

first class mailing are returned by the United States postal service

within forty-five days after being mailed. In that event, the enforcing

officer or his or her agent shall attempt to obtain an alternative

mailing address from the United States postal service. When notice is

required to be sent to the commissioner of taxation and finance, an

alternative notice may be used by the enforcing officer, in accordance

with instructions prescribed by the commissioner of taxation and

finance.

(ii) If an alternative mailing address is found, the enforcing officer

shall cause the notice to be mailed to such owner at such address both

by certified mail and by ordinary first class mail. Notwithstanding any

provision of law to the contrary, such owner may redeem the parcel in

question or serve a duly verified answer to the petition of foreclosure

until either the thirtieth day after such mailing, or the date specified

by the notice of foreclosure as the last day for redemption, whichever

is later.

(iii) If no alternative mailing address can be found, then in the case

of an owner, the enforcing officer shall cause a copy of such notice to

be posted as provided herein on the property to which the delinquent tax

lien relates; in the case of a non-owner, the enforcing officer shall

cause a copy of such notice to be posted in his or her office and in the

office of the clerk of the court in which the petition of foreclosure

has been filed. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary,

the party to whom such notice is directed may redeem the parcel in

question or serve a duly verified answer to the petition of foreclosure

until either the thirtieth day after such posting or delivery, or the

date specified by the notice of foreclosure as the last day for

redemption, whichever is later.

(iv) Where an owner is listed as "unknown" on the tax roll and the

name of such owner cannot be found in the public record, the notice

shall be mailed to the property address by ordinary first class mail

addressed to "occupant" and a copy thereof shall be posted on the

property to which the tax lien relates.

(c) Posting of notice. When a notice is required to be posted on the

property to which the delinquent tax lien relates pursuant to this

section, the posting shall be deemed sufficient if it is either (i)

affixed to a door of a residential or commercial structure on the

premises, or (ii) attached to a vertical object, such as a tree, post or

stake, and plainly visible from the road. Provided, that if, when

visiting the premises for this purpose, the enforcing officer or his or

her agent should find thereon an occupant of suitable age and

discretion, he or she may deliver such notice to such occupant in

addition to or in lieu of posting it. The process of so posting or

delivering such notice shall warrant the imposition of an extra charge

of one hundred dollars against the parcel, in addition to any other

charges authorized by section eleven hundred twenty-four of this title

and without regard to any limitations set forth therein.

(d) Changes of address. It shall be the responsibility of any party

entitled to notice pursuant to this section to notify the enforcing

officer when his, her or its address changes. Such notification need not

be in any particular form as long as it is in writing, affirmatively

states that such party's address has changed or uses language to that

effect, and sets forth the new address. It shall not suffice to submit

to the enforcing officer an item that merely displays the new address,

such as a check upon which the new address has been imprinted, or a

letter or envelope which uses the new address as the return address,

unless such submission includes language clearly indicating that such

address is that party's new address. In the event that a foreclosure

proceeding is challenged on grounds of lack of notice, and the party

raising this issue failed to provide a current address to the enforcing

officer pursuant to this paragraph, the court having jurisdiction may

take such failure into account when evaluating whether reasonable notice

was given.

(e) Public record. For purposes of this section, the public record

shall be deemed to consist of the books maintained by the recording

officer of the county in which the property is located pursuant to

section three hundred fifteen of the real property law, the books kept

by the clerk of the surrogate's court of the county in which the

property is located pursuant to section twenty-five hundred two of the

surrogate's court procedure act, the tax rolls in the possession of the

enforcing officer dated from the applicable lien date forward.

2. The notice to be so mailed shall consist of (a) a copy of the

petition and, if not substantially the same as the petition, the public

notice of foreclosure, provided that such copies need not include the

descriptions or the names of the owners of any parcels in which the

addressee does not have an interest, and (b) a statement substantially

as follows:

To the party to whom the enclosed notice is addressed:

You are presumed to own or have a legal interest in one or more of the

parcels of real property described on the enclosed petition of

foreclosure.

A proceeding to foreclose on such property based upon the failure to

pay real property taxes has been commenced. Foreclosure will result in

the loss of ownership of such property and all rights in that property.

To avoid loss of ownership or of any other rights in the property, all

unpaid taxes and other legal charges must be paid prior to.............

(insert the last date to redeem) or you must interpose a duly verified

answer in the proceeding. You may make payment to................

(insert name, title and address of the official to whom such payments

are to be made) in the amount of all such unpaid taxes and legal charges

prior to that date. You may wish to contact an attorney to protect your

rights.

After............. (insert the last date to redeem), a court will

transfer the title of the property to the.............. (Name of the tax

district) by means of a court judgment.

Should you have any questions regarding this notice, please

call............ (insert the name of the enforcing officer)

at................ (insert telephone number).

Dated,................. (Insert date).

2-a. In the case of residential property as defined by section eleven

hundred eleven of this article, such notice shall also either include or

be accompanied by the homeowner warning notice described by section

eleven hundred forty-four of this article.

3. (a) An affidavit of mailing of such notice shall be executed.

(b) The failure of an intended recipient to receive any such notice

shall not invalidate any tax or prevent the enforcement of the same as

provided by law.

(c) The service of the notice required by this section shall be deemed

to be equivalent to the service of a notice of petition pursuant to

section four hundred three of the civil practice law and rules.

4. (a) Nothing contained herein shall be construed to preclude the

enforcing officer from issuing, at his or her discretion, a duplicate of

any such notice, clearly labeled as such, through means other than

ordinary first class mail, including but not limited to personal

service, registered or certified mail, facsimile transmission, or

electronic mail.

(b) Nothing contained herein shall be construed to preclude the

enforcing officer from issuing, at his or her discretion, one or more

informal notices to an owner or other party prior to issuing the notice

required by this section.

(c) The failure of the enforcing officer to mail any such

discretionary notice, or the failure of an intended recipient to receive

such a notice, shall not invalidate any tax or prevent the enforcement

of the same as provided by law.

5. Any notice mailed by ordinary first class mail pursuant to

subdivision one of this section may also be mailed in duplicate by

certified mail at the option of the enforcing officer.