§ 34-27-6. Payment of outstanding taxes.
(a) In connection with any sale by public auction made under and according to the provisions
of any mortgage of real estate or any power of sale contained therein or annexed thereto,
if the mortgagee or an affiliate of the mortgagee is the successful bidder for the
real estate or property offered for sale, the foreclosure deed shall be recorded in
the records of land evidence for the municipality where the real estate is located
within forty-five (45) days after the date of the sale. The deed shall be captioned
"foreclosure deed� and the date of the foreclosure shall be stated in the deed. This
subsection (a) shall not apply to any such sale if, prior to the recording of the
foreclosure deed: (1) The mortgagor files a voluntary proceeding, or an order for
relief is entered in any involuntary proceeding against the mortgagor, under any federal
or state bankruptcy or insolvency statute; or (2) The mortgagee abandons or otherwise
terminates such sale.
(b) Notwithstanding any other general law or local ordinance to the contrary, the grantee
of real estate named in the foreclosure deed shall pay to the municipality, on or
before the date the foreclosure deed is recorded, all taxes and other assessments,
including water charges, interest and penalties, if any, that constitute liens on
the real estate described in the foreclosure deed and that are due and owing on the
recording date (collectively, "taxes due and owing�); provided, however, that a grantee
shall not be deemed in violation of this subsection (b) if the grantee shall apply
for a municipal lien certificate from the tax collector for the municipality during
the forty-five-day (45) period ending on the day on which the foreclosure deed is
recorded and shall pay the taxes due and owing within thirty (30) days after the date
on which the municipal lien certificate is mailed by the tax collector by the United
States mail, postage prepaid, certified, return receipt requested, and addressed to
the grantee at the address therefor set forth in the application for the municipal
lien certificate. Taxes due and owing for purposes of this section shall include only
installments thereof required by law to be paid as of the date the foreclosure deed
is recorded.
(c) Upon a violation of any one or more of the requirements of this section, a penalty
shall accrue at the rate of three hundred dollars ($300) per month (in the aggregate)
for each month or part thereof during which such violation or violations continue.
For purposes of determining the penalty due hereunder, a month commences on the day
on which the first such violation occurs and a new month commences on the same day
(or if there is no such day, then on the last day) of each succeeding calendar month
until all taxes due and owing are paid. In the event of a violation of subsection
(a), taxes due and owing shall be determined as of the date required thereunder for
the recording of a foreclosure deed. The maximum aggregate penalty shall not exceed
two thousand dollars ($2,000), which shall be paid prior to the city or town clerk
accepting the foreclosure deed for recording.
(d) As used in this section, the term "affiliate� shall mean, with respect to any mortgagee,
any individual or legal entity that controls, is controlled by, or is under common
control with such mortgagee, and the term "foreclosure deed� shall mean the mortgagee's
deed or other conveyance of title to the successful bidder at any sale by public auction
made under and according to the provisions of any mortgage of real estate or any power
of sale contained therein or annexed thereto.
(e) A mortgagee not licensed as a financial lending institution holding a mortgage by
private agreement with another party shall be exempt from the penalty requirements
of this section.