This bill revises New Jersey's tax lien foreclosure process to protect property owners' equity, responding to recent judicial rulings, including the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in *Tyler v. Hennepin County*. It mandates that any excess equity remaining after reimbursing the lienholder for property taxes and interest must be returned to the former property owner. The legislation introduces a judicial sale process instead of granting an indefeasible estate to the purchaser, ensuring that the lienholder's costs and taxes are prioritized before any remaining funds are disbursed to the property owner.

Additionally, the bill implements procedural changes for tax lien sales, such as prohibiting premium payments for tax sale certificates once the interest rate has been bid down to zero and requiring specific increments for interest rate bids. It outlines the order of fund disbursement from judicial sales, ensuring appropriate reimbursement for the tax lien purchaser, municipality, and sheriff's office. The bill also includes provisions for the tax collector's fee, which will be incorporated into the face value of the tax sale certificate and payable only upon redemption or purchase.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 54:5-104.32, 54:5-104.64, 54:5-113.6