Sec. 5.3. (a) This section applies to the following:

(1) A person who:

(A) owns a fee interest, a life estate interest, or the equitable interest of a contract purchaser in an unsafe building or unsafe premises; and

(B) is subject to an order issued under IC 36-7-9-5(a)(2), IC 36-7-9-5(a)(3), IC 36-7-9-5(a)(4), or IC 36-7-9-5(a)(5) regarding which the conditions set forth in IC 36-7-9-10(a)(1) through IC 36-7-9-10(a)(4) exist.

(2) A person who:

(A) owns a fee interest, a life estate interest, or the equitable interest of a contract purchaser in an unsafe building or unsafe premises; and

(B) is subject to an order issued under IC 36-7-9-5(a), other than an order issued under IC 36-7-9-5(a)(2), IC 36-7-9-5(a)(3), IC 36-7-9-5(a)(4), or IC 36-7-9-5(a)(5), regarding which the conditions set forth in IC 36-7-9-10(b)(1) through IC 36-7-9-10(b)(4) exist.

(3) A person who is the defendant in a court action brought under IC 36-7-9-18, IC 36-7-9-19, IC 36-7-9-20, IC 36-7-9-21, or IC 36-7-9-22 that has resulted in a judgment in favor of the plaintiff and the unsafe condition that caused the action to be brought has not been corrected.

(4) A person who has any of the following relationships to a person, partnership, corporation, or legal entity described in subdivision (1), (2), or (3):

(A) A partner of a partnership.

(B) An officer or majority stockholder of a corporation.

(C) The person who directs the activities or has a majority ownership in a legal entity other than a partnership or corporation.

(5) A person who owes:

(A) delinquent taxes;

(B) special assessments;

(C) penalties;

(D) interest; or

(E) costs directly attributable to a prior tax sale;

on a tract or an item of real property listed under section 1 of this chapter.

(6) A person who owns a fee interest, a life estate interest, or the equitable interest of a contract purchaser in a vacant or abandoned structure subject to an enforcement order under IC 32-30-6, IC 32-30-7, IC 32-30-8, or IC 36-7-9, or a court order under IC 36-7-37.

(7) A person who is an agent of the person described in this subsection.

(b) A person subject to this section may not purchase a tract offered for sale under section 5 or 6.1 of this chapter. However, this section does not prohibit a person from bidding on a tract that is owned by the person and offered for sale under section 5 of this chapter.

(c) The county treasurer shall require each person who will be bidding at the tax sale to sign a statement in a form substantially similar to the following:

"Indiana law prohibits a person who owes delinquent taxes, special assessments, penalties, interest, or costs directly attributable to a prior tax sale of a tract or item of real property listed under IC 6-1.1-24-1 from purchasing tracts or items of real property at a tax sale. I hereby affirm under the penalties for perjury that I do not owe delinquent taxes, special assessments, penalties, interest, costs directly attributable to a prior tax sale, amounts from a final adjudication in favor of a political subdivision, any civil penalties imposed for the violation of a building code or county ordinance, or any civil penalties imposed by a county health department. Further, I hereby acknowledge that any successful bid I make in violation of this statement is subject to forfeiture. In the event of forfeiture, the amount by which my bid exceeds the minimum bid on the tract or item or real property under IC 6-1.1-24-5(e), if any, shall be applied to the delinquent taxes, special assessments, penalties, interest, costs, judgments, or civil penalties I owe, and a certificate will be issued to the county executive.".

(d) If a person purchases a tract that the person was not eligible to purchase under this section, the sale of the property is subject to forfeiture. If the county treasurer determines or is notified not more than six (6) months after the date of the sale that the sale of the property should be forfeited, the county treasurer shall:

(1) notify the person in writing that the sale is subject to forfeiture if the person does not pay the amounts that the person owes within thirty (30) days of the notice;

(2) if the person does not pay the amounts that the person owes within thirty (30) days after the notice, apply the surplus amount of the person's bid to the person's delinquent taxes, special assessments, penalties, and interest;

(3) remit the amounts owed from a final adjudication or civil penalties in favor of a political subdivision to the appropriate political subdivision; and

(4) notify the county auditor that the sale has been forfeited.

Upon being notified that a sale has been forfeited, the county auditor shall issue a certificate to the county executive under section 6 of this chapter.

(e) A county treasurer may decline to forfeit a sale under this section because of inadvertence or mistake, lack of actual knowledge by the bidder, substantial harm to other parties with interests in the tract or item of real property, or other substantial reasons. If the treasurer declines to forfeit a sale, the treasurer shall:

(1) prepare a written statement explaining the reasons for declining to forfeit the sale; and

(2) retain the written statement as an official record.

(f) If a sale is forfeited under this section and the tract or item of real property is redeemed from the sale, the county auditor shall deposit the amount of the redemption into the county general fund and notify the county executive of the redemption. Upon being notified of the redemption, the county executive shall surrender the certificate to the county auditor.

As added by P.L.98-2000, SEC.4. Amended by P.L.1-2002, SEC.24; P.L.169-2006, SEC.22; P.L.88-2009, SEC.1; P.L.247-2015, SEC.18; P.L.251-2015, SEC.8; P.L.149-2016, SEC.26.