§ 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.

History of Section. (P.L. 2008, ch. 238, § 1; P.L. 2008, ch. 309, § 1; P.L. 2017, ch. 170, § 1; P.L. 2017, ch. 173, § 1.)