Also known as: real estate tax · real-estate taxes · real-estate tax · property taxes
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A governmental levy imposed on the ownership or assessed value of real property and payable by the owner to the taxing authority. Payment prevents the attachment of a superior lien and satisfies the possessor's duty to avoid waste of the collateral.
Ralph Richardson holds the junior mortgage on an office building whose mortgagor has defaulted. He obtains appointment of a receiver who collects $80,000 in rents. The receiver first pays the accrued real estate taxes and reasonable maintenance costs before applying the remainder to the junior obligation.
Rachel Ramirez owns mortgaged commercial property. Without the mortgagee's consent she allows county real estate taxes to become delinquent, causing a superior lien to attach. The mortgagee treats the delinquency as waste and accelerates the loan.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Ronald Reed's religious organization owns a building used solely for worship. The local assessor denies a real estate tax exemption. The organization sues, arguing the denial violates the First Amendment under the standard applied to property-tax exemptions for religious uses.
Ryan Roberts owns a mobile-home park. The city imposes a real estate tax on the underlying land that increases the rent the park can charge. Roberts challenges the tax as an unconstitutional taking of his property interest in the park.
Rosa Ruiz seeks a building permit for waterfront property. The district conditions approval on payment of a sum earmarked for off-site drainage improvements that will reduce future real estate tax burdens on neighboring parcels. Ruiz claims the condition constitutes an unconstitutional exaction.
Riley Rivera owns an apartment building subject to rent control. The ordinance permits pass-through of increased real estate taxes to tenants. Rivera raises rents accordingly and defends the increase against a tenant challenge that the pass-through violates due process.
A junior receiver must first apply rents to the payment of real estate taxes and other reasonable maintenance expenses before applying any excess to the junior obligation. This duty arises because the receiver, like any possessor, must avoid waste.
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Yes. Waste includes the mortgagor's failure to pay property taxes or governmental assessments before delinquency when the lien has priority over the mortgage. The mortgagee may then pursue remedies for impairment of security.
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The junior receiver may collect rents before a senior receiver is appointed but must apply them first to real estate taxes. Only the excess may be applied to the junior debt, preserving the collateral for all lienholders.
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…U. S. C. § 501(c)(3); the corporate income tax in many States, see, e. g., Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code Ann. § 23701d (West 1992); and property taxes in all 50 States, see Turner, Property Tax Exemptions for Nonprofits, 12 Probate & Property 25 (Sept./Oct. 1998); and clergy qualify for a federal tax break on income used for housing…