Chap. 215.—An ACT to amend and re-enact Sections 2457, 2458, 2464, 2471, 2472,
2477, 2479, 2480, 2481, 2482, 2487, 2489, 2490, 2491, 2493, 2495, 2500, 2501,
2502, 2503, 6267, and 6268 of the Code of Virginia, as heretofore amended, and
to repeal Sections 2451, 2452, 2453, 2467, and 2473 of the Code of Virginia,
and to repeal Sections 274 and 391 of the Tax Code of Virginia, in relation to
delinquent lands and lots. [H B 295}

Approved March 16, 1940

1. Beit enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That sec-
tions twenty-four hundred and fifty-seven, twenty-four hundred and
fifty-eight, twenty-four hundred and sixty-four, twenty-four hundred
and seventy-one, twenty-four hundred and seventy-two, twenty-four
hundred and seventy-seven, twenty-four hundred and seventy-nine,
twenty-four hundred and eighty, twenty-four hundred and eighty-one,
twenty-four hundred and eighty-two, twenty-four hundred and
eighty-seven, twenty-four hundred and eighty-nine, twenty-four
hundred and ninety, twenty-four hundred and ninety-one, twenty-
four hundred and ninety-three, twenty-four hundred and ninety-five,
twenty-five hundred, twenty-five hundred and one, twenty-five
hundred and two, twenty-five hundred and three, sixty-two hundred
and sixty-seven, and sixty-two hundred and sixty-eight of the Code of
Virginia, as heretofore amended, be amended and re-enacted so as to
read as follows:

Section 2457. How real estate may be sold for town taxes.—There
shall be a lien upon real estate for the taxes assessed thereon by the
town councils of any town from the commencement of the year for
which they are assessed. When any of said taxes are returned delin-
quent by the town treasurer, a list of the same shall be returned to the
clerk of the circuit court of the county wherein such town is located,
and be by him entered in a book furnished by said town, and kept in
his office, the form and manner of entering the same to be similar to
that provided by law for the record of delinquent taxes on real estate
due to the county. In said book there shall also be columns in which
shall be entered the names of the purchasers, and the amount and
date of sales of real estate sold for delinquent taxes, as hereinafter
provided.

Until the taxes so returned delinquent are entered in said record as
herein provided, said real estate shall not be liable for town taxes as
against purchasers for value and without notice. Said real estate may
be sold for town taxes, as hereinafter provided, whether owned by the
person in whose name it was assessed or not.

When said taxes have been returned delinquent and entered of
record, as above required, the circuit court, or the judge thereof in
vacation, upon the application of the council of the town, may order
any real estate delinquent for the non-payment of town taxes, to be
sold by the treasurer of the town at public auction for such taxes,
with interest at six per cent and costs, exclusive of costs attending the
redemption thereof, as hereinafter provided, at such times as the court
or judge may direct, the sale and advertisement thereof to be made in
conformity as nearly as may be to the State law, with reference to the
sale of delinquent lands.

When such sale has been made, the same with the date thereof,
the name of the purchaser, and the amount for which the said real
estate sold, shall be entered by the clerk of the circuit court in the
record of the delinquent real estate provided for in this section.

If at any sale no bid shall be made by any person for any such
parcel of land, or such bid be not equal to the taxes with interest and
cost as aforesaid, the same may be bid in and purchased by the
treasurer for the town. On such sale the treasurer shall execute to the
town a certificate of sale, in which the property purchased shall be
described and the aggregate amount of taxes, interest and costs,
specified, and shall deposit such certificate with the clerk of the council
of the town.

Section 2458. How real estate sold for town taxes may be re-
deemed.—After said real estate has been sold for taxes, the same may
be redeemed within such time and by such person and upon such
terms, as is provided by law for the redemption of land sold for county
taxes, except that the money paid for such redemption shall be paid
to the town treasurer. Upon the redemption of said real estate, the
treasurer shall issue to the person so redeeming it a certificate to that
effect, which shall be presented to the clerk of the circuit court, who
shall thereupon mark in the record the redemption of said real estate,
the name of the person redeeming it, and the date thereof.

The clerk shall receive for his service a fee of ten cents for each lot
of land so entered in said record, a fee of ten cents for the entry of such
sale of real estate, as provided herein, and a fee of twenty-five cents
for each redemption so entered, to be paid by the town, which shall
be charged against and be a lien upon said land, along with the taxes
assessed against the same. At the expiration of the time within which
the said real estate may be redeemed, if the same has not been re-
deemed, as herein provided, the clerk of the town shall execute to the
purchaser thereof a deed, conveying the same in like manner as is
prescribed by law for the conveyance of real estate by the clerk of the
circuit court, which has been sold for delinquent taxes due the county,
and such deed shall convey such title as would be conveyed had the
same been sold for delinquent county taxes.

In case any real estate purchased by the treasurer for the town shall
not be redeemed within the time specified, the town treasurer shall,
within sixty days after the expiration of the time for redemption,
cause to be recorded in the clerk’s office of the circuit court, such
certificate of sale, with his oath that the same has not been redeemed,
and thereupon the town, or its assigns, shall acquire an absolute title
to the same. The said certificate or record thereof, or a certified copy
thereof, shall, in all courts and other places be evidence of the facts
therein stated.

But the failure to obtain or record such certificate shall not in-
validate the lien of the town for taxes assessed against such real estate;
but the said town may at any time elect to enforce its lien for taxes in
a court of equity, and release its rights as purchaser or to become pur-
chaser of such real estate.

Section 2464. Receipt to purchaser from treasurer; what to con-
tain.—The treasurer, on receiving from a purchaser the amount of his
purchase, shall give him a receipt for the same, in which he shall set
forth with convenient certainty, the quantity of land sold, a description
of the same, in whose name it was sold, the price paid, and the amount
of taxes and levies thereon.

Section 2471. Report to be exhibited to supervisors and council;
treasurer charged with amounts due county and city.—The clerk
shall exhibit to the board of supervisors to be examined by it the
original of said report, and, in case of a sale for the levies of a city or
town, before the council of such city or town, at the next meeting
thereof, who shall charge the treasurer with whatever is due on ac-
count of said sales for levies.

Section 2472. How mistakes in report of sales corrected; amended
list to be filed and recorded; notice to purchaser and former owner.—
If any treasurer shall in his list of sales omit therefrom any real estate
and the name of the purchaser, or state therein the name of the pur-
chaser incorrectly, or that it was purchased by one person when it
was in fact purchased by another, on the petition of such treasurer,
or of any person interested, presented within one year from the date
of sale, to the circuit or corporation court of the county or city in
which such real estate is situated, stating such omission or mistake,
on satisfactory proof thereof the court shall enter an order permitting
the treasurer to file with the clerk an amended list in conformity with
the decision of the court, which amended list and order of court shall
be recorded in the delinquent land book. The person so named as
purchaser in the original list by mistake shall, however, have twenty
day’s previous notice of the presentation of such petition. Where the
mistake made by the treasurer consists in the omission of real estate
and the name of the purchaser thereof from the list of sales, the like
notice of twenty days shall be given the previous owner of such real
estate, who may exercise his right of redemption within three years
from the date of the order of court aforesaid, in the manner and on the
terms prescribed by sections twenty-four hundred and seventy-five
and twenty-four hundred and seventy-seven.

Section 2477. Amount may be paid to clerk, if purchaser refuse
it or cannot be found; clerk to endorse payment on delinquent land
book.—What is authorized to be paid by section twenty-four hundred
and seventy-five may be paid within the said three years to the clerk
of the circuit court of the county or corporation court of the city
(whose officer may have sold such real estate), in any case in which the
purchaser, his heirs, or assigns, may refuse to receive the same or may
not reside or cannot be found in the county or city. The clerk shall
endorse the fact of such payment on the delinquent land book opposite
the entry of the tract or lot.

Section 2479. Saving to persons under disabilities—Any infant,
insane person, or person imprisoned, whose real estate has been so
sold, may redeem the same by paying to the purchaser, his heirs, or
assigns, within three years after the removal of disability, the amount
for which the same was so sold; with the necessary charges incurred
by the purchaser, his heirs, or assigns, in obtaining the title under the
sale; and such additional taxes on the estate as may have been paid by
the purchaser, his heirs, or assigns, and interest on the said items at
the rate of six per centum per annum from the times the same have
been paid; but in no case shall the right to redeem be allowed to any
person after the lapse of twenty years from the day of sale.

Section 2480. Purchaser of part of tract, etc., to have same sur-
veyed; how survey made; plat to be returned to court and recorded.—
The purchaser of a part of any tract or lot of land so sold and not
redeemed within the said three years, his heirs, or assigns, shall have
the quantity purchased surveyed and laid off, at his expense, by the
surveyor of the county, if it be in a county or town therein; if it be
within the corporate limits of any city, by the surveyor of such city;
or where there is no surveyor of such county or city, then by some
person to be appointed by the circuit court of the county or corpora-
tion court of the city, or judge thereof in vacation, for that purpose;
the said surveyor to commence on either of the lines of the tract or
lot, at the option of the purchaser, his heirs, or assigns, so as not to
include the improvements on the same if it can be avoided, and to
be in one body, the length whereof shall not be more than double
the breadth, where that is practicable. A plat and certificate of the
survey shall be returned to the circuit court of the county or corpora-
tion court of the city, and if the court, upon examination thereof, find
it to be made in conformity with this section, it shall order the same
to be recorded. os

Section 2481. When entire tract sold, what report surveyor to
make.—When an entire tract of land is sold and not redeemed within
the said three years, the purchaser, his heirs, or assigns, at his ex-
pense, shall have a report made to the circuit court of the county or
corporation court of the city, by such surveyor or other person, as 1s
provided for in the preceding section, specifying the metes and bounds
of the land sold, the names of the owners of the adjoining tracts or
lots, and giving such further description of the land sold as will
identify the same, and the circuit or corporation court, unless it see
some objection to such report, shall order the same to be recorded.

Section 2482. When deed made to purchaser; clerk to make it;
what to contain; fee of clerk.—After the expiration of the said three
years the purchaser of any real estate so sold and not redeemed, his
heirs or assigns, shall obtain from the clerk of the circuit court of
the county or corporation court of the city whose officer has sold
such real estate, a deed conveying the same, in which shall be set
forth all the circumstances appearing in the clerk’s office in relation
to the sale; but in no case shall a deed be made to any such purchaser
of any such real estate until after such purchaser has given to the
person in whose name the real estate so sold stood at the time of said
sale, and the person or persons to whom said real estate so sold has
been conveyed of record subsequently to the time of said sale, or, if
any of said persons be dead, then to his or their personal representa-
tives, heirs and devisees, and to the trustees, mortgagees and bene-
ficiaries as shown by the records in any deed of trust or mortgage, on
said real estate, or their personal representatives, four months’ notice
of his said purchase and his intention to apply to the clerk for a deed
to the real estate so purchased, which notice shall state the day on
which such application for a deed will be made and the fact that
such real estate may be redeemed at any time before the execution
of such deed, by payment of the necessary amount to said clerk, and
no clerk shall deliver any such deed unless and until it be shown to
his satisfaction that such notice has been given; provided, that no
notice need be given to any trustee, mortgagee or beneficiary, in
any deed of trust or mortgage which has been recorded, or the lien
thereof renewed, more than twenty years prior to the date of such
sale; and the person entitled to redeem said real estate shall have
the right to redeem the same at any time before the expiration of the
said four months, although such time extended beyond the three
years first mentioned herein; provided, further, that where said real
estate has been purchased at a tax sale, and no deed has been made
to the purchaser thereof, and the same has not been redeemed by
the former owner, the circuit or corporation court of the county or
city in which said land or any part thereof is situated, may, upon the
application of the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, unless it appear by
satisfactory proof that the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, have been
deprived of their right to a deed for said land, direct the clerk of the
said court to convey to said purchaser, his heirs or assigns, the said
real estate by deed with special warranty, upon satisfactory evidence
that a period of twenty years has elapsed since said tax sale, and that
at the time of making said application for a deed the purchaser has
been in adverse possession of the said land for at least fifteen years
east of the Alleghany mountains, or ten years west of the Alleghany
mountains, and the taxes due thereon have been paid by said pur-
chaser, his heirs or assigns.

Said application shall be by motion in writing, and the court may
award any process or summon any party to answer said motion it
may deem proper, before making said order, and the clerk upon
making said deed shall report the same to the court, which shall
confirm the same. If the sale be of part of a tract of land, the deed
shall refer particularly to the plat and certificate of survey returned
according to section twenty-four hundred and eighty, and to the
order of the court thereupon; and if the sale be of an entire tract of
land, it shall refer to the report made according to the preceding
section and the order thereupon. If the sale be of a city or town lot,
or of an undivided interest in such lot, and a report be made de-
scribing the same, and such report be ordered by the court to be
recorded, the deed shall refer to such report.

But when in the case of the sale of a city or town lot, or of an
undivided interest in such lot, there is no such report, the clerk shall,
nevertheless, execute a deed therefor to the purchaser if he desires
the same. : :

For every deed executed under this section the clerk shall be
entitled to one dollar, which the purchaser shall pay him on delivery
of the deed. This section shall apply as well to real estate heretofore
sold as to such real estate as may be hereafter sold for taxes or levies.
@ Section 2487. If deed not made in time further time allowed
owner to redeem.—If no such deed or order of court be made under
this chapter within one year after the expiration of the said three
years the former owner, his heirs or assigns, may, after such year
and before such deed or order is made, redeem the land by paying
such amount, with such additional taxes and levies and such interest
as is mentioned in section twenty-four hundred and seventy-five,
together with the costs of the survey or report (and interest thereon)
if any has been made.

Section 2489. When real estate to be bought in name of Com-
monwealth, list thereof to be returned by treasurer to court; when
confirmed copies to be sent to supervisors and council; treasurer to
have credit for taxes and levies; original list to be recorded; fee of
clerk; provision for trying title while unredeemed, etc.—When any
real estate is offered for sale as provided in section twenty-four hun-
dred and sixty-one and no person bids the amount chargeable thereon,
the treasurer shall purchase the same in the name of the Common-
wealth of Virginia for the benefit of the county, city, or town, re-
spectively. A list of real estate so purchased in by the treasurer,
showing in whose name sold, the amount of taxes, levies, costs and
charges, verified by his oath, shall be returned by him to the circuit
or corporation court, at the same time he returns his report of sales
under section twenty-four hundred and sixty-five. If the court finds
said list to be correct, or having corrected the same, when there is
error, it shall confirm the same and direct its clerk to transmit a
copy thereof to the board of supervisors of the county, and in case
of a sale for the levies of a city or town, to the council of such city
or town at their next meeting. The original shall be recorded by
the clerk in the delinquent land book, for which he shall be paid in
accordance with the provisions of this section. On the receipt of
said copies the board of supervisors, and the council of the city or
town. shall, respectively, credit the treasurer with the amount of
taxes and levies chargeable on such real estate so purchased in the
name of the Commonwealth. . ae - ST

But any person claiming to be entitled to such real estate, if the
same had not been delinquent for taxes, or sold therefor, may bring
any action or actions, or suit or suits, either at law or in equity, to
recover the possession thereof, try the title thereto, or to recover
damages for any injury to the. same, or to prevent injury to the
same, although such real estate may have heretofore been or may
hereafter be, delinquent for taxes, or purchased by the treasurer in
the name of the Commonwealth for the non-payment of taxes and
not redeemed, and the judgment or decree in any such action or suit
shall only affect the rights and title of the parties thereto, and shall
in no wise affect the rights of the Commonwealth or of any city or
county therein or thereto. No execution, or other process or order
shall issue upon any judgment or decree rendered in any such action
or suit, until the party in whose favor such judgment or decree is
rendered shall have paid all delinquent and other taxes and levies,
with the interest and other charges due upon said real estate, to the
State, and to the city, town, or county, or district, wherein the same
is located. In any suit in equity, instituted for the collection of taxes
and levies due on any real estate purchased, as aforesaid, in the name
of the Commonwealth for the benefit of the State, county, city, or
town, respectively, the complainant in such suit, whether it be the
Commonwealth of Virginia, or any county, city, or town, may waive
the benefit of the purchase and any claim to the title to the real estate
so purchased under this section, and rely solely upon the lien on
such real estate for the payment of taxes and levies imposed thereon
as provided by section two hundred fifty-one of the Tax Code.

The fee of the clerk for all services rendered by him in connec-
tion with the sale of delinquent real estate which is purchased in the
name of the Commonwealth for the benefit of the county, city or
town, shall be ten cents for each lot, tract or parcel of land so pur-
chased, which shall, together with a reasonable fee to the printer for
printing notices, be paid out of the treasuries of the counties, cities
and towns, respectively.

Section 2490. Real Estate so purchased vested in Common-
wealth.—All the real estate mentioned in the lists under the pre-
ceding section shall, without any deed for the purpose, stand vested
in the Commonwealth of Virginia for the benefit of the county, city,
and town.

Section 2491. How and by whom real estate so purchased may
be redeemed.—The previous owner of any such real estate, his heirs,
or assigns, or any person having the right to charge the same with a
debt, may, until further sale thereof under section twenty-four
hundred and ninety-five or section twenty-five hundred and three, or
under other court proceedings, redeem such real estate by paying to
the clerk of the circuit court of the county or corporation court of
the city in which such real estate is situated the amount for which
the sale was made, together with such additional sums as would
have accrued from taxes and levies if the same had not been pur-
chased by the treasurer in the name of the Commonwealth, with
interest on the amount for which the sale was made at the rate of
six per centum from the day of sale, and on the additional sums a
penalty of five per centum as of December fifth of the year in which
the same would have accrued plus interest at the rate of six per
centum from the first day of July of the year next following the year
in which such additional sums would have accrued; provided, how-
ever, that any person having the right to redeem any such real estate
shall have the right to make partial payments thereon from time to
time as he may desire, no payment, however, to be less than twenty-
five per centum of the entire amount necessary to redeem unless it
be that the said real estate has been sold for the taxes and/or levies
for more than one year, in which event any such partial payment
shall be an amount equal to the taxes and/or levies for one of said
years, including the proper interest. All such payments shall be
received by the clerk and endorsed at the appropriate place on the
delinquent land book. When any such real estate shall be fully
redeemed by the payment of all the taxes, interest and costs necessary
for the full redemption thereof as hereinabove required, the clerk
shall endorse the fact of such payment on the delinquent land book
opposite the entry of the tract or lot. For making statement, cal-
culating interest, and so forth, the said clerk shall be entitled to a fee
of fifty cents, payable by the person redeeming his land. The clerk
shall at least monthly pay into the county, city or town treasury, as
the case may be, and according to the rights of the political sub-
division, all amounts received by him for or on account of the re-
demption of delinquent lands. For his services in receiving this
money and paying it into the treasury he shall be entitled to a com-
mission of five per centum.

Section 2493. Court may authorize redemption of part of land
and fix its value; when redeemed, to be free from lien for taxes and
levies on rest of land; notice of application required; clerk to enter
order on delinquent land book; his fee.—The circuit court of the
county or corporation court of the city in which is situated real estate
purchased in the name of the Commonwealth, may for good cause,
authorize the redemption of a part of any real estate so purchased,
whether the applicant be the owner of such part only or of the entire
tract; and to that end may, subject to the limitations and on the
terms prescribed by section twenty-three hundred and eighty-five
and the sections following to twenty-three hundred and ninety-one
inclusive, correct any erroneous assessment as to such part. The
court shall fix the value of the part so to be redeemed, and upon the
payment of the taxes and levies according to the values thus fixed,
the owner shall be entitled to hold such part free from any lien for
taxes and levies then due on the residue of the tract. The treasurer
and Commonwealth’s attorney shall each have at least five days’
notice of such application, and the latter shall be present and defend
the same; and the order of court shall show the fact. It shall be the
duty of the clerk to make an entry of such order on his delinquent
land book, and furnish a copy of the same to each applicant, for
which he shall be entitled to receive from such applicant a fee of
seventy-five cents.

Section 2495. When and how lands purchased in the name of
Commonwealth and unredeemed may be sold.—

(1) Application may be filed with clerk for its purchase; what
application must state.—When real estate so purchased in the name
of the Commonwealth is not redeemed by the previous owner, his
heirs, or assigns, or some person having the right to charge the same
with a debt, within three years from the date of such purchase, any
person desiring to purchase it shall file an application with the clerk
of the circuit court of the county or corporation court of the city
wherein it is situated, for the purchase of such real estate for the
amount for which it was purchased in the name of the Common-
wealth, and the taxes and levies due the city, town or county or
district in which said land is situated, together with such additional
ums as would have accrued trom taxes, levies, penalties and imiterest
f such real estate had not been so purchased, with interest on the
‘mount for which said sale was made at the rate of six per centum
yer annum from the day of sale, in which application shall be set out
the name of the person in whose name the real estate stood at the
Jate of the sale thereof and the person in whose name such real estate
stands at the date of such application on the commissioner’s books
yf such county or corporation, as well as the owner or owners of such
‘eal estate as shown by the deed books and will books of the clerk’s
office of the county or city in which it is situated, or in the clerk’s
office of the Chancery Court of the City of Richmond, if the prop-
erty is situated in the city of Richmond, north of James river, in-
cluding the islands, but if south of said river, not including the islands,
‘n the clerk’s office of the Hustings Court, Part II, of said city; or if
any of the said persons be dead, then the name of his personal repre-
sentatives and heirs, and the name of the trustees, mortgagees, and
beneficiaries as shown by the records in any deed of trust or mortgage
on said real estate, or their personal representative; and if the names
of the heirs of any such deceased person, or any of them, shall be
unknown to the applicant, such application shall so state, and they
may be proceeded against as unknown parties.

(2) What application need not state-—The names of any person
may be omitted which do not appear of record in the clerk’s office of
the county or corporation in which the land is situated, and if it be
situated in the city of Richmond, which do not appear of record in
the clerk’s office of the Chancery Court of the said city, or if the
property in said city be situated in the former city of Manchester,
which do not appear of record in the proper registration books for
such city, as it formerly existed. The name of any trustee, mortgagee,
or beneficiary in any deed of trust or mortgage which has been re-
corded more than twenty years prior to the date of application may
be likewise omitted.

(3) What to be done on filing application.—At the time of filing
said application he shall pay to the clerk at least ten per centum of
the amount of the proposed purchase price of the said land; but this
deposit, which shall be first for purchase price and then for costs
shall in no case be less than one dollar, and the clerk shall make out
as many copies of said application as there are names of persons
therein, with one additional copy, or more if necessary, and shall at
once deliver them to the sheriff or sergeant of the county or city 11
which the land is situated, and the same shall be served on the partie:
named therein in the same manner that process to commence a sul
is served, and similar return shall be made thereon by the office:
serving the same. If any of the persons named in the said applicatior
do not reside in the county or city in which the land is situated, bu
are known by the clerk to reside in some other county or city in th
State of Virginia, the clerk shall send copies of the said applicatio:
to the proper officer of the county or city wherein they reside, to b
executed upon such person. Said return shall be made within sixt
days after the issuing of the copy of the application. If the same b
returned not executed on any party therein named, other copies may
be made out and served as hereinbefore provided.

(4) When to be order of publication.—On affidavit that one or
more of the parties are non-residents of the State, or that diligence
has been used by or on behalf of the applicant to ascertain in what
county or corporation such persons are, without effect, or that a
copy of the application has been twice delivered to the proper officer
of the county or city in which he resides without being executed, or
that the names of other persons who may be interested in said real
estate are unknown, which affidavit shall also state the last known
post office address of such parties if known, or that such address is
unknown, if such is the fact, an order of publication may be entered
by the clerk against such parties. The order of publication shall not
be a copy of the application, but shall be in the following form, namely:

district, ............0 eee ee county (if in a city or town, name the
city and ward), was sold on the ............ day of .......... ,
nineteen ............200 eee , for delinquent taxes, levies, interest

and costs to the Commonwealth of Virginia and application for the
purchase thereof has been filed in this office, and it appearing from
the records in this office that you are interested in said land, you are
further notified to appear in four months from the date of this notice,
and do what may be necessary to protect your interests.

Given under my hand this ......... day of ........... , nine-
teen 2... eee eee

eo eee eee © © @ © © © © © © © &e © © &— Fe © © 7 ee 7 7 ee

Clerk ...........4.. Court, Virginia.

It shall be published once a week for four successive weeks in a
newspaper published in such city or county, if there be one, to be
designated by the clerk, and if there be none, in such newspaper as
the clerk may direct, and shall be posted by the clerk at the front door
of the courthouse, of the county or city wherein the court is held on
the first day of the next circuit or corporation court after it is entered.
The clerk shall also mail a copy thereof to each party whose address
is stated in the said affidavit, direct to the post office address as stated
therein, and file a certificate stating the fact of such publication,
posting and mailing in papers in the proceeding.

(5) Conditions necessary to give applicant the right to purchase;
consequences of failure to exercise such right.—If no person who has
a right to redeem the same at the time of the service of the copies, o1
of the completion of the order of publication as aforesaid, appeas
within four months after such copies have been so served or pub-
lished, as the case may be, and redeem said real estate by paying tc
the clerk of the circuit court of the county or clerk of the corporatior
court of the city all taxes, levies, interest, penalties and costs there.
with connected, as well as all fees and costs attending the proceedings
under this ‘section, including a penalty equal to ten per centum of
the amount for which said real estate is proposed to be purchased,
provided that such penalty be not less than two dollars nor more
than five dollars, which shall be paid to the applicant, together with
such an amount as the applicant had previously paid to the clerk at
the time of making such application, then the person who made the
application shall have a right to purchase the real estate within five
days from the expiration of the four months, as aforesaid, by paying
to the clerk all remaining taxes, levies, interest, penalties, fees and
costs, and by paying all city, town and county taxes and levies re-
maining unpaid together with all interest and penalties and if the
applicant does not, within five days, exercise such right, then all
amounts deposited by him as provided in this section shall be for-
feited, and the rights of such applicant to such land shall cease, and
the right to redeem the same shall immediately accrue to all parties
entitled to redeem the same, and the right to file an application for
the purchase of the same shall also accrue immediately to any one
desiring to purchase.

(6) What necessary in order for purchaser to complete his pur-
chase; character of deed to purchaser, and what it must recite—And
the purchaser shall then, in order to complete his purchase, at his
expense, have report made to the circuit court of the county or corpora-
tion court of the city in which the said real estate is situated, by the
surveyor of such county or the engineer of such city, or where there
is no such surveyor or city engineer, or when such surveyor or engineer
refuses to act, by some competent surveyor to be appointed by such
court for that purpose, specifying the metes and bounds of said real
estate, the names of the owners of the adjoining tracts or lots, and
giving such further description of the said real estate as will identify
the same. But in the discretion of the court there need not be an
additional survey if a sufficient description of the said land can be
obtained from the records; which fact, and the order dispensing
therewith shall be entered by such court upon its order book.

The circuit or corporation court, as the case may be, unless it
have some objection to such report, shall order the same to be re-
corded. After such report shall have been recorded or dispensed
with, as herebefore provided, the purchaser shall obtain from the
clerk of the circuit court of the county or corporation court of the
city in which the said real estate is situated, a deed conveying the
same, in which shall be set forth all the circumstances appearing in
the clerk’s office in relation to the sale, and reference shall be made
in the said deed to said report, or the order of the court dispensing
therewith, as the case may be. Every such deed shall be with cove-
nant of special warranty.

(7) Costs and fees; when clerk may be compelled to make deed.—
In no case shall the Commonwealth be liable for any costs incurred
under any of the provisions of this section. For making off a copy
of an application under this section the clerk shall be entitled to a
fee of twenty cents; for every order of publication and posting, fifty
cents; for every deed executed, one dollar; and for every copy ol
application served under this section by sheriff or other officer, he
shall receive thirty cents. All the foregoing fees may be required by
the clerk or other officer to be paid in advance, except the fee for
the deed, which may be paid upon the delivery of the deed, but the
fee taxed for the order of publication against the party redeeming
the land shall be the amount actually paid or contracted to be paid
by the applicant for the publication of such order. If the clerk refuse
to execute such deed the circuit court of the county or corporation
court of the city wherein such real estate is situated may compel him
to do so upon the petition of the purchaser.

(8) How the real estate may be redeemed, if no deed to applicant
made within one year from date of application; when application null
and void and amounts paid by applicant forfeited.—In all cases where
applications are pending, or may hereafter be filed, if no such deed be
made under this section within one year after the date of the applica-
tion for the purchase of the said real estate to the party entitled to the
deed, unless hindered by judicial proceedings, the person or persons
entitled to redeem the same, as hereinbefore mentioned, his or their
heirs or assigns, may after such year and before such deed is made,
redeem the said real estate by paying the purchaser the amount paid
therefor by him, including the costs, but not the penalty herein-
before provided, with such taxes and levies as he may have paid
thereon since such purchase, with interest at six per centum per
annum upon such payments from the date they were respectively
made, and unless hindered by judicial proceedings, if no such deed be
made under this section, within two years after the date of the said
application to the party entitled to the deed, his or their heirs or
assigns, and if the said real estate be not redeemed as herein provided,
then the said application shall be null and void, and all amounts
paid by such applicant as provided in this section shall be forfeited
and the rights of such applicant to such land shall cease, and the
lands shall be open to a new application as if none had been made.

(9) Section twenty-four hundred and eighty-eight applicable to
deeds under this section and section twenty-four hundred and seventy-
nine to real estate sold under this section.—The provisions of section
twenty-four hundred and eighty-eight of this Code shall apply to
deeds made under authority of this section, and the provisions of
section twenty-four hundred and seventy-nine shall apply to real
estate sold under authority of this section.

(10) When no application can be made under this section.—No
application shall be made under this section to purchase any real
estate if at the time of such application suit is pending either to satisfy
debts due creditors or for partition among the parties interested.
If one application has been filed for the purchase of real estate, and
copies thereof issued, no second application shall be considered for
the same piece of land until the rights of the first applicant shall
have expired.

(11) Nonresident applicant to designate agent on whom process
may be served.—Every applicant for the purchase of land under this
section who does not reside in the county or city wherein said land
is situated shall, in writing. designate some resident of said county
or city as his agent or attorney, upon whom all process against or
notice to such applicant shall be served, and service of any such
notice Or process upon such agent or attorney shall have the same
force and effect as if served upon the applicant in person. Such
writing shall be signed and acknowledged by the applicant and de-
livered to the clerk of the court in whose office any application under
this section shall be filed, and shall be by him recorded in the deed
book of said office; except that said writing shall be recorded in the
clerk’s office of the Chancery Court of the City of Richmond, if
application is made in said city.

— (12) How right of applicant contested.—Any person having the
right to redeem said land as hereinbefore mentioned, and who de-
sires to contest the right of the applicant to purchase such real estate
shall give notice in writing to the applicant of his purpose to make
such contest. The notice shall name the term of the court and the
day of the term on which he will make the motion to dismiss or quash
the application or otherwise resist said application. The notice shall
be executed upon the applicant, if a resident of the county or city
wherein such real estate is situated, or upon his agent or attorney
hereinbefore provided for, at least ten days before the return day
thereof. The circuit court of the county or corporation court of the
city wherein such real estate is situated shall hear and determine all
questions that may arise on submission of said motion and adjudicate
the same according to law, and an appeal shall lie from the circuit
court of the county or corporation court of the city to the Supreme
Court of Appeals in the same manner as is now provided for appeals
in civil cases.

Section 2500. Real estate to be continued on land book.—When
real estate is sold at a treasurer’s tax sale to a private purchaser for
taxes or levies, or is purchased in the name of the Commonwealth
for taxes or levies, the commissioner of the revenue shall continue
the same upon his land book in the name of the former owner until
there is a transfer of title of record, and taxes and levies shall be
annually extended thereon the same as if such tax sale had not taken
place.

When real estate is purchased in the name of the Commonwealth
for taxes or levies, the same shall not be permitted to be redeemed
by anyone except in accordance with the provisions of this chapter,
including the payment of all taxes and levies, penalties, interest and
costs for years subsequent to the year for which the sale was made,
but the treasurer of the county or city is hereby authorized to re-
ceive and collect moneys in payment of taxes and levies for any year
subsequent to the year for which the sale was made, including penalties
and interest thereon, and to give his receipt therefor, so long as the
treasurer is charged therewith in his accounts and has such items in
his hands for collection on the basis of the land book as prepared by
the commissioner of the revenue, and such payments, when proved
before the clerk by the person making them, or his heirs or assigns,
shall be credited on the price of redemption and shall be regarded as
substitutional for the ‘‘additional sums’’ mentioned in section twenty-
four hundred and ninety-one, and penalties and interest, to an amount
equivalent to such payments. |

Real estate, although purchased in the name of the Common-
wealth for taxes or levies, and unredeemed, shall nevertheless be
advertised by the treasurer and sold for taxes or levies for each year
succeeding the year for which the first sale was made, if the taxes
and levies extended thereon for any such subsequent year remain
unpaid; but a private purchaser at any such sale shall take the same
under the provisions of this chapter subject to any and all such prior
tax sales, and if the real estate be purchased in the name of the Com-
monwealth, such fact shall not in any way impair any prior purchase
in the name of the Commonwealth; provided, however, that the
treasurer may omit from the advertisement for any year but not
from the sale any parcel of real estate theretofore purchased in the
name of the Commonwealth and unredeemed.

Section 2501. City courts and clerks having jurisdiction; charter
provisions of cities and towns not affected.—The city court having
jurisdiction under the foregoing provisions of this chapter shall be the
city court in the office of whose clerk deeds are admitted to record,
and the clerk of such court shall be the clerk in cities to perform the
duties and exercise the powers prescribed by the foregoing provisions
of this chapter.

Nothing contained in this chapter in conflict with any provision
of the charter of any city or town shall be construed to repeal such
provision.

Section 2502. ‘‘Taxes” and ‘“‘levies’; ‘‘board of supervisors’;
‘“‘Commonwealth’’; ‘‘Auditor of Public Accounts”; ‘‘Auditor’’; ‘“Comp-
troller’. —As used in this chapter, the words ‘‘taxes”’ includes ‘‘levies’”’,
and the word “‘levies’’ includes ‘“‘taxes’’; the term “board of super-
visors’”’ means the board of supervisors of a county or other governing
body of a county by whatever name called, and “Commonwealth”
means Commonwealth of Virginia. For the purposes of this chapter
the words ‘‘Auditor of Public Accounts’, ‘‘Auditor’’, or ‘‘Comp-
troller’, as used in this chapter heretofore, shall be construed to
mean the Commonwealth of Virginia, and all real estate heretofore
purchased in the name of the Auditor of Public Accounts, Auditor, or
Comptroller at a tax sale shall be deemed to have been purchased in
the name of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Section 2503. Court proceedings to collect taxes and levies by
sale of real estate purchased in name of Commonwealth and unre-
deemed after three years from the date of such purchase.—When real
estate heretofore or hereafter purchased in the name of the Common-
wealth is not redeemed by the previous owner, his heirs or assigns, or
some person having the right to charge the same with a debt, within
three years from the date of such purchase, the same may be sold
under the provisions of this section. The remedy given by this
section is in addition to other remedies provided by law.

Proceedings under this section shall be instituted and conducted
in the name of the Commonwealth of Virginia, or in the name of the
county, city or town in which such real estate lies, by such attorney
as the board of supervisors or other governing body of the county, or
the council or other governing body of the city or town may employ
for the purpose, either on a salary or a commission or other basis.
Such governing body may require such attorney to give bond in an
amount to be fixed by it, with surety to be approved by it, condi-
tioned upon the lawful accounting for all funds which may come into
his hands as such attorney under this section, and the premium on
such bond may be ordered to be paid out of the local treasury. Such
bond shall be delivered to the clerk of the circuit court of the county
or the clerk of the city court in whose office deeds are admitted to
record, and the same shall be recorded by such clerk in his special
commissioners’ bond book. The courts having jurisdiction under
this section are the circuit courts of counties and the circuit and other
city courts of record of cities having equity jurisdiction in which the
real estate is situated.

Proceedings under this section shall be by bill in equity to subject
the real estate to the existing tax liens by sale, but it shall not be
necessary to allege or prove any equitable grounds of jurisdiction;
and for the purposes of this section, the fact that the real estate was
purchased in the name of the Commonwealth at a treasurer’s tax
sale shall be regarded merely as security for the taxes and levies in
addition to the security already existing by reason of the tax lien or
liens. In such proceedings two or more parcels of real estate may be
covered by one bill provided they were assessed against or are owned
by the same person. No writ tax shall be charged.

All necessary parties shall be made parties defendant, but it
shall not be held that a husband or wife is a necessary party merely
because of his or her rights of curtesy initiate or contingent or dower
inchoate or contingent, nor shall it be held that the beneficiary or
beneficiaries under any deed of trust or mortgage are necessary
parties provided the trustee or trustees under such deed of trust, or
mortgagee or mortgagees under such mortgage, are made parties,
and in any such case the title conveyed to the purchaser at the judicial
sale shall be held to bar such curtesy or dower and to be free of all
claims of beneficiaries under any such deed of trust or mortgage.
No trustee or mortgagee in any deed of trust or mortgage which has
been recorded, or the lien thereof, renewed, more than twenty years
prior to the institution of the proceedings shall be a necessary party.

The order of reference shall be to the attorney employed by the
governing body of the county, city or town, and in the execution of
such order such attorney shall have all the powers and duties of a
commissioner in chancery. Such attorney shall also be appointed
special commissioner of sale if such proceedings result in the need of
a special commissioner, and he shall also be charged with the duty of
executing such deed or deeds as the court may order. If such attorney
has already given the bond hereinabove mentioned, no additional
bond shall be required of him as special commissioner unless the
court regards the bond already given as insufficient in amount. No
fee or commission shall be allowed or paid to such attorney for acting
under the order of reference or as special commissioner, except as
hereinafter provided, and the compensation contracted to be paid
such attorney by the board of supervisors, council or other governing
body, whether such employment was on a salary or a commission or
other basis, shall be in full for all services rendered by him; provided,
however, that the court may allow in the proceedings such fees and
commissions, including fees for preparing and executing deeds, as
would be allowed if the suit were an ordinary lien creditors’ suit,
payable out of the proceeds of sale, and such fees and commissions
shall, when collected, be paid into the county, city or town treasury,
as the case may be.

The county, city or town may be a purchaser at any sale held
under this section or under any other provision of law for the enforce-
ment of tax liens, and after confirmation such county, city or town
may use the real estate so purchased for any lawful public purpose,
or it may merely hold the same for sale on satisfactory terms, in
which latter case it may sell and convey it in the same manner as
other county, city or town property, which may be lawfully sold is
sold and conveyed.

Every attorney employed under this section shall render an ac-
count monthly to the governing body employing him, or oftener if
called upon by such governing body. He shall, also, at least monthly,
make such reports in writing under his hand to the clerk of the court
having charge of the delinquent land books as will enable such clerk
to make appropriate entries in such books. Any attorney’s fee taxed
in the costs for the attorney employed by the governing body shall,
when collected, be paid into the county, city or town treasury, as
the case may be.

Such attorney shall periodically report to the governing body
employing him every parcel of real estate which he ascertains to be
improperly placed on the delinquent land book, and such governing
body, upon satisfying itself of the correctness of such report, or cor-
recting it to conform to the facts, shall certify the information to the
proper clerk, and the clerk, on the order of the court of which he is
clerk, shall mark his delinquent land book accordingly.

Section 6267. In taking accounts of debts or liens, commissioners
to report delinquent taxes and sales, if any, therefor-—In every suit
hereafter brought in this State for the sale of lands for the payment
of debts or to subject lands to the payment of liens binding thereon,
and in every such suit now pending in which the account of debts or
liens has not been taken it shall be the duty of the court in ordering
the account of debts or liens to be taken to specially direct that an
account be taken of all delinquent taxes upon said land. The com-
missioner to whom such decree is referred shall ascertain and report
the amount of such delinquent taxes, together with penalties and
interest. And where said lands have been sold for said taxes said
commissioner shall further report to whom sold and when and the
amount that will be required to redeem the same.

Section 6268. Certain sales of land to be confirmed; apportion-
ment of purchase price of land between taxes, levies and assessments;
validating certain former sales—Whenever, in any proceedings held
in any chancery court for the purpose of subjecting real estate to the
payment of debts, or for the sale of real estate for any other purpose,
it appears that the real estate cannot be sold for enough to pay off
the liens of taxes, levies, and assessments returned delinquent against
it, and it appears that the purchase price offered is, in the opinion of
the court, adequate and reasonable, the said sale shall be confirmed,
and the court shall further order and decree the payment and dis-
tribution of the proceeds of said sale pro rata to the taxes, levies, and
assessments due the said State, county, and corporation, after having
first deducted the cost of said proceedings in court, which order shall
be certified to the clerks of the counties and corporations, who have
charge of the delinquent tax books, and the said clerk shall cause the
lien of the said taxes, levies, and assessments to be marked satisfied
upon the list of delinquent lands. Whenever it appears in any chanc-
ery proceedings heretofore had that the. proceeds of any sale of land
have been applied to the payment of: taxes, levies and assessments,
and the same was not sufficient to fully satisfy the said taxes, levies,
and assessments, it shall be the duty of the said clerks of the said
counties and cities to cause the said liens to be marked satisfied, and
a certificate from the clerk of said chancery court of the facts shall be
sufficient authority for the same. : te oo
2. Sections twenty-four hundred and fifty-one, twenty-four hun-
dred and fifty-two, twenty-four hundred and fifty-three, twenty-four
hundred and sixty-seven, and twenty-four hundred and seventy-three
of the Code of Virginia, and sections two hundred and seventy-four
and three hundred and ninety-one of the Tax Code of Virginia are
hereby repealed. A ft