                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

LIEN ON REAL ESTATE FOR TAXES AND LEVIES ASSESSED THEREON; RESPONSIBILITY OF
PURCHASER OR TRUSTEE AT SALE; LIEN ON RENTS (§ 58.1-3340)

There shall be a lien on real estate for the payment of taxes and levies
assessed thereon prior to any other lien or encumbrance. The lien shall continue
to be such prior lien until actual payment shall have been made to the proper
officer of the taxing authority. The purchaser at a sale, or trustee in the
event of a foreclosure sale, shall cause the proceeds to be applied to the
payment of all taxes and levies assessed on real estate. In the case of the
purchase of a portion of a tract of land, the purchaser shall cause the proceeds
to be applied to the payment of taxes and levies assessed on the entire tract,
prorated in accordance with the relationship that the purchase price bears to
the most recent assessed value of the entire tract. If the cost per acre of the
purchased parcel is less than the assessed value per acre of the entire tract,
or if, in the reasonable opinion of the local commissioner of the revenue or
other assessing officer, the purchase price is less than the fair market value
of the purchased parcel, the local commissioner of the revenue or other
assessing officer may require that an appraisal, prepared by a state-certified
or state-licensed appraiser, of the purchased parcel be provided, and in such
event the proration shall be made in accordance with the relationship that the
greater of (i) the appraised value of the purchased parcel or (ii) the purchase
price bears to the most recent assessed value of the entire tract. In the event
a proration is necessary, the purchaser&#8217;s portion of such tract of land
shall be relieved of such lien to the extent the proceeds exceed the
purchaser&#8217;s pro rata share of taxes. It shall be the responsibility of the
treasurer or other proper officer of the taxing authority to cause the release
of the lien. The seller&#8217;s liability for taxes and levies shall be
effectively prorated contractually. The words &#8220;taxes&#8221; and
&#8220;levies&#8221; as used in this section include the penalties and interest
accruing on such taxes and levies in pursuance of law. The lien imposed hereby
shall, in addition to existing remedies for the collection of taxes and levies,
be enforceable by suit in equity under the provisions of Article 4 (§ 58.1-3965
et seq.) of Chapter 39.
		There shall be a further lien upon the rents of such real estate whether the
same be in money or in kind, for taxes of the current year.

HISTORY: Code 1950, §§ 58-762, 58-1023; 1973, c. 467; 1979, c. 12; 1984, c.
675; 1994, c. 386; 1995, c. 143; 2010, c. 417.