Broward · Tax Liens & Code Violations
Selling a Broward County House With Tax Debt or Code Violations
Broward charges 3% plus advertising the moment taxes go delinquent, auctions a certificate by June — and once a certificate exists, won't even take your personal check to redeem it. Selling clears the whole stack at one closing.
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Broward's delinquent-tax machinery is strict about both the calendar and the payment rail. Taxes go delinquent April 1, the county adds 3% interest plus advertising costs, and its Records, Taxes and Treasury Division auctions tax certificates on the unpaid parcels on or before June 1 — investors paying the debt in exchange for interest-bearing liens. From that point Broward tightens the rules: redeeming a certificate requires cash, certified funds, or wire — no personal checks — and if the debt rides for two years, the certificate holder can file a tax deed application that pushes the property toward the county's online tax deed auction.
The code enforcement picture layers on top, city by city. Broward's housing stock — built out fast from the 1960s through the 1980s across Hollywood, Sunrise, Tamarac, Lauderhill, and Pompano — is now exactly the age where roofs, driveways, unpermitted enclosures, and deferred exteriors draw citations, and each of the county's thirty-plus municipalities runs its own code program with daily fines that Florida law allows to reach $250 to $500 per day. A house that sat vacant through one probate or one bad year can quietly accumulate liens from two governments at once, and owners usually meet the total for the first time in a title search.
BuyerMatch.ai matches Broward properties carrying tax certificates, code liens, and open violations against cash buyers who treat that title report as a checklist rather than a reason to walk. The redemption figures, the certified-funds mechanics, and the municipal lien-reduction negotiations are all routine to buyers who work this county — and competing written offers make sure the liens are priced by that competition instead of by your urgency. Free, as-is, no obligation.
What’s specific to Broward County
Broward auctions tax certificates on unpaid parcels on or before June 1 each year — bidding starts at 18% and investors bid the interest rate down — and the winning certificate is a lien on the property that conveys no ownership rights but accrues until redeemed.
Broward County Tax Collector — Tax Certificate Sale →Once a Broward tax certificate has been issued, the county stops accepting personal checks on the account entirely: redeeming requires cash, certified funds, or wire transfer, covering the delinquent taxes, accrued certificate interest, advertising, and fees — a payment-rail detail that regularly surprises sellers trying to clear a payoff in the final week before closing.
Broward County Tax Collector — Delinquent Property Taxes →When a Broward certificate rides unpaid for two years, the holder can file a tax deed application and the property moves toward Broward's tax deed auctions, which the Records, Taxes and Treasury Division conducts online through the county's tax-deed auction site — the same online-auction model the county uses for foreclosure sales.
Broward County — Records, Taxes and Treasury / Tax Deeds →Official Broward County resources
Going straight to the source beats anything we could summarize. These are the offices that actually handle the paperwork.
- Broward County Tax Collector — Tax Certificate Sale →
The June auction, what a certificate means for your property, redemption payment rules, and the two-year tax deed clock.
- Broward County — Tax Deeds FAQ →
How tax deed applications and Broward's online tax deed auctions work, and what redemption before the sale requires.
- Florida Statutes §197.502 — Tax Deed Applications →
The statute behind the two-year rule and the tax deed application process.
Broward tax liens & code violations: common questions
What happens when property taxes go unpaid in Broward County?
The account goes delinquent April 1 and is charged 3% interest plus advertising, a tax certificate is auctioned on the debt on or before June 1, and the certificate accrues interest against your equity until redeemed. If two years pass, the holder can file a tax deed application and the property heads toward Broward's online tax deed auction. Redemption — or a sale that funds it — stops the process at any point before that sale.
Can I sell my Broward house with a tax certificate on it?
Yes, routinely. The title company pulls the redemption figure from the county, pays it at closing in the certified funds Broward requires, and the buyer takes clear title — with the payoff coming out of your proceeds rather than your pocket. The certificate is a lien, not a transfer of ownership, so until a tax deed sale actually happens the house remains fully yours to sell.
The city has been fining my property daily. Can it still sell as-is?
Yes — and Broward's aging housing stock makes code-lien purchases a specialty here. Daily fines under Florida law can reach $250 to $500 per day, but municipalities routinely negotiate substantial reductions once a violation is being cured, and renovation buyers pursue those reductions as part of their process. Disclose the violation history up front, get payoff figures in writing, and let competing offers price the resolution.
My inherited Broward house has both tax debt and code fines. Where do I start?
With one title search and one match. The search converts the unknowns into a list — certificates, redemption amounts, recorded municipal liens — and buyers who work encumbered Broward properties price the entire stack into written offers, clearing everything at a single closing. This combination is common on estates here precisely because a vacant year is enough for both clocks to start; it is a priced problem, not a dead end.
Keep reading
Selling any property in Broward County
Broward's housing stock is aging out of its insurance — and into the hands of cash buyers who renovate for a living. That's leverage for you.
See the county overview →Tax Liens & Code Violations nationwide
Liens don't block a sale. They get paid at the closing table out of the proceeds, and you keep whatever is left.
Learn more →Other situations in Broward County
Tax Liens & Code Violations in other Florida counties
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