Modifies provisions relating to unpaid taxes and fees

5505S.02C
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SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 843
AN ACT
To repeal sections 140.010, 140.190, 140.250,
140.420, 140.980, 140.981, 140.982, 140.983, 140.984,
140.985, 140.986, 140.987, 140.988, 140.991, 140.994,
140.995, 140.1000, 140.1009, 140.1012, 141.220,
141.230, 141.250, 141.270, 141.290, 141.300, 141.320,
141.330, 141.360, 141.410, 141.440, 141.500, 141.520,
141.535, 141.540, 141.550, 141.560, 141.570, 141.580,
141.610, 141.620, 141.680, 141.700, 141.819, 141.980,
141.984, 141.1009, 141.1020, and 249.255, RSMo, and
to enact in lieu thereof forty -eight new s ections
relating to unpaid taxes and fees, with penalty
provisions.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 140.010, 140.190, 140.250, 140.420,
140.980, 140.981, 140.982, 140.983, 140.984, 140.985, 140.986,
140.987, 140.988, 140.991, 140.994, 140.995, 140.1000,
140.1009, 140.1012, 141.220, 141.230, 141.250, 141.270,
141.290, 141.300, 141.320, 141.330, 141.360, 141.410, 141.440,
141.500, 141.520, 141.535, 141.540, 141.550, 141.560, 141.570,
141.580, 141.610, 141.620, 141.680, 141.700, 141.819, 141.980,
141.984, 141.1009, 141.1020, and 249.255, RSMo, are repealed
and forty-eight new sectio ns enacted in lieu thereof, to be
known as sections 140.010, 140.190, 140.250, 140.420, 140.980,
140.981, 140.982, 140.983, 140.984, 140.985, 140.986, 140.987,
140.988, 140.991, 140.994, 140.995, 140.1000, 140.1009,
140.1012, 141.220, 141.230, 141.250, 141.270, 141.290, 141.300,
141.320, 141.330, 141.360, 141.410, 141.440, 141.500, 141.520,
141.535, 141.540, 141.550, 141.560, 141.570, 141.580, 141.610,

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141.620, 141.680, 141.700, 141.819, 141.980, 141.984, 141.1009,
141.1020, and 249.255, to read as follows:
140.010. 1. All real estate upon which the taxes
remain unpaid on the first day of January, annually, are
delinquent, and the county collector shall enforce the lien
of the state thereon, as required by this chapter. Any
failure to properly return the delinquent list, as required
by this chapter, in no way affects the validity of the
assessment and levy of taxes, nor of the foreclosure and
sale by which the collection of the taxes is enforced, nor
in any manner affects the lien of the state on the
delinquent real estate for the taxes unpaid thereon.
2. Alternatively, any county may, by adoption of a
resolution or order of the county commission of such county,
elect to operate under the provisions of sections 141.210 to
141.810 for any parcel [for which there is an unpaid tax
bill for a period of at least two years after the date on
which it became delinquent]. Any county electing to operate
as such shall be called a "partial opt-in county". No
county eligible to establish a land bank agency under
subsection 1 of section 140.981 shall elect to operate as a
partial opt-in county unless the county first elects to
establish a land bank agency as provided in subsection 1 of
section 140.981. In accordance with section 141.290, after
the adoption of such resolution or order by a county
commission, the collector of the county shall decide which
tax delinquent parcels shall proceed according to the
provisions of sections 141.210 to 141.810. Such parcels
shall be exempt from the provisions of sections 140.030 to
140.722. The collector shall remove such parcels from any
list of parcels advertised for first, second, third, or post-
third sales.

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140.190. 1. On the day mentioned in the notice, the
county collector shall commence the sale of such lands, and
shall continue the same from day to day until each parcel
assessed or belonging to each person assessed shall be sold
as will pay the taxes, interest, and charges thereon, or
chargeable to such person in said county.
2. (1) The person or land bank agency offering at
said sale to pay the required sum for a tract shall be
considered the purchaser of such land; provided, no sale
shall be made to any person or designated agent who:
(a) Is currently delinquent on any tax payments on any
property, other than a delinquency on the property being
offered for sale, and who does not sign an affidavit stating
such at the time of sale. Failure to sign such affidavit as
well as signing a false affidavit may invalidate such sale;
(b) Is a member of the governing body of a land bank
agency;
(c) Is an employee of a land bank agency;
(d) Is an elected or appointed official of the
governing body, or an employee of such official, of the
political subdivision in which a land bank agency is
located; or
(e) Is related within the second degree of
consanguinity to a person described in paragraphs (b) to (d)
of this subdivision.
(2) No bid shall be received from any person not a
resident of the state of Missouri or a foreign corporation
or entity all deemed nonresidents. A nonresident shall file
with said collector an agreement in writing consenting to
the jurisdiction of the circuit court of the county in which
such sale shall be made, and also filing with such collector
an appointment of some citizen of said county as agent of
said nonresident, and consenting that service of process on

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such agent shall give such court jurisdiction to try and
determine any suit growing out of or connected with such
sale for taxes. After the delinquent auction sale, any
certificate of purchase shall be issued to the agent. After
meeting the requirements of section 140.405, the property
shall be conveyed to the agent on behalf of the nonresident,
and the agent shall thereafter convey the property to the
nonresident. A collector may preclude a prospective bidder
from participating in a sale for failure to comply with any
of the provisions of this section.
3. All such written consents to jurisdiction and
selective appointments shall be preserved by the county
collector and shall be binding upon any person or
corporation claiming under the person consenting to
jurisdiction and making the appointment herein referred to;
provided further, that in the event of the death, disability
or refusal to act of the person appointed as agent of said
nonresident the county clerk shall become the appointee as
agent of said nonresident.
4. No person residing in any home rule city with more
than seventy-one thousand but fewer than seventy-nine
thousand inhabitants shall be eligible to offer to purchase
lands under this section unless such person has, no later
than ten days before the sale date, demonstrated to the
satisfaction of the official charged by law with conducting
the sale that the person is not the owner of any parcel of
real property that has two or more violations of the
municipality's building or housing codes. A prospective
bidder may make such a demonstration by presenting
statements from the appropriate collection and code
enforcement officials of the municipality. This subsection
shall not apply to any taxing authority or land bank agency,

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and entities shall be eligible to bid at any sale conducted
under this section without making such a demonstration.
140.250. 1. Whenever any lands have been or shall
hereafter be offered for sale for delinquent taxes,
interest, penalty, and costs by the collector of the proper
county for any two successive years and no person shall have
bid therefor a sum equal to the delinquent taxes thereon,
interest, penalty and costs provided by law, then such
county collector shall at the next regular tax sale of lands
for delinquent taxes sell same to the highest bidder, except
the highest bid shall not be less than the sum equal to the
delinquent taxes, interest, penalties, and costs, and there
shall be a ninety-day period of redemption from such sales
as specified in section 140.405.
2. A certificate of purchase shall be issued as to
such sales, and the purchaser at such sales shall be
entitled to the issuance and delivery of a collector's deed
upon completion of title search action as specified in
section 140.405.
3. If any lands or lots are not sold at such third
offering, then the collector shall advertise or offer such
lands or lots for sale once every thirty days.
4. A purchaser at any sale subsequent to the third
offering of any land or lots, whether by the collector or a
trustee as provided in section 140.260, shall be entitled to
the immediate issuance and delivery of a collector's deed
and there shall be no period of redemption from such post-
third year sales; provided, however, before any purchaser at
a sale to which this section is applicable shall be entitled
to a collector's deed it shall be the duty of the collector
to demand, and the purchaser to pay, in addition to the
purchaser's bid, all taxes due and unpaid on such lands or
lots that become due and payable on such lands or lots

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subsequent to the date of the taxes included in such
advertisement and sale. The collector's deed or trustee's
deed shall have priority over all other liens or
encumbrances on the property sold except for real property
taxes.
5. A purchaser at any sale subsequent to the third
offering of any land or lots, whether by the collector or a
trustee as provided in section 140.260, may elect to proceed
under subsection 1 of this section and subsection 6 of
section 140.405 by giving notice to the collector prior to
the issuance of a collector's deed.
6. In the event the real purchaser at any sale to
which this section is applicable shall be the owner of the
lands or lots purchased, or shall be obligated to pay the
taxes for the nonpayment of which such lands or lots were
sold, then no collector's deed shall be issued to such
purchaser, or to anyone acting for or on behalf of such
purchaser, without payment to the collector of such
additional amount as will discharge in full all delinquent
taxes, penalty, interest and costs.
140.420. If no person shall redeem the lands sold for
taxes prior to the expiration of the right to redeem, at the
expiration thereof, and on production of the certificate of
purchase and upon proof satisfactory to the collector that a
purchaser or the purchaser's heirs, successors, or assigns
are authorized to acquire the deed:
(1) The collector of the county in which the sale of
such lands took place shall execute to the purchaser or the
purchaser's heirs or assigns, in the name of the state, a
conveyance of the real estate so sold, which shall vest in
the grantee an absolute estate in fee simple, subject,
however, to all claims thereon for unpaid taxes except such
unpaid taxes, existing at time of the purchase of said lands

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and the lien for which taxes was inferior to the lien for
taxes for which said tract or lot of land was sold; and
(2) The state of Missouri or any person, taxing
authority, tax district, judgment creditor, or lienholder
that had a right, title, interest, claim, or equity of
redemption on or to the lands or that had a lien upon the
lands shall be barred and forever foreclosed of such
unclaimed right, title, interest, claim, or equity of
redemption in or to the lands and of any lien upon the lands.
140.980. 1. Sections 140.980 to 140.1015 shall be
known [and may be cited] as the "Chapter 140 Land Bank Act".
2. As used in sections 140.980 to 140.1015, the
following terms mean:
(1) "Land bank agency", an agency established by a
county or municipality under the authority of section
140.981;
(2) "Land taxes", taxes on real property or real
estate, including the taxes both on the land and the
improvements thereon;
(3) "Municipality", any incorporated city, town, or
village in this state;
(4) "Political subdivision", any county, city, town,
village, school district, library district, or any other
public subdivision or public corporation that has the power
to tax;
(5) "Reserve period taxes", land taxes assessed
against any parcel of real estate sold or otherwise disposed
of by a land bank agency for the first three tax years
following such sale or disposition;
(6) "Tax bill", real estate taxes and the lien
thereof, whether general or special, levied and assessed by
any taxing authority;

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(7) "Taxing authority", any governmental, managing,
administering, or other lawful authority, now or hereafter
empowered by law to issue tax bills.
140.981. 1. Any county with more than one million
inhabitants may establish a land bank agency for the
management, sale, transfer, and other disposition of
interests in real estate owned by such land bank agency.
Any such county may establish a land bank agency by
ordinance, resolution, or rule, as applicable. Such
ordinance, resolution, or rule shall specify the name of the
land bank agency. No county in which a land bank agency has
been established under the provisions of sections 141.980 to
141.1015 shall elect to establish a land bank agency under
this section.
2. Any municipality with more than one thousand five
hundred inhabitants not located within a county with more
than one million inhabitants may establish a land bank
agency for the management, sale, transfer, and other
disposition of interests in real estate owned by such land
bank agency. A municipality may establish a land bank
agency by ordinance, resolution, or rule, as applicable.
3. A land bank agency shall not own any interest in
real estate located wholly or partially outside the [city]
municipality or county that established the land bank.
4. A land bank agency shall be established for the
purpose of returning land, including land that is in a non-
revenue-generating, non-tax-producing status, to use in
private ownership, or for public use.
5. A land bank agency created under the chapter 140
land bank act shall be a public body corporate and politic
and shall have permanent and perpetual duration until
terminated and dissolved in accordance with the provisions
of section 140.1012.

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140.982. 1. If a county establishes a land bank
agency under subsection 1 of section 140.981, the members of
the first board of directors of a land bank agency shall be
appointed within ninety days after the effective date of the
ordinance, resolution, or rule passed establishing such land
bank agency. [If any appointing authority fails to make any
appointment of a board member within the time the first
appointments are required, the appointment shall be made by
the county council. The following requirements shall apply
to the board of directors:
(1) The board of directors shall consist of seven
members:
(a) Two of whom shall be appointed by the county
executive, one of whom shall have professional expertise
relevant to the land bank agency;
(b) One of whom shall be appointed by the member of
the county council representing the district with the
highest number of tax delinquent parcels. Such board member
shall maintain a primary residence within such district;
(c) One of whom shall be appointed by the member of
the county council representing the district with the second
highest number of tax delinquent parcels. Such board member
shall maintain a primary residence within such district;
(d) One of whom shall be appointed by consensus of the
county executive and the president of the municipal league
of the county; and
(e) Two of whom shall be resident representatives.
Resident representatives shall be appointed by a majority
vote of the other board members, and each resident
representative shall maintain a primary residence within one
of the twenty municipalities containing the highest
percentage of tax delinquent parcels;] The county council
may, as part of such ordinance, resolution, or rule, provide

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for the qualifications for members of the board of
directors. The board of directors of the land bank agency
shall consist of seven members appointed by the county
executive pursuant to the authority vested in that office by
the county charter. The following requirements shall apply
to the board of directors:
[(2)] (1) The term of office of a member shall be four
years. Each member's primary residence shall be in the
county that has established the land bank agency. Each
member serves at the pleasure of the member's appointing
authority, may be an employee of the appointing authority,
and shall serve without compensation;
[(3)] (2) No public officer shall be eligible to serve
as a board member. For purposes of this subdivision,
"public officer" means a person who is holding an elected
public office. Any public employee shall be eligible to
serve as a board member;
[(4)] (3) The members of the board shall select
annually from among themselves a chair, a vice chair, a
treasurer, and such other officers as the board may
determine and shall establish the officers' duties, as may
be regulated by rules adopted by the board;
[(5)] (4) The board shall establish rules and
requirements relative to the attendance and participation of
members in its meetings, regular or special. Such rules and
regulations may prescribe a procedure whereby, if any member
fails to comply with such rules and regulations, such member
may be disqualified and removed automatically from office by
no less than a majority vote of the remaining members of the
board, and that member's position shall be vacant as of the
first day of the next calendar month. Any person removed
under the provisions of this subdivision shall be ineligible

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for reappointment to the board unless such reappointment is
confirmed unanimously by the board;
[(6)] (5) A vacancy on the board shall be filled in
the same manner as the original appointment[. If any
appointing authority fails to make any appointment of a
board member within sixty days after any term expires, the
appointment shall be made by the county council] within
sixty days and shall be done in compliance with the county
charter;
[(7)] (6) Board members shall serve without
compensation. The board may reimburse any member for
expenses actually incurred in the performance of duties on
behalf of the land bank agency;
[(8)] (7) The board shall have the power to organize
and reorganize the executive, administrative, clerical, and
other departments of the land bank agency and to fix the
duties, powers, and compensation of all employees, agents,
and consultants of the land bank agency;
[(9)] (8) The board shall meet in regular session
according to a schedule adopted by the board and also shall
meet in special session as convened by the chair or upon
written notice signed by a majority of the members. The
presence of a majority of total membership, excluding
vacancies, shall constitute a quorum;
[(10)] (9) All actions of the board shall be approved
by the affirmative vote of a majority of the members of that
board present and voting. However, no action of the board
shall be authorized on the following matters unless approved
by a majority of the total board membership:
(a) Adoption, amendment, or repeal of bylaws and other
rules and regulations for conduct of the land bank agency's
business;

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(b) Hiring or firing of any employee or contractor of
the land bank agency. This function may, by majority vote,
be delegated by the board to a specified officer or
committee of the land bank agency under such terms and
conditions and to the extent that the board may specify;
(c) Adoption or amendment of the annual budget; and
(d) Sale, encumbrance, or alienation of real property,
improvements, or personal property;
[(11)] (10) The governing body of the county
establishing a land bank agency may incur debt, including,
without limitation, borrowing moneys and issuing bonds,
notes, or other obligations to provide funding for the land
bank agency;
[(12)] (11) Members of a board shall not be liable
personally on the bonds or other obligations of the land
bank agency, and the rights of creditors shall be solely
against such land bank agency; and
[(13)] (12) Vote by proxy shall not be permitted. Any
member may request a recorded vote on any resolution or
action of the land bank agency.
2. If a municipality establishes a land bank agency
under subsection 1 of section 140.981, the ordinance,
resolution, or rule, as applicable, may specify the
following:
(1) The name of the land bank agency;
(2) The number of members of the board of directors,
which shall consist of an odd number of members and shall be
no fewer than five members nor more than eleven members;
(3) The initial individuals to serve as members of the
board of directors and the length of terms for which the
members are to serve; and
(4) The qualifications, manner of selection or
appointment, and terms of office of members of the board.

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3. A land bank agency may employ a secretary, an
executive director, its own counsel and legal staff,
technical experts, and other agents and employees, permanent
or temporary, as it may require and may determine the
qualifications and fix the compensation and benefits of such
persons. A land bank agency may also enter into contracts
and agreements with political subdivisions for staffing
services to be provided to the land bank agency by political
subdivisions or agencies or departments thereof, or for a
land bank agency to provide such staffing services to
political subdivisions or agencies or departments thereof.
140.983. A land bank agency established under the
chapter 140 land bank act shall have all powers necessary or
appropriate to carry out and effectuate the purposes and
provisions of the chapter 140 land bank act, including the
following powers in addition to those herein otherwise
granted:
(1) To adopt, amend, and repeal bylaws for the
regulation of its affairs and the conduct of its business;
(2) To sue and be sued, in its own name, and plead and
be impleaded in all civil actions including, but not limited
to, actions to clear title to property of the land bank
agency;
(3) To adopt a seal and to alter the same at pleasure;
(4) To borrow from the political subdivision
establishing the land bank agency, as may be necessary for
the operation and work of the land bank agency;
(5) To procure insurance or guarantees from political
subdivisions, the state, the federal government, or any
other public or private sources of the payment of any bond,
note, loan, or other obligation, or portion thereof,
incurred by the land bank agency and to pay any fees or
premiums in connection therewith;

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(6) To enter into contracts and other instruments
necessary, incidental, or convenient to the performance of
its duties and the exercise of its powers including, but not
limited to, agreements with other land bank agencies and
with political subdivisions for the joint exercise of powers
under this chapter;
(7) To enter into contracts and other instruments
necessary, incidental, or convenient to:
(a) The performance of functions by the land bank
agency on behalf of political subdivisions, or agencies or
departments thereof; or
(b) The performance by political subdivisions, or
agencies or departments thereof, of functions on behalf of
the land bank agency;
(8) To make and execute contracts and other
instruments necessary or convenient to the exercise of the
powers of the land bank agency;
(9) To procure insurance against losses in connection
with the property, assets, or activities of the land bank
agency;
(10) To invest the [moneys] money of the land bank
agency in the same manner as moneys are invested by the
state treasurer, including amounts deposited in reserve or
sinking funds, at the discretion of the land bank agency in
obligations or property determined proper by the land bank
agency and to name and use depositories for its moneys;
(11) To enter into contracts for the management of or
the sale of the property of the land bank agency;
(12) To design, develop for public use, construct,
demolish, reconstruct, rehabilitate, renovate, relocate,
equip, furnish, and otherwise improve real property or
rights or interests in real property held by the land bank
agency;

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(13) To acquire property, whether by purchase,
exchange, gift, lease, or otherwise, except not property not
wholly located in the county or municipality that
established the land bank agency; to grant or acquire
licenses and easements; and to sell, grant an option with
respect to, or otherwise dispose of, any property of the
land bank agency;
(14) To enter into partnerships, joint ventures, and
other collaborative relationships with political
subdivisions and other public and private entities for the
management, development, and disposition of real property,
except not for property not wholly located in the county or
municipality that established the land bank agency; and
(15) Subject to the other provisions of this chapter
and all other applicable laws, to do all other things
necessary or convenient to achieve the objectives and
purposes of the land bank agency or other laws that relate
to the purposes and responsibility of the land bank agency.
140.984. 1. The income of a land bank agency shall be
exempt from all taxation by the state and by any of its
political subdivisions. Upon acquiring title to any real
estate, a land bank agency shall immediately notify the
county assessor and the county collector of such ownership;
all taxes, special taxes, fines, and fees on such real
estate shall be deemed satisfied by transfer to the land
bank agency; and such property shall be exempt from all
taxation during the land bank agency's ownership thereof, in
the same manner and to the same extent as any other publicly
owned real estate. Upon the sale or other disposition of
any real estate held by it, the land bank agency shall
immediately notify the county assessor and the county
collector of such change of ownership. However, that such
tax exemption for improved and occupied real property held

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by the land bank agency as a lessor pursuant to a ground
lease shall terminate upon the first occupancy[, and]. The
land bank agency shall immediately notify the county
assessor and the county collector of such occupancy.
2. A land bank agency may acquire real property by
gift, devise, transfer, exchange, foreclosure, purchase, or
pursuant to sections 141.560 to 141.580 or section 141.819,
except a land bank agency shall not acquire property located
partially or wholly outside the boundaries of the county or
municipality that established such land bank agency.
3. A land bank agency may acquire property by purchase
contracts, lease purchase agreements, installment sales
contracts, and land contracts and may accept transfers from
political subdivisions upon such terms and conditions as
agreed to by the land bank agency and the political
subdivision. A land bank agency may bid on any parcel of
real estate offered for sale, offered at a foreclosure sale
under sections 140.220 to 140.250, offered at a sale
conducted under section 140.190, 140.240, or 140.250, or
offered at a foreclosure sale under section 141.550.
Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, any political
subdivision may transfer to the land bank agency real
property and interests in real property of the political
subdivision on such terms and conditions and according to
such procedures as determined by the political subdivision.
4. A land bank agency shall maintain all of its real
property in accordance with the laws and ordinances of the
jurisdictions in which the real property is located.
5. Upon issuance of a deed to a parcel of real estate
to a land bank agency under subsection 4 of section 140.250,
subsection 5 of section 140.405, other sale conducted under
section 140.190, 140.240, or 140.250, or section 141.550,
the land bank agency shall pay only the amount of the land

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bank agency's bid that exceeds the amount of all tax bills
included in the judgment, interest, penalties, attorney's
fees, taxes, and costs then due thereon. If the real estate
is acquired in a delinquent land tax auction under
subsection 4 of section 140.250, subsection 5 of section
140.405, or other sale conducted under section 140.190,
140.240, or 140.250, such excess shall be applied and
distributed in accordance with section 140.230. If the real
estate is acquired in a delinquent land tax auction under
section 141.550, such excess shall be applied and
distributed in accordance with subsections 3 and 4 of
section 141.580, exclusive of subdivision (3) of subsection
3 of section 141.580. Upon issuance of a deed, the county
collector shall mark the tax bills included in the judgment
as "cancelled by sale to the land bank" and shall take
credit for the full amount of such tax bills, including
principal amount, interest, penalties, attorney's fees, and
costs, on the county collector's books and in the county
collector's statements with any other taxing authorities.
6. A land bank shall not own real property unless the
property is wholly located within the boundaries of the
county or municipality that established the land bank agency.
7. Within one year of the effective date of the
ordinance, resolution, or rule passed establishing a
municipal land bank agency under subsection 2 of section
140.981, the title to any real property that is located
wholly within the municipality that created the land bank
agency and that is held by a land trust created under
subsection 1 of section 141.819 shall be transferred by deed
from the land trust to such land bank agency, at the land
bank agency's request.
140.985. 1. A land bank agency shall hold in its own
name all real property acquired by such land bank agency,

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irrespective of the identity of the transferor of such
property.
2. A land bank agency shall maintain and make
available for public review and inspection an inventory and
history of all real property the land bank agency holds or
formerly held. This inventory and history shall be
available on the land bank agency's website and include at a
minimum:
(1) Whether a parcel is available for sale;
(2) The address of the parcel if an address has been
assigned;
(3) The parcel number if no address has been assigned;
(4) The month and year that a parcel entered the land
bank agency's inventory;
(5) Whether a parcel has sold;
(6) If a parcel has sold, the name of the person or
entity to which it was sold; and
(7) Whether the parcel was acquired by the land bank
agency through judicial foreclosure, nonjudicial
foreclosure, donation, or some other manner.
3. The land bank agency shall determine and set forth
in policies and procedures the general terms and conditions
for consideration to be received by the land bank agency for
the transfer of real property and interests in real
property. Consideration may take the form of monetary
payments and secured financial obligations, covenants, and
conditions related to the present and future use of the
property; contractual commitments of the transferee; and
such other forms of consideration as the land bank agency
determines to be in the best interest of the land bank
agency.
4. A land bank agency may convey, exchange, sell,
transfer, grant, release and demise, pledge, and hypothecate

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any and all interests in, upon, or to property of the land
bank agency. A land bank agency may gift any interest in,
upon, or to property to the county or municipality that
established the land bank agency.
5. A county or municipality may, in its resolution,
ordinance, or rule creating a land bank agency, establish a
hierarchical ranking of priorities for the use of real
property conveyed by such land bank agency, including, but
not limited to:
(1) Use for purely public spaces and places;
(2) Use as wildlife conservation areas;
(3) Use as a green field area; and
(4) To return to private use.
If a county or municipality, in its resolution,
ordinance, or rule creating a land bank agency, establishes
priorities for the use of real property conveyed by the land
bank agency, such priorities shall be consistent with and no
more restrictive than municipal planning and zoning
ordinances.
6. The land bank agency may delegate to officers and
employees the authority to enter into and execute
agreements, instruments of conveyance, and all other related
documents pertaining to the conveyance of property by the
land bank agency.
7. Any property sold by a land bank agency that was
acquired through purchase, transfer, exchange, or gift shall
be sold.
8. When any parcel of real estate acquired by a land
bank agency is sold or otherwise disposed of by such land
bank agency, the proceeds therefrom shall be applied and
distributed in the following order:
(1) To the payment of the expenses of the sale;

20
(2) To fulfill the requirements of the resolution,
indenture, or other financing documents adopted or entered
into in connection with bonds, notes, or other obligations
of the land bank agency, to the extent that such
requirements may apply with respect to such parcel of real
estate;
(3) To the land bank agency to pay the salaries and
other expenses of such land bank agency and of its employees
as provided for in its annual budget; and
(4) Any funds in excess of those necessary to meet the
expenses of the annual budget of the land bank agency in any
fiscal year and a reasonable sum to carry over into the next
fiscal year to assure that sufficient funds will be
available to meet initial expenses for that next fiscal year
shall be paid to the respective taxing authorities that, at
the time of the distribution, are taxing the real property
from which the proceeds are being distributed. The
distributions shall be in proportion to the amounts of the
taxes levied on the properties by the taxing authorities.
Distribution shall be made on January first and July first
of each year, and at such other times as the land bank
agency may determine.
140.986. 1. No later than five years from the date it
acquired the property, a land bank agency shall either sell,
put to a productive use, or show significant progress
towards selling or putting the property to a productive use
[a parcel of real property]. A productive use may be
demolishing all structures of the property or using the
property for a community garden, park, or other open public
space. No later than eight years from the date it acquired
the property, a land bank agency shall sell, clear, or put
such property to public use.

21
2. The governing body of the county or municipality
may grant the land bank agency a one-year extension if the
body determines by a majority vote that unforeseen
circumstances have delayed the sale or productive use of a
parcel of property.
3. If a land bank agency owns a parcel of real
property that does not have a productive use after five
years, or does not receive an extension under subsection 2
of this section, the property shall be offered for public
sale using the procedures under sections 140.170 to 140.190.
140.987. 1. A land bank agency shall require that any
buyer demonstrate that the buyer is not the owner of any
parcel of real estate within the county or municipality that
created the land bank agency for which a tax bill has been
delinquent for more than one year or is in violation of any
municipal building or housing code[, and is not the original
owner or relative of such owner within the second degree of
consanguinity of the parcel sold, transferred, exchanged, or
gifted to the land bank agency].
2. No foreign or domestic corporation or limited
liability company that has failed to appoint or maintain a
registered agent under chapter 347 or 351 shall be eligible
to buy property from the land bank agency. No foreign
corporate entity shall be eligible to buy property from the
land bank agency unless it has a certificate of authority to
transact business in Missouri under section 351.572.
3. As a condition of the sale or other authorized
conveyance of ownership of any parcel of land owned by the
land bank agency to a private owner, such owner may be
required to enter into a contract, which may be secured by a
deed of trust in favor of the land bank agency, stipulating
that such owner or the owner's successor agrees that such
owner or the owner's successor make certain improvements to

22
the parcel. If the land bank agency finds by resolution
that the terms of the contract have not been satisfied, the
land bank agency shall be authorized to bring suit to
recover damages for the breach and to seek a judicial
foreclosure of the parcel under sections 443.190 to 443.260,
except that upon final judgment of the court, title shall
revert to the land bank agency without necessity of sale.
As an alternative to, or in addition to, seeking a judicial
foreclosure, the land bank agency may, only by gift, assign
or convey its right to foreclose under sections 443.190 to
443.260 to any 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization
or exercise the right of reentry under chapter 524, 527, or
534. The land bank agency or its assignee shall assume
title to the land by filing a copy of the judgment with the
recorder of deeds in the county where the property is
located. Any property redeemed by the land bank agency
under the provisions of this section shall be administered
in the same manner as other property sold to the land bank
agency.
140.988. 1. (1) A land bank agency may receive
funding through grants and gifts from political
subdivisions, the state, the federal government, and other
public and private sources.
(2) A land bank agency may receive funding through
gifts from any source, provided that the land bank agency
shall not sell or otherwise transfer by any means any real
property held by the land bank agency to the entity from
which the land bank agency received a gift [pursuant to this
subdivision].
2. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 7 of
section 140.985, a land bank agency may receive and retain
payments for services rendered, for consideration for
disposition of real and personal property, for proceeds of

23
insurance coverage for losses incurred, for income from
investments, and for any other asset and activity lawfully
permitted to a land bank agency under the chapter 140 land
bank act.
3. If a land bank agency sells or otherwise disposes
of a parcel of real estate held by it, any land taxes
assessed against such parcel for the three tax years
following such sale or disposition by such land bank agency
that are collected by the county collector in a calendar
year and not refunded, less the fees provided under section
52.260 and subsection 4 of this section and less the amounts
to be deducted under section 137.720, shall be distributed
by the county collector to such land bank agency no later
than March first of the following calendar year, provided
that land taxes impounded under section 139.031 or otherwise
paid under protest shall not be subject to distribution
under this subsection. Any amount required to be
distributed to a land bank agency under this subsection
shall be subject to offset for amounts previously
distributed to such land bank agency that were assessed,
collected, or distributed in error.
4. In addition to any other provisions of law related
to collection fees, the county collector shall collect on
behalf of the county a fee of four percent of reserve period
taxes collected and such fees collected shall be deposited
in the county general fund.
5. If a county has established a land bank agency
under subsection 1 of section 140.981, the collector may
collect on behalf of the county a fee for the collection of
delinquent and back taxes of up to five percent on all sums
collected to be added to the face of the tax bill and
collected from the party paying the tax. All fees collected
under the provisions of this subsection shall be paid to the

24
land bank agency established under subsection 1 of section
140.981.
140.991. 1. There shall be an annual audit of the
affairs, accounts, expenses, and financial transactions of a
land bank agency by a certified public accountant before
April thirtieth of each year, which accountant shall be
employed by the land bank agency on or before March first of
each year. Certified copies of the audit shall be furnished
to the county or municipality that established the land bank
agency, and the county or municipality shall post the audit
on its [public] website. Copies of the audit shall also be
available for public inspection at the office of the land
bank agency.
2. The land bank agency may be performance audited at
any time by the state auditor or by the auditor of the
county or municipality that established the land bank
agency. The land bank agency shall make copies of such
audit available to the public and shall post a copy of the
audit on the land bank agency's website within thirty days
of the completion of the audit.
140.994. 1. A land bank agency shall have power to
receive funds from bonds issued by the county or
municipality that created the land bank agency, for any of
its [corporate] purposes. The bonds shall be special,
limited obligations of the county or municipality that
created the land bank agency, the principal of and interest
on which shall be payable solely from the income and revenue
derived from the sale, or other disposition of the assets of
the land bank agency, or such portion thereof as may be
designated in the resolution, indenture, or other financing
documents relating to the issuance of the bonds.
2. Bonds issued pursuant to this section shall not be
deemed to be an indebtedness within the meaning of any

25
constitutional or statutory limitation upon the incurring of
indebtedness. The bonds shall not constitute a debt,
liability, or obligation of the state or a pledge of the
full faith and credit or the taxing power of the state and
the bonds shall contain a recital to that effect. Neither
the members of the board nor any person executing the bonds
shall be liable personally on the bonds by reason of the
issuance thereof.
3. Bonds issued pursuant to this section shall be
authorized by resolution of the governing body of the county
or municipality establishing the land bank agency, shall be
issued in such form, shall be in such denominations, shall
bear interest at such rate or rates, shall mature on such
dates and in such manner, shall be subject to redemption at
such times and on such terms, and shall be executed by one
or more members of the governing body of the county or
municipality establishing the land bank agency, as provided
in the resolution authorizing the issuance thereof or as set
out in the indenture or other financing document authorized
and approved by such resolution. The governing body of the
county or municipality establishing the land bank agency may
sell such bonds in such manner, either at public or at
private sale, and for such price as the governing body of
the county or municipality establishing the land bank agency
may determine to be in the best interests of the land bank
agency.
4. A governing body of the county or municipality
establishing the land bank agency may from time to time, as
authorized by resolution of the governing body, issue
refunding bonds for the purpose of refunding, extending, and
unifying all or any part of its valid outstanding bonds.
Such refunding bonds may be payable from any of the sources

26
identified in subsection 1 of this section and from the
investment of any of the proceeds of the refunding bonds.
5. The bonds issued by the governing body of the
county or municipality establishing the land bank agency
shall be negotiable instruments under chapter 400.
6. Bonds issued under this section and all income or
interest thereon shall be exempt from all state taxes.
7. The governing body of the county or municipality
establishing the land bank agency shall have the power to
issue temporary notes upon the same terms and subject to all
provisions and restrictions applicable to bonds under this
section. Such notes issued by the governing body may be
refunded by notes or bonds authorized under this section.
140.995. Notwithstanding any provision of sections
140.980 to 140.995 to the contrary, a land bank agency may
rent or lease property held by the land bank agency for any
community, noncommercial, or agricultural uses.
140.1000. 1. No board member or employee of a land
bank agency shall receive any compensation, emolument, or
other profit directly or indirectly from the rental,
management, acquisition, sale, demolition, repair,
rehabilitation, use, operation, ownership, or disposition of
any [lands] property held by such land bank agency other
than the salaries, expenses, and emoluments provided for in
the chapter 140 land bank act.
2. No member of the board or employee of a land bank
agency shall own, directly or indirectly, any legal or
equitable interest in or to any lands held by such land bank
agency other than the salaries, expenses, and emoluments
provided for in sections 140.980 to 140.1015.
3. A violation of this section is a class D felony.
4. The land bank agency may adopt supplemental rules
and regulations addressing potential conflicts of interest

27
and ethical guidelines for board members and land bank
agency employees, provided that such rules and regulations
are not inconsistent with this chapter or any other
applicable law.
5. Any person who is related to a board member or
employee of a land bank agency within the second degree of
consanguinity or affinity shall be considered a board member
or employee of a land bank agency for purposes of this
section and subject to its provisions.
140.1009. 1. A land bank agency shall be authorized
to file an action to quiet title under section 527.150 [as
to] for any real property in which the land bank agency has
an interest. For purposes of any and all such actions, the
land bank agency shall be deemed to be the holder of
sufficient legal and equitable interests, and possessory
rights, so as to qualify the land bank agency as an adequate
petitioner in such action.
2. Prior to the filing of an action to quiet title,
the land bank agency shall conduct an examination of title
to determine the identity of any and all persons and
entities possessing a claim or interest in or to the real
property. Service of the petition to quiet title shall be
provided to all such interested parties by the following
methods:
(1) Registered or certified mail to such identity and
address as reasonably ascertainable by an inspection of
public records;
(2) In the case of occupied real property, by first
class mail addressed to "Occupant";
(3) By posting a copy of the notice on the real
property;

28
(4) By publication in a newspaper of general
circulation in the county or municipality in which the
property is located; and
(5) Such other methods as the court may order or as
may be required by prevailing motions of due process.
3. As part of the petition to quiet title, the land
bank agency shall file an affidavit identifying all parties
potentially having an interest in the real property and the
form of notice provided.
4. The court shall schedule a hearing on the petition
within ninety days following filing of the petition and, as
to all matters upon which an answer was not filed by an
interested party, the court shall issue its final judgment
within one hundred twenty days of the filing of the petition.
5. A land bank agency shall be authorized to join in a
single petition to quiet title one or more parcels of real
property.
140.1012. 1. A land bank agency shall be dissolved as
a public body corporate and politic no sooner than sixty
calendar days, but no later than one hundred eighty calendar
days, after an ordinance or resolution for such dissolution
is passed by the county or municipality that established the
land bank agency.
2. [No less than sixty calendar days' advance written
notice of consideration of] If such an ordinance or
resolution of dissolution is being considered, no less than
sixty calendar days advance written notice shall be given to
the land bank agency, shall be published in a local
newspaper of general circulation within such county or
municipality, and shall be sent certified mail to each
trustee of any outstanding bonds of the land bank agency.
3. No land bank agency shall be dissolved while there
remains any outstanding bonds, notes, or other obligations

29
of the land bank agency unless such bonds, notes, or other
obligations are paid or defeased pursuant to the resolution,
indenture, or other financing document under which such
bonds, notes, or other obligations were issued prior to or
simultaneously with such dissolution. Once all outstanding
bonds, notes, or other obligations are satisfied, no new
property shall be purchased by, gifted to, traded to, or
exchanged with the land bank agency. No further debts or
other obligations shall be incurred other than that which is
necessary to sell or put to public use any remaining
property held by the land bank agency. The land bank agency
shall be dissolved within thirty days after all outstanding
bonds, notes, or other obligations are satisfied.
4. Upon dissolution of a land bank agency pursuant to
this section, all real property, personal property, and
other assets of the land bank agency shall be transferred by
appropriate written instrument to and shall become the
assets of the county or municipality that established the
land bank agency. Such county or municipality shall act
expeditiously to return such real property to the tax rolls
and shall market and sell such real property using an open,
public method that ensures the best possible prices are
realized while ensuring such real property is returned to a
suitable, productive use for the betterment of the
neighborhood in which such real property is located. Upon
the sale or other disposition of any such property by such
county or municipality, the proceeds therefrom shall be
applied and distributed in the following order:
(1) To the payment of the expenses of sale;
(2) To the reasonable costs incurred by such county or
municipality in maintaining and marketing such property; and
(3) The balance shall be paid to the respective taxing
authorities that, at the time of the distribution, are

30
taxing the real property from which the proceeds are being
distributed.
141.220. The following words, terms and definitions,
when used in sections 141.210 to 141.810 and sections
141.980 to 141.1015, shall have the meanings ascribed to
them in this section, except where the text clearly
indicates a different meaning:
(1) "Ancillary parcel" shall mean a parcel of real
estate acquired by a land bank agency other than:
(a) Pursuant to a deemed sale under subsection 3 of
section 141.560;
(b) By deed from a land trust under subsection 1 of
section 141.984; or
(c) Pursuant to a sale under subdivision (2) of
subsection 2 of section 141.550;
(2) "Appraiser" shall mean a state licensed or
certified appraiser licensed or certified pursuant to
chapter 339 who is not an employee of the collector or
collection authority;
(3) "Board" or "board of commissioners" shall mean the
board of commissioners of a land bank agency;
(4) "Collector" shall mean the collector of the
revenue in any county affected by sections 141.210 to
141.810 and sections 141.980 to 141.1015;
(5) "County" shall mean any county in this state;
(6) "Court" shall mean the circuit court of any county
affected by sections 141.210 to 141.810 and sections 141.980
to 141.1015;
(7) "Delinquent land tax attorney" shall mean a
licensed attorney-at-law, employed or designated by the
collector as hereinafter provided;
(8) "Interested party", shall mean any person with a
legal interest in a parcel of land affected by sections

31
141.210 to 141.810 and sections 141.980 to 141.1015.
Interested party shall not include:
(a) The holder of the benefit or burden of any
easement or right of way;
(b) The holder of a benefit or burden of a real
covenant; or
(c) A leasehold owner of subsurface mineral, gas, or
oil rights whose interest is properly recorded and whose
interest shall remain unaffected;
(9) "Land bank agency", shall mean [an] any agency
created under section 141.980;
(10) "Land taxes" shall mean taxes on real property or
real estate and shall include the taxes both on land and the
improvements thereon;
(11) "Land trustees" and "land trust" shall mean the
land trustees and land trust as the same are created by and
described in section 141.700;
(12) "Municipality" shall include any incorporated
city or town, or a part thereof, located in whole or in part
within a county;
(13) "Person" shall mean any individual, firm,
copartnership, joint adventure, association, corporation,
estate, trust, business trust, receiver or trustee appointed
by any state or federal court, trustee otherwise created,
syndicate, or any other group or combination acting as a
unit, and the plural as well as the singular number;
(14) "Political subdivision" shall mean any county,
city, town, village, school district, library district, or
any other public subdivision or public corporation having
the power to tax;
(15) "Reserve period taxes" shall mean land taxes
assessed against any parcel of real estate sold or otherwise

32
disposed of by a land bank agency for the first three tax
years following such sale or disposition;
(16) "School district", "road district", "water
district", "sewer district", "levee district", "drainage
district", "special benefit district", "special assessment
district", or "park district" shall include those located
within a county as such county is described in this section;
(17) "Sheriff" and "circuit clerk" shall mean the
sheriff and circuit clerk, respectively, of any county
affected by sections 141.210 to 141.810 and sections 141.980
to 141.1015;
(18) "Tax bill" as used in sections 141.210 to 141.810
and sections 141.980 to 141.1015 shall represent real estate
taxes and the lien thereof, whether general or special,
levied and assessed by any taxing authority;
(19) "Tax district" shall mean the state of Missouri
and any county, municipality, school district, road
district, water district, sewer district, levee district,
drainage district, special benefit district, special
assessment district, or park district, located in any
municipality or county as herein described;
(20) "Tax lien" shall mean the lien of any tax bill as
defined in this section;
(21) "Taxing authority" shall include any
governmental, managing, administering or other lawful
authority, now or hereafter empowered by law to issue tax
bills, the state of Missouri or any county, municipality,
school district, road district, water district, sewer
district, levee district, drainage district, special benefit
district, special assessment district, or park district,
affected by sections 141.210 to 141.810 and sections 141.980
to 141.1015.

33
141.230. 1. The land tax collection law shall apply
to all counties that have elected to operate under the
provisions of sections 141.210 to 141.810 by adoption of a
resolution or order of the county commission of such county.
2. Alternatively, any county may, by adoption of a
resolution or order of the county commission of such county,
elect to operate under the provisions of sections 141.210 to
141.810 as a partial opt-in county. After adoption of any
such resolution or order, the collector for such county may
elect to operate under the provisions of sections 141.210 to
141.810 for any parcel [or parcels for which there is an
unpaid tax bill for a period of at least two years after the
date on which it became delinquent].
3. No county eligible to establish a land bank agency
under subsection 1 of section 140.981 shall elect to operate
as a partial opt-in county unless having first elected to
establish a land bank agency as provided in subsection 1 of
section 140.981.
4. Any county commission so adopting such resolution
or order shall file a certified copy thereof within ten days
after the adoption of said resolution or order with the
clerk of the county commission and with the collector of
revenue for such county, and with the mayor and city
collector or chief financial officer of each municipality in
such county, as defined by section 141.220.
5. After the adoption of such resolution or order by
such county commission, each municipality shall cooperate
with such county under the provisions of sections 141.210 to
141.810. Any such county which shall, in the manner
provided herein, have elected to come within the provisions
of sections 141.210 to 141.810, in whole or in part, by
adoption of such resolution, order or ordinance, may, after
a period of one year from the effective date of such

34
resolution, order or ordinance, adopt by similar means a
resolution, order or ordinance, rescinding the election to
adopt the provisions of the land tax collection law and
certified copies of such resolution, order or ordinance
shall be filed in the same manner as said original
resolution, order or ordinance; provided, that such
resolution, order or ordinance rescinding or nullifying the
election to adopt the provisions of sections 141.210 to
141.810 shall not become effective for one year thereafter
nor shall it invalidate or in any way affect any proceedings
in rem for foreclosure which may have been instituted under
the provisions of sections 141.210 to 141.810, but all such
actions and proceedings so instituted while the provisions
of said sections were in full force and effect shall be
prosecuted to their conclusion and completion; provided
further, that any county which may have operated under
sections 141.210 to 141.810 prior to the enactment of this
section may hereafter elect to terminate any further
operation under sections 141.210 to 141.810 by proceeding in
manner and form and to the same effect as though it had
originally elected to operate under the provisions of
sections 141.210 to 141.810.
6. Any municipality located partly within a county
electing to operate in whole or in part under the provisions
of sections 141.210 to 141.810 shall cooperate with such
county under the provisions of sections 141.210 to 141.810;
provided, however, that tax bills imposed against real
estate located in that part of such municipality outside of
the limits of any such county shall be collected under other
provisions as may be provided by law.
141.250. 1. The respective liens of the tax bills for
general taxes of the state of Missouri, the county, any
municipality, and any school district, for the same tax

35
year, shall be equal and first liens upon the real estate
described in the respective tax bills thereof; provided,
however, that the liens of such tax bills for the latest
year for which tax bills are unpaid shall take priority over
the liens of tax bills levied and assessed for less recent
years, and the lien of such tax bills shall rate in priority
in the order of the years for which the tax bills are
delinquent, the lien of the tax bill longest delinquent
being junior in priority to the lien of the tax bill for the
next most recent tax year.
2. All tax bills for other than general taxes shall
constitute liens junior to the liens for general taxes upon
the real estate described therein; provided, however, that a
tax bill for other than general taxes, of the more recent
issue shall likewise be senior to any such tax bill of less
recent date.
3. The proceeds derived from the sale of any lands
encumbered with a tax lien or liens shall be distributed to
the owners of such liens in the order of the seniority of
the liens. Those holding liens of equal rank shall share in
direct proportion to the amounts of their respective liens.
141.270. 1. On or before the fifth day of January in
each year, all taxing authorities and any other tax bill
owner shall file a list with the collector [a list] on a
form approved by the collector of all parcels of real estate
affected by tax liens held and owned by such taxing
authority or person which have been delinquent for two years
or more. Such list shall also include all delinquent tax
bills for any and all years.
2. The taxing authority or person filing such list
shall pay to the collector a filing fee of one dollar and
fifty cents for each parcel of real estate described

36
therein, which fee shall be charged against each parcel and
collected and accounted for by the collector as other costs.
3. No school district nor any other taxing authority
whose taxes are required by law to be collected by the
collector shall file any list nor pay the filing fee herein
provided.
4. If the taxes of any taxing authority are two or
more years delinquent, the other taxing authorities and
other tax bill owners shall include in the said list all
tax liens against the said parcel, even though the taxes are
not two years delinquent.
141.290. 1. The collector shall compile lists of all
state, county, school, and other tax bills collectible by
the collector that are delinquent according to the
collector's records, and the collector shall combine such
lists with the list filed by any taxing authority or tax
bill owner.
2. For partial opt-in counties, the collector shall
decide which tax delinquent parcels shall proceed according
to the provisions contained [herein] in this chapter. The
remaining parcels shall proceed under such other provisions
as may be provided by law.
3. The collector shall assign a serial number to each
parcel of real estate in each list and if suit has been
filed in the circuit court of the county on any delinquent
tax bill included in any list, the collector shall give the
court docket number of such suit and some appropriate
designation of the place where such suit is pending, and
such pending suit so listed in any petition filed pursuant
to the provisions of sections 141.210 to 141.810 and
sections 141.980 to 141.1015 shall, without further
procedure or court order, be deemed to be consolidated with
the suit brought under sections 141.210 to 141.810 and

37
sections 141.980 to 141.1015, and such pending suit shall
thereupon be abated.
4. The collector shall deliver such combined lists to
the delinquent land tax attorney from time to time but not
later than April first of each year.
5. The delinquent land tax attorney shall incorporate
such lists in petitions in the form prescribed in section
141.410, and shall file such petitions with the circuit
clerk not later than June first of each year.
141.300. 1. The collector shall receipt for the
aggregate amount of such delinquent tax bills appearing on
the list or lists filed with the collector under the
provisions of section 141.290, which receipt shall be held
by the owner or holder of the tax bills or by the treasurer
or other corresponding financial officer of the taxing
authority [so] filing such list with the collector.
2. The collector shall, on or before the fifth day of
each month, file with the owner or holder of any tax bill or
with the treasurer or other corresponding financial officer
of any taxing authority, a detailed statement, verified by
affidavit, of all taxes collected by the collector during
the preceding month which appear on the list or lists
received by the collector, and shall, on or before the
fifteenth day of the month, pay the same, less the
collector's commissions and costs payable to the county, to
the tax bill owner or holder or to the treasurer or other
corresponding financial officer of any taxing authority;
provided, however, that the collector shall be given credit
for the full amount of any tax bill where title to the real
estate described in such tax bill is taken by a land trust,
or which is bid on by a land bank agency and where title to
the real estate described in such tax bill is taken by such
land bank agency pursuant to a deemed sale under subsection

38
3 of section 141.560, or which is included in the bid of a
land bank agency and where title to the real estate
described in such tax bill is taken by such land bank agency
pursuant to a sale under subdivision (2) of subsection 2 of
section 141.550.
141.320. 1. The collector shall, at the collector's
option, appoint a delinquent land tax attorney, to be
compensated as necessary for the performance of the
collector's duties under this chapter, or in counties having
a county counselor, the collector shall, at the collector's
option, designate the county counselor and such of the
counselor's assistants as shall appear necessary to act as
the delinquent land tax attorney.
2. A delinquent land tax attorney who is not the
county counselor, with the approval of the collector, may
appoint one or more assistant delinquent land tax attorneys
and such clerical employees as may be necessary, to be
compensated as necessary for the performance of duties under
this chapter; and the appointed delinquent tax attorney may
incur such reasonable expenses as are necessary for the
performance of the attorney's duties.
3. The delinquent land tax attorney and the attorney's
assistants shall perform legal services for the collector
and shall act as attorney for the collector in the
prosecution of all suits brought for the collection of land
taxes; but the attorney and the collector shall not perform
legal services for the land trust or any land bank agency.
4. Salaries and expenses of a delinquent land tax
attorney who is not also the county counselor, the
attorney's assistants, and the attorney's employees shall be
paid monthly out of the treasury of the county from the same
funds as employees of the collector whenever the funds

39
provided for by sections 141.150, 141.270, and 141.620 are
not sufficient for such purpose.
5. The compensation herein provided shall be the total
compensation for a delinquent land tax attorney who is not
also a county counselor, and the attorney's assistants and
employees.
6. A delinquent land tax attorney who is not also the
county counselor shall make a return quarterly to the county
commission of such county of all compensation received by
the attorney, and of all amounts owing to the attorney by
the collector, and of all salaries and expenses of any
assistants and employees, stating the same in detail, and
verifying such amounts by affidavit.
7. The attorney's fees shall be taxed as costs in the
suit and collected as other costs.
141.330. The collector [annually] may appoint one
delinquent land tax clerk in each office lawfully maintained
by the collector in the county, to be compensated as
necessary for the performance of the clerk's duties under
this chapter.
141.360. All suits for the foreclosure of tax liens
brought by the collector shall name the collector only by
the title of the collector's office, and all such suits
shall be brought directly against the real estate subject to
the tax lien or liens to be foreclosed.
141.410. 1. A suit for the foreclosure of the tax
liens herein provided for shall be instituted by filing in
the appropriate office of the circuit clerk a petition[,
which]. Such petition shall contain a caption, a copy of
the list so furnished to the delinquent land tax attorney by
the collector, and a prayer. The petition shall name each
person with a legal interest in the parcel of land affected
by the suit, as reasonably discoverable to the collector

40
from publicly available records. Such petition without
further allegation shall be deemed to be sufficient.
2. The caption shall be in the following form:
3. The petition shall contain at least the following
information:
(1) The identity of the petitioner and the name and
address of the collector;
(2) The parcel's common street address;
(3) A full legal description for the parcel;
(4) The tax identification number of the parcel;
(5) The period of tax delinquency; and
(6) The principal amount of delinquent taxes, together
with interest, penalties, and fees.
4. The petition shall conclude with a prayer that all
tax liens upon such real estate be foreclosed; that the
court determine the amounts and priorities of all tax bills,
together with interest, penalties, costs, and attorney's
fees; that the court order such real estate to be sold by
the sheriff at public sale as provided by sections 141.210
In the Circuit Court of ______ County, Missouri,
In the Matter of
Foreclosure of Liens for Delinquent Land Taxes
By Action in Rem.
Collector of Revenue of ______ County, Missouri,
Plaintiff
-vs.-
Parcels of Land Encumbered with Delinquent Tax Liens
Defendants

41
to 141.810 and sections 141.980 to 141.1015 and that
thereafter a report of such sale be made by the sheriff to
the court for further proceedings under sections 141.210 to
141.810 and sections 141.980 to 141.1015.
5. The delinquent land tax attorney within ten days
after the filing of any such petition shall forward by
United States registered mail to each person or taxing
authority having filed a list of delinquent tax bills with
the collector as provided by sections 141.210 to 141.810 and
sections 141.980 to 141.1015 a notice of the time and place
of the filing of such petition and of the newspaper in which
the notice of publication has been or will be published.
6. The petition when so filed shall have the same
force and effect with respect to each parcel of real estate
therein described, as a separate suit instituted to
foreclose the tax lien or liens against any one of said
parcels of real estate.
141.440. 1. Within thirty days after the filing of
such petition, the collector shall [also] cause to be
prepared and sent by restricted, registered or certified
mail with postage prepaid, [within thirty days after the
filing of such petition,] a notice of the petition, to the
persons named in the petition as being the last known
persons in whose names tax bills affecting the respective
parcels of real estate described in said petition were last
billed or charged on the books of the collector, or the last
known owner of record, if different, and to the addresses of
said persons upon said records of the collector. The terms
"restricted", "registered" or "certified mail" as used in
this section mean mail which carries on the face thereof in
a conspicuous place, where it will not be obliterated, the
endorsement "DELIVER TO ADDRESSEE ONLY", and which also
requires a return receipt or a statement by the postal

42
authorities that the addressee refused to receive and
receipt for such mail. If the notice is returned to the
collector by the postal authorities as undeliverable for
reasons other than the refusal by the addressee to receive
and receipt for the notice as shown by the return receipt,
then the collector shall make a search of the records
maintained by the county, including those kept by the
recorder of deeds, to discern the name and address of any
person who, from such records, appears as a successor to the
person to whom the original notice was addressed, and to
cause another notice to be mailed to such person. The
collector shall prepare and file with the circuit clerk at
least thirty days before judgment is entered by the court on
the petition an affidavit reciting to the court any name,
address and serial number of the tract of real estate
affected by any such notices of suit that are undeliverable
because of an addressee's refusal to receive and receipt for
the same, or of any notice otherwise nondeliverable by mail,
or in the event that any name or address does not appear on
the records of the collector, then of that fact. The
affidavit in addition to the recitals set forth above shall
also state reason for the nondelivery of such notice.
2. The collector shall prepare and send, by first-
class mail, a copy of the petition within thirty days after
the filing of such a petition to the occupant of such parcel
or property.
141.500. 1. After the trial of the issues, the court
shall, as promptly as circumstances permit, render
judgment. If the court finds that no tax bill upon the land
collectible by the collector or the relator was delinquent
when the suit was instituted or tried, then the judgment of
the court shall be that the cause be dismissed as to the
parcels of real estate described in the tax bill[; or,]. If

43
the evidence warrant, the judgment may be for the principal
amount of the delinquent tax bills upon the real estate upon
which suit was brought, together with interest, penalties,
attorney's and appraiser's fees and costs computed as of the
date of the judgment. The judgment may recite the amount of
each tax bill, the date when it began to bear interest, and
the rate of such interest, together with the rate and amount
of penalties, attorney's and appraiser's fees not to exceed
fifteen dollars. It may decree that the lien upon the
parcels of real estate described in the tax bill be
foreclosed and such real estate sold by the sheriff, and the
cause shall be continued for further proceedings, as herein
provided.
2. The collector shall cause to be prepared and sent
by restricted, registered or certified mail with postage
prepaid, within thirty days after the rendering of such
judgment, a brief notice of such judgment and the
availability of a written redemption contract pursuant to
section 141.530 to the persons named in the judgment as
being the last known persons in whose names tax bills
affecting the respective parcels of real estate described in
such judgment were last billed or charged on the books of
the collector, or the last known owner of record, if
different, and to the addresses of such persons upon the
records of the collector. The terms "restricted",
"registered" or "certified mail" as used in this section
mean mail which carries on the face thereof in a conspicuous
place, where it will not be obliterated, the endorsement,
"DELIVER TO ADDRESSEE ONLY", and which also requires a
return receipt or a statement by the postal authorities that
the addressee refused to receive and receipt for such mail.
If the notice is returned to the collector by the postal
authorities as undeliverable for reasons other than the

44
refusal by the addressee to receive and receipt for the
notice as shown by the return receipt, then the collector
shall make a search of the records maintained by the county,
including those kept by the recorder of deeds, to discern
the name and address of any person who, from such records,
appears as a successor to the person to whom the original
notice was addressed, and to cause another notice to be
mailed to such person. The collector shall prepare and file
with the circuit clerk prior to confirmation hearings an
affidavit reciting to the court any name, address and serial
number of the tract of real estate affected of any such
notices of judgment that are undeliverable because of an
addressee's refusal to receive and receipt for the same, or
of any notice otherwise nondeliverable by mail, or in the
event that any name or address does not appear on the
records of the collector, then of that fact. The affidavit
in addition to the recitals set forth above shall also state
reason for the nondelivery of such notice.
3. The collector shall prepare and send to the
occupant of such parcel or property, by first-class mail, a
copy of the judgment of foreclosure within thirty days after
the date of such judgment.
141.520. 1. After the judgment of foreclosure has
been entered, or, after a motion for a new trial has been
overruled, or, if an appeal be taken from such judgment and
the judgment has been affirmed, after the sheriff shall have
been notified by any party to the suit that such judgment
has been affirmed on appeal and that the mandate of the
appellate court is on file with the circuit clerk, there
shall be a waiting period of six months before any
advertisement of sheriff's sale shall be published.
2. If any such parcel of real estate [be] is not
redeemed, or if no written contract providing for redemption

45
[be] is made within six months after the date of the
judgment of foreclosure, if no motion for rehearing [be] is
filed, and, if filed, within six months after such motion
may have been overruled, or, if an appeal [be] is taken from
such judgment and the judgment [be] is affirmed, within six
months after the sheriff shall have been notified by any
party to the suit that such judgment has been affirmed on
appeal and that the mandate of the appellate court is on
file with the circuit clerk, the sheriff shall commence to
advertise the real estate described in the judgment and
shall fix the date of sale within thirty days after the date
of the first publication of the notice of sheriff's sale as
herein provided, and shall at such sale proceed to sell the
real estate.
3. Any provisions of this chapter to the contrary
notwithstanding, the owner of any parcel of real property
against which a judgment has been rendered shall not have
the right to redeem such property from said judgment if at
the time of judgment such property is assessed as
residential property and the judgment finds the property has
been vacant for a period of not less than six months prior
to the judgment. After a judgment as provided for in this
section becomes final, the waiting period shall not apply to
such judgment and a sale under execution of the judgment
shall be immediately held as provided under the applicable
provisions of this chapter.
4. In partial opt-in counties, no later than one
hundred twenty days prior to the sheriff's sale, the
collector shall obtain from a licensed title company or
attorney a title search that includes all conveyances,
liens, and charges against the real estate involved in the
suit for any parcel of real estate against which the
collector has obtained a judgment under section 141.500 and

46
for which it has been decreed that the lien upon the parcel
of real estate described in the tax bill be foreclosed and
such real estate sold by the sheriff. The charge of such
title search may be recovered from the proceeds of the sale
under section 141.580.
5. After obtaining or conducting a title search, the
collector shall initiate a search of the following records
to identify and locate interested parties and addresses
reasonably calculated to apprise interested parties of the
suit:
(1) Land title records in the office of the county
recorder of deeds;
(2) Tax records in the office of the local treasurer;
(3) Tax records in the office of the local assessor;
(4) A search of court records in Missouri CaseNet; and
(5) For a business entity, records filed with the
secretary of state.
The collector may also incur reasonable costs for web-
based investigatory searches to supplement the search for
interested parties and addresses. The reasonable cost of
locating interested parties and addresses for notice may be
recovered from the proceeds of the sale under section
141.580.
6. No later than thirty days prior to the sheriff's
sale, the collector shall send notice of the sale to all
interested parties at the address most likely to apprise
interested parties of the sale. The notice shall provide
the date, time, and place of the sale and shall also state
that the parcel may be redeemed prior to the sale as
specified in sections 141.420 and 141.530. The notice
required by this subsection shall be mailed first class,
postage prepaid. The cost of notice under this subsection

47
may be recovered from the proceeds of the sale under section
141.580.
7. No later than twenty days prior to the sheriff's
sale, the sheriff shall enter upon the parcel subject to
foreclosure of these tax liens and post a written
informational notice in a conspicuous location, attached to
a structure, and intended to be visible by the nearest
public right-of-way. This notice shall describe the parcel
and advise that it is the subject of delinquent land tax
collection proceedings brought under sections 141.210 to
141.810 and sections 141.980 to 141.1015 and that it may be
sold for the payment of delinquent taxes at a sale to be
held at a certain time, date, and place and shall also
contain the tax identification number and the phone number
and address of the collector as well as a prohibition
against removal unless the parcel has been redeemed. The
notice shall be not less than eight inches by ten inches and
shall be laminated or otherwise sufficiently weatherproof to
withstand normal exposure to rain, snow, and other
conditions. The sheriff shall document, by time-stamped
photograph, compliance with this section, make such
documentation generally available upon request, and provide
verification by affidavit of compliance with this section.
The cost of notice under this subsection may be recovered
from the proceeds of the sale under section 141.580.
8. In addition to the other notice requirements of
this section, no later than twenty days prior to the
sheriff's sale, the sheriff shall attempt in-person notice
that shall describe the parcel and advise that it is the
subject of delinquent land tax collection proceedings
brought under sections 141.210 to 141.810 and sections
141.980 to 141.1015; that shall state that it may be sold
for the payment of delinquent taxes at a sale to be held at

48
a certain time, date, and place; and that shall also contain
the tax identification number and the phone number and
address of the collector. In-person notice may be provided
to any person found at the parcel. The sheriff shall note
the date and time of attempted notice and the name,
description, or other identifying information regarding the
person to whom notice was attempted. The sheriff shall
document compliance with this section, make such
documentation generally available upon request, and provide
verification by affidavit of compliance with this section.
The cost of notice under this subsection may be recovered
from the proceeds of the sale under section 141.580.
141.535. 1. If a parcel is the subject of an action
filed under sections 447.620 to 447.640, the court shall
stay the sale of any tax parcel to be sold under execution
of a tax foreclosure judgment obtained under this chapter,
provided that the party which has brought such an action has
paid into the circuit court the principal amount of all
[land] delinquent taxes then due and owing under the tax
foreclosure judgment, exclusive of penalties, interest,
attorney fees, and court costs, prior to the date of any
proposed sale under execution. The party bringing such
action shall provide written notice of the filing of the
action to the court administrator and file with the circuit
court in which the action is pending a certificate that such
notice has been provided to the court administrator. If the
party that brought the action under sections 447.620 to
447.640 dismisses its action prior to gaining temporary
possession of the property, it shall recover any amounts
paid into the circuit court under this subsection.
2. In any order granting a sheriff's deed under
section 447.625 or a judicial deed under section 447.640,
the court shall also order the permanent extinguishment of

49
liability against the grantee and the grantee's successors
in interest for penalties, interest, attorney fees, and
court costs arising from actions to collect delinquent land
taxes due on the subject property. The funds paid into the
court for land taxes under subsection 1 of this section
shall then be paid to the county collector.
3. If an owner of such a property moves the court for
restoration of possession of the subject property under
section 447.638, the owner shall pay into the circuit court
all land tax amounts currently due and owing on the
property, including all statutory penalties, interest,
attorney fees, and court costs retroactive to the date of
accrual, and in the event that an owner of the tax parcel
regains possession under section 447.638, funds deposited by
the owner under this subsection shall be paid to the county
collector, and funds paid into the court by a party under
subsection 1 of this section shall be paid out in full to
the payer.
141.540. 1. In any county at a certain front door of
whose courthouse sales of real estate are customarily made
by the sheriff under execution, the sheriff shall advertise
for sale and sell the respective parcels of real estate
ordered sold by the sheriff pursuant to any judgment of
foreclosure by any court pursuant to sections 141.210 to
141.810 and 141.980 to 141.1015 at any of such courthouses[,
but]. The sale of such parcels of real estate shall be held
at the same front door as sales of real estate are
customarily made by the sheriff under execution.
2. Such advertisements may include more than one
parcel of real estate, and shall be in substantially the
following form:
NOTICE OF SHERIFF'S

50
SALE UNDER JUDGMENT OF
FORECLOSURE OF LIENS FOR
DELINQUENT LAND TAXES
No. ______
In the Circuit Court of ______ County,
Missouri.

In the Matter of Foreclosure of Liens for
Delinquent Land Taxes

Collector of Revenue of ______ County,
Missouri, Plaintiff,

vs.
Parcels of Land encumbered with Delinquent Tax
Liens, Defendants.

WHEREAS, judgment has been rendered against
parcels of real estate for taxes, interest,
penalties, attorney's fees and costs with the
serial numbers of each parcel of real estate,
the description thereof, the name of the
person appearing in the petition in the suit,
and the total amount of the judgment against
each such parcel for taxes, interest,
penalties, attorney's fees and costs, all as
set out in said judgment and described in each
case, respectively, as follows: (Here set out
the respective serial numbers, descriptions,
names and total amounts of each judgment, next
above referred to.) and,

WHEREAS, such judgment orders such real estate
sold by the undersigned sheriff, to satisfy
the total amount of such judgment, including
interest, penalties, attorney's fees and
costs,

NOW, THEREFORE,

51
3. Such advertisement shall be published four times,
once a week, upon the same day of each week during
successive weeks prior to the date of such sale, in a daily
newspaper of general circulation regularly published in the
county, qualified according to law for the publication of
public notices and advertisements.
Public Notice is hereby given that I ______,
Sheriff of ______ County, Missouri, will sell
such real estate, parcel by parcel, at public
auction, to the highest bidder, for cash,
between the hours of nine o'clock A.M. and
five o'clock P.M., at the ______ front door of
the ______ County Courthouse in ______,
Missouri, on ______, the ______ day of ______,
20______, and continuing from day to day
thereafter, to satisfy the judgment as to each
respective parcel of real estate sold. If no
acceptable bids are received as to any parcel
of real estate, said parcel shall be sold to
the Land Trust of ______ (insert name of
County), Missouri or Land Bank of the City of
______ (insert name of municipality),
Missouri.

Any bid received shall be subject to
confirmation by the court.

__________________
Sheriff of _____
County, Missouri

__________________
Delinquent Land Tax
Attorney

Address: ______
First Publication ______, 20______

52
141.550. 1. The sale shall be conducted, the
sheriff's return thereof made, and the sheriff's deed
pursuant to the sale executed, all as provided in the case
of sales of real estate taken under execution, except as
otherwise provided in sections 141.210 to 141.810 and
sections 141.980 to 141.1015, and provided that such sale
need not occur during the term of court or while the court
is in session.
2. The following provisions shall apply to any sale
pursuant to this section:
(1) The sale shall be held on the day for which it is
advertised, between the hours of nine o'clock a.m. and five
o'clock p.m. and continued day to day thereafter to satisfy
the judgment as to each respective parcel of real estate
sold. For partial opt-in counties, the sale shall be held
on the fourth Monday in August of each year between the
hours of nine o'clock a.m. and five o'clock p.m. and
continued day to day thereafter to satisfy the judgment as
to each respective parcel of real estate sold;
(2) The sale shall be conducted publicly, by auction,
for ready money. The parcel shall be sold to the highest
bidder, provided that the highest bid is equal to or greater
than the full amount of all tax bills due and owing on the
parcel, which may differ from the judgment amount; plus
interest; penalties; attorney's fees and costs; and a
nonreimbursable, two-hundred-dollar bidder fee. Such bidder
fee shall be paid to the land trust or land bank agency for
the municipality or county in which the parcel is situated.
The bid amount shall not include any amounts for debts owed
to any sewer district then due thereon;
(3) No person shall be eligible to bid at the time of
the sale unless such person has, no later than ten days
before the sale date, demonstrated to the satisfaction of

53
the official charged by law with conducting the sale that he
or she is not the owner of any parcel of real estate in the
county which is affected by a tax bill which has been
delinquent for more than six months. A prospective bidder
may make such a demonstration by presenting statements from
the appropriate collection officials of the county. The
official charged with conducting the sale may require
prospective bidders to submit an affidavit attesting to the
requirements of this subdivision and is expressly authorized
to permanently preclude any prospective bidder from
participating in the sale for failure to comply with the
provisions of this subdivision; and
(4) No foreign or domestic corporation or limited
liability company that has failed to appoint or maintain a
registered agent under chapter 347 or 351 shall be eligible
to bid at the time of the sale. No foreign corporate entity
shall be eligible to bid at the time of the sale unless it
has a certificate of authority to transact business in
Missouri under section 351.572. The official charged with
conducting the sale may require prospective bidders to
submit an affidavit attesting to the requirements of this
subdivision and is expressly authorized to permanently
preclude any prospective bidder from participating in the
sale for failure to comply with the provisions of this
subdivision.
3. The following provisions shall apply to any sale
under this section of property located within any
municipality contained wholly or partially within a county
with a population of over six hundred thousand inhabitants
and fewer than nine hundred thousand inhabitants:
(1) No person shall be eligible to bid at the time of
the sale unless such person has, no later than ten days
before the sale date, demonstrated to the satisfaction of

54
the official charged by law with conducting the sale that
the person is not the owner of any parcel of real property
with two or more violations of the municipality's building
or housing codes. A prospective bidder may make such a
demonstration by presenting statements from the appropriate
code enforcement officials of the municipality; and
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (1)
of this subsection, any taxing authority or land bank agency
shall be eligible to bid at the sale without making the
demonstration described in subdivision (1) of this
subsection.
4. Such sale shall convey the whole interest of every
person having or claiming any right, title or interest in or
lien upon such real estate, whether such person has answered
or not, subject to rights-of-way thereon of public utilities
upon which tax has been otherwise paid, and subject to the
lien thereon, if any, of the United States of America.
5. The collector shall advance the sums necessary to
pay for the publication of all advertisements required by
sections 141.210 to 141.810 and sections 141.980 to 141.1015
and shall be allowed credit therefor in the collector's
accounts with the county. The collector shall give credit
in such accounts for all such advances recovered by the
collector. Such expenses of publication shall be
apportioned pro rata among and taxed as costs against the
respective parcels of real estate described in the judgment;
provided, however, that none of the costs herein enumerated,
including the costs of publication, shall constitute any
lien upon the real estate after such sale.
141.560. 1. If, when the sheriff offers the
respective parcels of real estate for sale, there [be] are
no bidders for any parcel, or there [be] is insufficient
time or opportunity to sell all of the parcels of real

55
estate so advertised, the sheriff shall adjourn such sale
from day to day at the same place and commencing at the same
hour as when first offered and shall announce that such real
estate will be offered or reoffered for sale at such time
and place.
2. With respect to any parcel of real estate not
located wholly within a county or municipality that has
established a land bank agency under section 140.981 or
141.980, in the event no bid equal to the full amount of all
tax bills due and owing on the parcel, which may differ
from the judgment amount; plus interest; penalties;
attorney's fees and costs; and a nonreimbursable, two-
hundred-dollar bidder fee that shall be received at such
sale after any parcel of real estate has been offered for
sale on three different days, which need not be successive,
the land trust shall be deemed to have bid the full amount
of all tax bills included in the judgment, interest,
penalties, attorney's fees and costs then due, and if no
other bid be then received by the sheriff in excess of the
bid of the land trust, and the sheriff shall so announce at
the sale, then the bid of the land trust shall be announced
as accepted. The sheriff shall report any such bid or bids
so made by the land trust in the same way as the sheriff's
report of other bids is made. Upon confirmation by the
court of such bid at such sale by such land trust, the
collector shall mark the tax bills so bid by the land trust
as "cancelled by sale to the land trust" and shall take
credit for the full amount of such tax bills, including
principal amount, interest, penalties, attorney's fees, and
costs, on the collector's books and in the collector's
statements with any other taxing authorities.
3. With respect to any parcel of real estate located
wholly within a county or municipality that has established

56
a land bank agency under section 140.981 or 141.980, in the
event no bid equal to the full amount of all tax bills due
and owing on the parcel, which may differ from the judgment
amount; plus interest; penalties; attorney's fees and costs;
and a nonreimbursable, two-hundred-dollar bidder fee that
shall be received at such sale after such parcel of real
estate has been offered for sale on three different days,
which need not be successive, the land bank agency
established under section 140.981 or 141.980 shall be deemed
to have bid the full amount of all tax bills included in the
judgment, interest, penalties, attorney's fees and costs
then due, and the sheriff shall so announce at the sale,
then the bid of the land bank agency shall be announced as
accepted. The sheriff shall report any such bid or bids so
made by such land bank agency in the same way as the
sheriff's report of other bids is made. Upon confirmation
by the court of such bid at such sale by such land bank
agency, the collector shall mark the tax bills so bid by
such land bank agency as "cancelled by sale to the land
bank" and shall take credit for the full amount of such tax
bills, including principal amount, interest, penalties,
attorney's fees, and costs, on the collector's books and in
the collector's statements with any other taxing authorities.
141.570. The title to any real estate which shall vest
in any purchaser[,] upon confirmation of such sale by the
court, or in any land bank agency or land trust, shall be an
absolute estate in fee simple, subject to rights-of-way
thereon of public utilities on which tax has been otherwise
paid, and subject to any lien thereon of the United States
of America, if any, and all persons and interested parties,
including the state of Missouri, any taxing authority or tax
district, as defined herein, judgment creditors,
lienholders, infants, incapacitated and disabled persons as

57
defined in chapter 475, and nonresidents who may have had
any right, title, interest, claim, or equity of redemption
in or to, or lien upon, such lands, shall be barred and
forever foreclosed of all such right, title, interest,
claim, lien or equity of redemption, and the court shall
order immediate possession of such real estate be given to
such purchaser; provided, however, that such title shall
also be subject to the liens of any tax bills which may have
attached after the sheriff's sale, but if such parcel of
real estate is deemed sold to the land trust pursuant to
subsection 2 of section 141.560, or deemed sold to a land
bank agency pursuant to subsection 3 of section 141.560, or
sold to a land bank agency pursuant to subdivision (2) of
subsection 2 of section 141.550, the title thereto shall be
free of any such liens to the extent of the interest of any
taxing authority in such real estate; provided further, that
the lien of special tax bills shall attach to the proceeds
of the sheriff's sale, if any, or shall otherwise be forever
barred and foreclosed.
141.580. 1. Within six months after the sheriff sells
any parcel of real estate, the court shall, upon its own
motion or upon motion of any interested party, set the cause
[down] for hearing to confirm or set aside the foreclosure
sale thereof, even though such parcels are not all of the
parcels of real estate described in the notice of sheriff's
foreclosure sale. Notice of the hearing, or of the court
moving to confirm the foreclosure sale, shall be sent by any
interested party to each person who was sent notice of the
sale and to any interested parties as required by prevailing
notions of due process. At the time of such hearing, the
sheriff shall make report of the sale, and the court shall
hear evidence of the value of the property offered on behalf
of any interested party to the suit, and shall forthwith

58
determine whether an adequate consideration has been paid
for each such parcel. The court's judgment shall include a
specific finding that adequate notice was provided to all
interested parties under prevailing notions of due process
and sections 141.210 to 141.810 and sections 141.980 to
141.1015, reciting the notice efforts of the collector,
sheriff, and tax sale purchaser. Nothing in this section
shall be interpreted to preclude a successful tax sale
purchaser from asserting a claim to quiet title to the bid-
upon parcel under section 527.150.
2. For this purpose the court shall have power to
summon any city or county official or any private person to
testify as to the reasonable value of the property, and if
the court finds that adequate consideration has been paid,
the court shall confirm the sale and order the sheriff to
issue a deed to the purchaser. If the court finds that the
consideration paid is inadequate, the court shall confirm
the sale if the purchaser increases the purchaser's bid to
such amount as the court deems to be adequate and makes such
additional payment, or if all tax bills included in the
judgment, interest, penalties, attorney's fees and costs
then due thereon are not paid in full by one or more
interested parties to the suit. If the court finds that the
consideration is inadequate, but the purchaser declines to
increase the purchaser's bid to such amount as the court
deems adequate and make such additional payment, then the
sale shall be disapproved if all tax bills included in the
judgment, interest, penalties, attorney's fees and costs
then due thereon are paid in full by one or more interested
parties to the suit, the lien of the judgment continued, and
such parcel of real estate shall be again advertised and
offered for sale by the sheriff to the highest bidder at
public auction for cash at any subsequent sheriff's

59
foreclosure sale. Unless the court requires evidence of the
value of the property conveyed to land trust or a land bank
agency, none shall be required, and the amount bid by the
land trust or such land bank agency shall be deemed adequate
consideration.
3. If the sale is confirmed, the court shall order the
proceeds [of] from the sale applied in the following order:
(1) To the payment of the costs of the publication of
the notice of foreclosure and of the sheriff's foreclosure
sale;
(2) To the payment of all of the collector's and
sheriff's costs including appraiser's fee and attorney's
fees;
(3) To the payment of all tax bills adjudged to be due
in the order of their priority, including principal,
interest and penalties thereon, except in the event of a
sale to any land bank agency, for which this subdivision
shall not apply.
If, after such payment, there is any sum remaining of
the proceeds of the sheriff's foreclosure sale, the court
shall thereupon try and determine the other issues in the
suit in accordance with section 141.480. If any answering
parties have specially appealed as provided in section
141.570, the court shall retain the custody of such funds
pending disposition of such appeal, and upon disposition of
such appeal shall make such distribution. If there are not
sufficient proceeds of the sale to pay all claims in any
class described, the court shall order the same to be paid
pro rata in accordance with the priorities.
4. If there are any funds remaining of the proceeds
after the sheriff's sale and after the distribution of such
funds as herein set out and no person entitled to any such
funds, whether or not a party to the suit, shall, within two

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years after such sale, appear and claim the funds, the funds
shall be distributed to the appropriate taxing authorities,
except in partial opt-in counties, where the funds shall be
distributed to the school fund for the county.
5. Any county operating under the provisions of
sections 141.210 to 141.810 and sections 141.980 to 141.1015
may elect to allocate a portion of its share of the proceeds
toward a fund for the purpose of defending against claims
challenging the sufficiency of notice provisions under this
section.
6. Any interested party, other than the sheriff's sale
purchaser, who moves the court to set aside a sheriff's sale
after the issuance of a sheriff's deed made under the
provisions of sections 141.210 to 141.810 and sections
141.980 to 141.1015 shall be required to pay into the court
the redemption amount otherwise necessary under sections
141.420 and 141.530 prior to the court hearing any such
motion to set aside.
141.610. Each court administrator's or sheriff's deed
given pursuant to the provisions of the land tax collection
law shall be prima facie evidence that the suit and all
proceedings therein and all proceedings prior thereto[ from
and], including assessment of the lands affected thereby and
all notices required by law were regular and in accordance
with all provisions of the law relating thereto. The court
administrator or sheriff shall record its deed and shall
collect said recording fee at the time of sale.
141.620. 1. In addition to all amounts due on any tax
bill, including principal, interest, penalties, attorney's
fees, and costs, as now fixed by law, there shall be imposed
and charged as a part of the costs on each such tax bill a
suit penalty of five percent of the principal amount of the

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tax bill to be due to the collector upon the filing of the
petition with the circuit clerk.
2. The collector shall set up a separate fund in the
collector's accounts to which the collector shall credit
such five percent suit penalties when paid, together with
all other penalties and costs recovered under this action,
and shall retain such portion thereof as may be needed for
the purpose of paying the expenses and costs required to be
advanced under sections 141.210 to 141.810, including
compensation to the delinquent land tax attorney, the
attorney's assistants, and stenographic and clerical help,
and funds for the costs of publication, notices, for court
costs, sheriff's expenses and other costs hereunder, and
shall transfer the remainder of such funds annually, on
January first of each year, to the land trust for the use
and expenses of the land trust. Where no land trust exists,
the collector shall retain the remainder of such funds.
141.680. 1. Except for partial opt-in counties, the
remedies and procedures set forth in sections 141.210 to
141.810 shall be the exclusive remedies and procedures
available for the collection of delinquent and back land
taxes in a county [electing] that elect to come under or
[which] that has come under their authority. Sections
141.210 to 141.810 shall not be affected nor infringed upon
by any other laws or parts of law in conflict herewith.
2. Any taxing authority or owner of any tax bill is
hereby prohibited from advertising for sale or selling any
parcel of real estate for the collection of delinquent land
taxes due thereon, except after judgment of a court having
jurisdiction ordering such advertising or sale, when such
parcel is at such time included in any petition filed
pursuant to the provisions of this law.

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3. At the option of the taxing authority or tax bill
owner, all claims for land taxes against any parcel of real
estate, which has been included in any petition filed under
this law, where such taxes have become due and payable after
any tax list or petition thereon has been filed, may be
asserted by amended petition or by answer filed before
judgment, and, if allowed by the court, shall be included in
the judgment against such parcel of real estate.
141.700. In all counties electing to operate under
sections 141.210 to 141.810 prior to January 1, 2025, there
is hereby created a commission for the management, sale, and
other disposition of tax delinquent lands, which commission
shall be known as "The Land Trust of ______ County,
Missouri", and the members thereof shall be known as land
trustees. Such land trust shall have and exercise all the
powers that are conferred by sections 141.210 to 141.810
necessary and incidental to the effective management, sale
or other disposition of real estate acquired under and by
virtue of the foreclosure of the lien for delinquent real
estate taxes, as provided in said sections, and in the
exercise of such powers, the land trust shall be deemed to
be a public corporation acting in a governmental capacity.
Where a county has elected to establish a land bank agency
under subsection 1 of section 140.981, no such land trust
shall be created under sections 141.700 to 141.810.
141.819. 1. In all partial opt-in counties, prior to
a confirmation by a court of a deemed bid under subsection 2
of section 141.560, a land trust shall be created for the
management, sale, and other disposition of tax delinquent
lands, which shall be known as "The Land Trust of ______
County, Missouri", and the board of which shall be known as
land trustees. The county commission of such county shall
appoint by resolution or order one or three land trustees.

63
The first appointed land trustee shall serve for a term of
two years and the remaining land trustees shall serve for
terms of three years respectively, as applicable.
Thereafter, land trustees shall be appointed by the county
commission for a term of office of two years, except that
all vacancies shall be filled for an unexpired term.
2. If a county elected to establish a land bank agency
under subsection 1 of section 140.981, no such land trust
shall be created under sections 141.700 to 141.819.
3. Such land trust, by majority vote of the land
trustees, shall have the power and duty to sell, exchange,
or otherwise dispose of real estate, provided, however, that
any such sale, exchange, or disposal shall be for
consideration equal to or in excess of two-thirds of the
appraised value of such real estate so sold or conveyed, and
if such consideration is less than two-thirds of the
appraised value of such real estate, the land trust shall
first procure a majority vote of the county commission.
4. (1) The land trust shall set up accounts relating
to the operation and management of the land trust.
(2) When any parcel of real estate is sold or
otherwise disposed of by the land trust, the proceeds
therefrom shall be applied and distributed in the following
order:
(a) To the payment of the expenses of sale;
(b) To the costs of the care, improvement, operation,
acquisition, demolition, management, and administration of
parcels of real estate owned by the land trust; and
(c) To the county's general fund.
5. No land trustee shall receive any compensation,
emolument, or other profit directly or indirectly from the
rental, management, acquisition, sale, demolition, repair,

64
rehabilitation, use, operation, ownership, or disposition of
any lands held by such land trust.
141.980. 1. (1) Sections 141.980 to 141.1015 shall
be known [and may be cited] as the "Chapter 141 Municipal
Land Bank Act".
(2) Any municipality located wholly or partially
within a county electing to operate wholly under the
provisions of sections 141.210 to 141.810 may establish a
land bank agency for the management, sale, transfer, and
other disposition of interests in real estate owned by such
land bank agency. Any such land bank agency created shall
be created to foster the public purpose of returning land,
including land that is in a nonrevenue-generating, nontax-
producing status to use in private ownership or for public
use. Such land bank agency shall be established by
ordinance or resolution as applicable. Such land bank
agency shall not own any interest in real estate that is
located wholly or partially outside such establishing
municipality. No municipality in a partial opt-in county is
eligible to establish a land bank agency under this section.
2. The beneficiaries of the land bank agency shall be
the taxing authorities that held or owned tax bills against
the respective parcels of real estate acquired by such land
bank agency pursuant to a deemed sale under subsection 3 of
section 141.560, by deed from a land trust under subsection
1 of section 141.984, or pursuant to a sale under
subdivision (2) of subsection 2 of section 141.550 included
in the judgment of the court, and the beneficiaries'
respective interests in each parcel of real estate shall be
to the extent and in the proportion and according to the
priorities determined by the court on the basis that the
principal amount of the beneficiaries' respective tax bills

65
bore to the total principal amount of all of the tax bills
described in the judgment.
3. Each land bank agency created pursuant to this
chapter shall be a public body corporate and politic, and
shall have permanent and perpetual duration until terminated
and dissolved in accordance with the provisions of section
141.1012.
141.984. 1. Within one year of the effective date of
the ordinance or resolution passed establishing a land bank
agency under this chapter, title to any real property held
by a land trust created pursuant to section 141.700 that is
located wholly within the municipality that created the land
bank agency shall be transferred by deed to such land bank
agency.
2. The income of a land bank agency shall be exempt
from all taxation by the state and by any of its political
subdivisions. Upon acquiring title to any real estate, a
land bank agency shall immediately notify the county
assessor and the collector of such ownership, and such real
estate shall be exempt from all taxation during the land
bank agency's ownership thereof, in the same manner and to
the same extent as any other publicly owned real estate, and
upon the sale or other disposition of any real estate held
by it, such land bank agency shall immediately notify the
county assessor and the collector of such change of
ownership; provided however, that such tax exemption for
improved and occupied real property held by such land bank
agency as lessor pursuant to a ground lease shall terminate
upon the first such occupancy, and such land bank agency
shall immediately notify the county assessor and the
collector of such occupancy.
3. Subject to the limitation set forth in subsection 1
of section 141.980, a land bank agency may acquire real

66
property or interests in property by gift, devise, transfer,
exchange, foreclosure, purchase, or [pursuant to sections
141.560 to 141.580 or section 141.819. A land bank agency
may only purchase real property for the purpose of adding to
a parcel already owned by the land bank agency] or otherwise
on terms and conditions and in a manner the land bank agency
considers proper.
4. Subject to the limitation set forth in subsection 1
of section 141.980, a land bank agency may acquire property
by purchase contracts, installment sales contracts, and land
contacts, and may accept transfers from political
subdivisions upon such terms and conditions as agreed to by
the land bank agency and the political subdivision. Subject
to the limitation set forth in subsection 1 of section
141.980, a land bank agency may bid on any parcel of real
estate offered for sale at a sheriff's foreclosure sale held
in accordance with section 141.550. Notwithstanding any
other law to the contrary, but subject to the limitation set
forth in subsection 1 of section 141.980, any political
subdivision may transfer to the land bank agency real
property and interests in real property of the political
subdivision on such terms and conditions and according to
such procedures as determined by the political subdivision.
5. A land bank agency shall maintain all of its real
property in accordance with the laws and ordinances of the
jurisdictions in which the real property is located.
6. Upon confirmation under section 141.580 of a
sheriff's foreclosure sale of a parcel of real estate to a
land bank agency under subdivision (2) of subsection 2 of
section 141.550, said land bank agency shall pay the amount
of the land bank agency's bid that exceeds the amount of all
tax bills included in the judgment, interest, penalties,
attorney's fees and costs then due thereon. Such excess

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shall be applied and distributed in accordance with
subsections 3 and 4 of section 141.580, exclusive of
subdivision (3) of subsection 3 thereof. Upon such
confirmation by the court, the collector shall mark the tax
bills included in the judgment as "cancelled by sale to the
land bank" and shall take credit for the full amount of such
tax bills, including principal amount, interest, penalties,
attorney's fees, and costs, on the collector's books and in
the collector's statements with any other taxing authorities.
141.1009. 1. A land bank agency shall be authorized
to file an action to quiet title pursuant to section 527.150
as to any real property in which the land bank agency has an
interest. For purposes of any and all such actions, the
land bank agency shall be deemed to be the holder of
sufficient legal and equitable interests, and possessory
rights, so as to qualify the land bank agency as adequate
petitioner in such action.
2. Prior to the filing of an action to quiet title the
land bank agency shall conduct an examination of title to
determine the identity of any and all persons and entities
possessing a claim or interest in or to the real property.
Service of the petition to quiet title shall be provided to
all such interested parties by the following methods:
(1) Registered or certified mail to such identity and
address as reasonably ascertainable by an inspection of
public records;
(2) In the case of occupied real property by first
class mail, addressed to "Occupant";
(3) By posting a copy of the notice on the real
property;
(4) By publication in a newspaper of general
circulation in the municipality in which the property is
located; and

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(5) Such other methods as the court may order or as
may be required by prevailing notions of due process.
3. As part of the petition to quiet title the land
bank agency shall file an affidavit identifying all parties
potentially having an interest in the real property, and the
form of notice provided.
4. The court shall schedule a hearing on the petition
within ninety days following filing of the petition, and as
to all matters upon which an answer was not filed by an
interested party the court shall issue its final judgment
within one hundred twenty days of the filing of the petition.
5. A land bank agency shall be authorized to join in a
single petition to quiet title one or more parcels of real
property.
141.1020. Notwithstanding any provision of sections
141.980 to 141.1020 to the contrary, a land bank agency may
rent or lease property held by the land bank agency for
community, noncommercial, and agricultural uses.
249.255. 1. Should a public sewer district created
and organized pursuant to constitutional or statutory
authority place a lien upon a customer's property for unpaid
sewer charges, the lien, once properly recorded, shall have
priority above all liens except for those taxes levied for
state and county purposes.
2. Should the sewer charges of a public sewer district
created and organized pursuant to constitutional or
statutory authority remain unpaid for a period in excess of
three months, the district, after notice to the customer by
certified mail, shall have the authority at its discretion,
to disconnect the customer's sewer line from the district's
line or request any private water company, public water
supply district, or any municipality supplying water to the
premises to discontinue service to the customer until such

69
time as the sewer charges and all related costs of this
section are paid.