The risks of not paying your municipal taxes

You haven’t paid your municipal taxes? Few people know that this negligence can lead to serious consequences, up to and including the sale of your property at auction.

• Also read: [VIDÉOS] Julien Bournival-Vaugeois comes close to bankruptcy: the masculinist influencer is drowning in debts of $1.4 million

The little-known process of selling for non-payment of municipal taxes is brought to the forefront from time to time, with high-profile cases, such as that of masculinist influencer Julien Bournival-Vaugeois, who is riddled with debt ( see table).

“Thousands” of owners do not pay their taxes in Quebec each year, notes the director of the billing and collection section of the city’s finances, Sophie Lajeunesse.

Regulated by law

Under the Cities and Towns Act, the City can sell the properties of bad payers to recover the amounts owed to it. The goal is to ensure “sound financial management of the City,” submits the Municipal Clerk, Julien Lefrançois.

Thus, many notices are sent to remind you that the account is overdue. Around the end of August, the “hundreds” of recalcitrants who have still not paid the bill find themselves on a public list accessible to all, with the amount of their unpaid taxes from previous years.

Many reviews

Those who appear there have received nearly ten opinions, informs Ms. Lajeunesse.

The City does not enter into a payment agreement, but it supports the owners. “We send notices, we communicate by telephone to explain the means available to them to avoid going to the sale.” As a last resort, we send a bailiff who delivers a communication by hand.

The list shrinks as payments are made by latecomers, and ends up counting only a few dozen properties on the day of the auction, says Mr. Lefrançois. These are mainly land, but in rare cases houses are found for sale. “We have never thrown a family onto the street” through this procedure, however, assures the clerk, who explains that, generally, the owners will make an agreement with their mortgage creditor.

Auction

The auction is sometimes very popular, especially when a house or condo is there. Who is participating in this sale? “It’s really diverse, there are people of all ages, couples, young entrepreneurs looking for a break,” illustrates Mr. Lefrançois.

This year, this sale will take place on November 27, at 10 a.m., at the Sainte-Foy–Sillery–Cap-Rouge borough office. Details surrounding the entire sales process for non-payment of taxes are available on the City of Quebec website.

Some cases that made the headlines

Julien Bournival-Vaugeois

The masculinist influencer who made headlines in particular for his participation in the documentary Alphas and his presence at Everyone is talking about it recently has been in default of paying his taxes for two years. Bournival-Vaugeois owes nearly $20,000 to Quebec City. If he does not pay this debt, his home will be put up for auction on November 27, according to a public notice issued by the City.

Stéphan Huot

Several properties of the bankrupt real estate developer found themselves in default of payment of taxes. Huot allegedly failed to pay $23,600 in municipal taxes on his Lebourgneuf mansion in 2023. Companies linked to the fallen developer owed a total of nearly $2 million to Quebec City in 2023 in unpaid taxes since 2020.

Eric Duhaime

The Journal revealed in 2022 that the leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec, Éric Duhaime, owed $14,000 in unpaid taxes for two buildings he owns in Quebec. The debt was paid in full after the reports were published.

The Mariner

The owner of the restaurant Le Marinier, which closed a few days before Christmas in 2023, owed more than $13,000 in unpaid municipal taxes to the City of Quebec at the end of August 2023. The hasty closure made headlines because the neighboring building had become a threat to public safety. At the time, the City of Quebec deplored the lack of maintenance by its owner, Yves Dorval, who also owns the building that housed Le Marinier. If taxes are not paid by then, both properties will be sold at auction on November 27.