Florida Statute 197.592 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title XIV
TAXATION AND FINANCE

Chapter 197
TAX COLLECTIONS, SALES, AND LIENS

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197.592 County delinquent tax lands; method and procedure for sale by county; certain lands conveyed to municipalities; extinction of liens.—

(1) Lands acquired by any county of the state for delinquent taxes in accordance with law which have not been previously sold or dedicated by the board of county commissioners may, at its discretion, be conveyed to the record fee simple owner of such lands as of the date the county obtained title to the lands. However, before any conveyance shall be made, the former owner of the lands may file with the board of county commissioners a verified written application which shall show:

(a) The description of the lands for which a conveyance is sought;

(b) The name and address of the former owner;

(d) The price of the lands as previously fixed by resolution of the board of county commissioners, if this has been done;

(e) The use to which the lands were enjoyed by the record fee simple owner at the time of acquisition by the county;

(f) A brief statement of the facts and circumstances upon which the former owner bases the request for restitution of the described property;

(g) An offer to pay an amount equal to all taxes, including municipal taxes and liens, if any, which had become delinquent, together with interest and costs provided by law.

(2) In the event the described lands have not been assessed for taxes for the current year in which the petition is filed, the applicant shall pay, in addition, the taxes for current and omitted years, the latter amount to be determined by applicable millage for the omitted years and based on the last assessment of the described lands.

(3) Lands acquired by any county of the state for delinquent taxes in accordance with law which have not been previously sold, acquired for infill housing, or dedicated by the board of county commissioners, which the board of county commissioners has determined are not to be conveyed to the record fee simple owner in accordance with the provisions of subsections (1) and (2), and which are located within the boundaries of an incorporated municipality of the county shall be conveyed to the governing board of the municipality in which the land is located. Such lands conveyed to the municipality shall be freely alienable to the municipality without regard to third parties. Liens of record held by the county on such parcels conveyed to a municipality shall not survive the conveyance of the property to the municipality.

(4) Liens of record held by the county upon lands not conveyed in accordance with subsections (1) and (2) or subsection (3) shall not survive the conveyance of the property to the county.

History.—s. 1, ch. 22870, 1945; ss. 1, 2, ch. 69-55; s. 1, ch. 72-268; s. 23, ch. 73-332; s. 197, ch. 85-342; s. 7, ch. 86-141; s. 6, ch. 99-190.

Note.—Former ss. 194.471, 197.655, 197.302.

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Amendments to 197.592

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 197.592

Total Results: 1 | Sort by: Relevance | Newest First

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Ago (Fla. Att'y Gen. 2006).

Published | Florida Attorney General Reports

...Newton: On behalf of the Broward County Board of County Commissioners, you ask the following questions: 1. May the Broward County Board of County Commissioners retain and use land it acquires for delinquent taxes to construct affordable infill housing, in light of section 197.592 (3), Florida Statutes? 2. Does the adoption of a policy and implementation of a program by Broward County for affordable infill housing satisfy the provision in section 197.592 (3), Florida Statutes, that property acquired by the county for delinquent taxes is "acquired for infill housing" or "dedicated by the board of county commissioners," thereby avoiding the requirement that the county convey the subject...

...a policy to promote affordable housing through a program to build infill housing on property it has acquired for delinquent taxes. You state that the program relies upon the ability of the county to retain and use land acquired by the county through section 197.592 , Florida Statutes. Section 197.592 , Florida Statutes, provides a procedure for the county to sell lands it has acquired for delinquent taxes....

...icipality may not be coerced into using the conveyed property for infill housing where the statute does not impose such a condition. The statute does not limit the purposes for which a municipality may use property acquired through the procedures in section 197.592 , Florida Statutes, and it is beyond the authority of this office to add words of limitation to the statute....

..., any other purpose for which the county might dedicate the property. Accordingly, the county's adoption of a policy that property acquired by the county through delinquent taxes be used for infill housing would appear to fulfill the requirements of section 197.592 , Florida Statutes, should the county undertake such development. However, the county may not condition conveyance of property to a municipality under section 197.592 in order to fulfill the statute's requirement that the county acquire the property for infill housing. Sincerely, Charlie Crist Attorney General CC/tls 1 Section 197.592 (1), Fla....

...2 See Senate Staff Analysis and Economic Impact Statement, SB 1534 (Ch. 99-190), April 4, 1999, stating that before the amendment, "[p]roperty not sold, dedicated by the county, or conveyed to the previous owner, if located in a municipality, must be conveyed to that municipality." Section 8 of the bill amended s. 197.592 (3), Fla....

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