319.1 At the discretion of the Chief Financial Officer, any or all real properties bid back from a real property tax sale pursuant to § 47-1346 of the D.C. Official Code may be subject to sale pursuant to § 47-1353(a)(1) of the D.C. Official Code. This sale shall not provide for any reduction of taxes owed. The Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR), in its discretion, may exclude one or more bid back real properties from the portfolio of properties offered for sale.

319.2 Bid back real properties may be sold:

(a) On a one-by-one, first-come first-served basis; when so sold, no sooner than ten (10) business days after OTR publishes a list of bid backs for sale, a purchaser shall have first submitted a written offer, received by the Chief of the Assessment Services Division within OTR, clearly describing the real property by square suffix and lot, or parcel and lot, numbers; any offer shall only be deemed accepted by OTR after payment has been effectuated on the terms specified by OTR to that purchaser; or

(b) Through a sealed bid process for a single portfolio; when so sold, a list of all bid back real properties (described by square suffix and lot, or parcel and lot, numbers) purchased with corresponding tax owed, including accruals, shall have been posted to OTR's Web site; the sealed bid process shall continue with Subsections 319.3 through 319.9 of this section, below.

(c) This subsection shall not be construed to limit the use of other processes to sell bid backs as permitted by law, including sales to the District or an instrumentality thereof, to a non-profit, or at a discount sale.

319.3 All purchasers shall submit sealed bids within ten (10) business days from when the list is posted to OTR's Web site. The successful purchaser shall have bid to buy the greatest amount of taxes from the portfolio for which the properties were bid back from a real property tax sale, including accruals thereon to the date of award. The bid shall include a list of the real properties by Square, Suffix and Lot, or Parcel and Lot, including the corresponding tax owed for which each was bid back at a real property tax sale, including accruals thereon to the date of award.

319.4 Prior to or at the time of submission of his or her sealed bid, a bidder shall have registered with OTR on the form that OTR has devised, filed Form FR-500 (Combined Business Tax Registration Application), submitted a copy of Treas. Form W-9 (Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification), and provided a deposit by certified check or cashier's check payable to the D.C.

Treasurer that is five percent (5%) of the bid amount, not to exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000).

319.5 OTR shall evaluate the sealed bids within five (5) business days from the close of the sealed bid period. Notice of an award shall be provided to the successful tax sale purchaser that his or her sealed bid is accepted for those properties included in the sealed bid. Notice is deemed to be properly served when mailed, by first class mail, to the purchaser's address indicated on the registration form.

319.6 The successful tax sale purchaser shall pay, by certified check or cashier's check payable to the D.C. Treasurer, the balance of his or her bid within five (5) business days from when he or she is notified by OTR. If such payment is not timely received, the award shall be void. If the prior purchaser's bid shall become void, then the next highest bidder shall be awarded his or her bid. In such an event, he or she shall pay, by certified check or cashier's check payable to the D.C. Treasurer, the balance of his or her bid within five (5) business days from when he or she is notified by OTR. The foregoing process shall continue until a purchaser pays the balance of his or her purchase.

319.7 In the event that any purchaser's bid shall be awarded and then become void due to non-timely payment, that purchaser shall forfeit the amount of his or her deposit that represents the damages suffered by the District due to such non-performance. Damages shall be measured by the amount the defaulting purchaser's bid exceeds the amount of the fully paid bid of the successful purchaser.

319.8 Certificates of sale shall be delivered to the successful purchaser for those real properties purchased within the portfolio for the corresponding amount of taxes with accruals.

319.9 Bid back real properties not sold to the successful tax sale purchaser may be purchased on a one-by-one, first-come first-served basis by submitting offers to the Chief of the Assessment Service Division within OTR. A list of all properties not sold in an awarded bid shall be posted to OTR's Web site within ten (10) business days after an award is successfully finalized under 9 DCMR § 319.7 hereof.

319.10 When a certificate of sale is issued for real property sold or a certificate of sale is assigned pursuant to any provision in § 47-1353 of the D.C. Official Code, the four (4)-month period described in § 47-1377(b) of the D.C. Official Code shall be reduced by the number of days that shall have passed since the original or latest public tax sale to which the certificate of sale corresponds.

SOURCE: Regulation No. 74-35, effective December 12, 1974, published at 21 DCR 1643 (January 20, 1975); 16 Taxation and Assessments

DCRR §§ 129, 131; as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 48 DCR 11705 (December 28, 2001); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 57 DCR 11618 (December 3, 2010); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 58 DCR 2839 (April 1, 2011); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 62 DCR 14090 (October 30, 2015).