What You Need to Know:

• The New Jersey Appellate Division confirmed the procedures that tax certificate holders must take to foreclose immediately under the Abandoned Properties Rehabilitation Act (APRA).
• Abandonment may be established through a municipal certification or by proof presented to the trial court, either of which can satisfy the statutory requirements.
• A valid municipal abandonment certification must meet the criteria set forth in N.J.S.A. 55:19-81, including findings related to habitability, safety hazards, lack of rehabilitation, and impact on surrounding properties.
• Unsupported, self-serving statements from a property owner are insufficient to overcome credible evidence demonstrating abandonment.

Background: Tax Foreclosure Under Abandoned Property Law in New Jersey

In Beggars Tomb, LLC v. Block 333.01, 20226 N.J. Unpub. LEXIS 112 (N.J. App Div. January 23, 2026), the New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed the trial court’s decision that a tax sale certificate holder was entitled to foreclose immediately on the tax deficiency property as it was deemed abandoned under N.J.S.A. 55:19-81, New Jersey’s recent amendment to its tax sale laws to address blighted properties.

Key Facts Supporting the Finding of Property Abandonment

Defendant, Cherry Hill Acquisitions, LLC (“CHA”) purchased a vacant and dilapidated building in 2010. Over the course of the next decade, Cherry Hill Township (the “Township”) issued forty-nine property maintenance violations to CHA on the property. Despite the violations, CHA failed to remediate the hazardous conditions on the property or even secure it from squatters. Eventually, the Township disconnected gas and electric service to the building in 2021. In 2022, a sewerage leak originated from the private sewerage pump on CHA’s property, requiring the Township to install a new sewerage pump and engage in ongoing monitoring and wastewater removal at a cost of $122,305.47.

In 2022, CHA failed to pay its property taxes and in June 2022, the Township sold a tax sale certificate in the amount of $83,631.73. Plaintiff, Beggars Tomb LLC (“Beggars”) acquired the certificate from the entity who purchased it from the Township. Beggars then served CHA with the requisite pre-foreclosure notice in January 2023 and brought a foreclosure complaint in accordance with the Abandoned Properties Rehabilitation Act (“APRA”),  N.J.S.A. 55:19-78 et. seq. The APRA allows tax certificate holders and municipalities to forego the two-year waiting period to foreclose on a property set forth in N.J.S.A. 54:5-86 and to immediately foreclose on abandoned properties. The goal of the APRA is to address towns being overcome with blighted neighborhoods due to properties being abandoned and left to deteriorate. See N.J.S.A. 55:19-79; Kearney v. Terrace, 2021 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 2984, at *9 (Super. Ct. App. Div. Dec. 9, 2021).

Beggars supported its claim that the property was abandoned with: (1) “Notice of Unsafe Structure” issued by the Township, (2) an engineering report from the Township with photographs of the property, (3) a May 19, 2023, abandoned property certification from the Township, and (4) abandoned property report from a private inspector. Default judgment was entered on September 11, 2023, in favor of Beggars in the amount of $214,759.20 and vested title in Beggars.

On October 18, 2023, CHA moved to vacate the default judgment, which the trial court granted conditioned on CHA paying Beggars $22,289.44 in expenses Beggars incurred installing electrical service, repairing the sewerage pipe, and abating hazardous conditions. CHA made the payment. Beggars then filed an amended foreclosure complaint.

At the close of discovery, Beggars moved for summary judgment and CHA cross-moved for the return of the $22,289.44 it paid. The trial court granted summary judgment to Beggars finding that there were no disputed material facts as to the property’s abandonment and dismissed CHA’s cross-motion.

How the New Jersey Appellate Division Addressed Proof of Abandonment Under the APRA

On appeal, the Court first noted that the APRA was intended to provide local governments with a means to rehabilitate abandoned properties and prevent blight by removing the two-year waiting period for commencing a tax foreclosure where the property is abandoned. The Court then noted that there were two ways to establish abandonment: (1) providing a municipal determination the property was abandoned or (2) demonstrating abandonment to the trial court’s satisfaction. Beggars relied primarily on the Township’s certification as to the abandoned property. The Court found that certification met the standards set forth in N.J.S.A. 55:19-81 in that it stated that the property: (1) was one in need of rehabilitation and no rehabilitation had taken place for at least six months , (2) was unfit for habitation, occupancy or use, (3) was subject to unauthorized entry that could result in health and safety hazards, (4) created health and safety hazards, and (5) materially affected the welfare of the resident in close proximity to it. It then rejected CHA’s unsupported assertions that the property was not abandoned, noting they were no more than self-serving statements of its registered agent. Finally, it found that CHA made no attempt to redeem the tax sale certificate before final judgment was entered.

Practical Takeaways for Tax Certificate Holders and Municipalities

While the facts in this case are clear-cut, it does provide an excellent primer for how to proceed with a tax foreclosure on an abandoned property in New Jersey. It also shows the effectiveness of the APRA in addressing properties that have been deteriorating for years or even decades in the case here.