Los Angeles County Tax-Default Property Auction — 2026

Office: County of Los Angeles Department of Treasurer and Tax Collector (Elizabeth Buenrostro Ginsberg, TTC)

Address: Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, 500 West Temple Street, Room 437, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Auction unit phone: 213.974.2045 · Email: auction@ttc.lacounty.gov

Website: https://ttc.lacounty.gov

Online only via GovEase. LA County moved off Bid4Assets — many investor blogs are still wrong about this.

LA County storefront: https://www.govease.com/los-angeles

GovEase Client Services: (769) 208-5050

2026A main sale: April 18, 2026, 3:00 PM PT → April 21, 2026, 12:00 PM PT

2026A follow-up (re-offer): June 6 → June 9, 2026

2026B (fall sale): Not yet announced. Historical pattern: October main sale + December re-offer. Board approval expected spring 2026.

Property list typically posted ~5 weeks before each sale.

Register at govease.com/los-angeles only — not with the County

2026A registration window: opens March 13, 2026; closes April 14, 2026 at 1:00 PM PT

Deposit: $5,000 or 10% of self-set spend limit, whichever is greater (rule changed between 2025A and 2025B — investors using old guides will get this wrong)

Accepted: bank wire, bank-issued money order, cashier's check, eCheck. No personal/business checks.

Full payment due 3 business days after auction close (2026A: April 24, 2026, 1:00 PM PT)

Wire transfer, bank money order, or cashier's check — sent to GovEase in MS, not the County

Default penalties: deposit forfeited, 5-year ban from CA tax sales (R&T § 3456), unpaid balance can go to Unsecured Tax Roll for seizure-and-sale collection

Plus: $0.55/$500 documentary transfer tax, $10 survey monument fee, applicable city transfer tax (Culver City, LA, Pomona, Redondo Beach, Santa Monica), upcoming year's secured property taxes

2025B: 949 parcels (10,845 parties noticed) — typical LA scale is 800–1,500 per sale, the largest in CA

Mix skews toward vacant land, sliver parcels, landlocked lots, small condos, improved residential

Min bid = redemption amount + costs of sale (R&T § 3698.5). Range: a few hundred dollars on slivers to $100K+ on improved parcels. Bid increment: $100

Owner redemption ends 5 PM PT the last business day before sale (April 17 for 2026A). California has no post-sale redemption right.

Fire-zone exclusion: LA pulled fire-impacted ZIP codes from recent sales — expect this in 2026

Surviving liens: PACE, weed/brush abatement, demolition liens, Mello-Roos, 1915 Bond Act, IRS liens (120-day federal redemption per IRC § 7425), easements

Rescission risk: Per R&T §§ 3725/3731, any party can petition Board of Supervisors to rescind within 12 months of tax deed execution. TTC explicitly recommends waiting a year before improving the property — major holding-cost implication

Excess proceeds: TTC mails notice within 90 days if surplus > $150. Claim deadline: 1 year from tax deed recording (R&T § 4675), no exceptions. Deeds record 60–70 days post-sale.

Platform unchanged (GovEase) — LA migrated off Bid4Assets in 2025

Deposit rule changed mid-2025: floor raised to $5,000 (or 10% of spend limit, whichever greater). Older guides citing pure 10% are now wrong

Two annual sales pattern continues (2026A spring + 2026B fall expected)

Don't register with the County. Registration happens only on govease.com/los-angeles

Don't show up in person. Auction is online only

Don't assume PACE/Mello-Roos liens get wiped — R&T § 3712 preserves them, plus 1915 Bond Act assessments and demolition liens

Don't improve the property within 12 months of the tax deed — rescission window is real

LA County Assessor portal: https://assessor.lacounty.gov/

Recorder/Clerk official records: https://www.lavote.gov/home/county-clerk

LA GIS Hub: https://geohub.lacity.org/

2026 GovEase auction page: https://www.govease.com/los-angeles

TTC schedule of upcoming auctions: https://ttc.lacounty.gov/schedule-of-upcoming-auctions/

Auction General Information: https://ttc.lacounty.gov/auction-general-information/

Notice of Auction or Sale: https://ttc.lacounty.gov/notice-of-auction-or-sale/

2025B Terms PDF (2026A terms publish ~March 2026): https://ttc.lacounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2025B-Terms-and-Conditions_Final.pdf

Excess proceeds info + claim form: https://ttc.lacounty.gov/notice-of-excess-proceeds/