In 2023, the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling that reaffirmed a basic constitutional principle: When the government seizes property, it cannot keep more than what it is owed.
And yet, until this month, it was still happening to California homeowners who fell behind on their property taxes.
When a homeowner becomes delinquent on their property taxes, local governments place a lien on the property for the amount owed. Before the Supreme Court’s 2023 Tyler v. Hennepin County ruling, that power often went much further. Some governments seized tax-delinquent properties, sold them at auction, and kept allthe proceeds—even after the tax debt was paid…