Hennepin County tax forfeited land — delinquent list and forfeited parcels
Hennepin County tax forfeited land is the end of a process that starts, for thousands of parcels a year, with a missed property tax payment. This page is built from the Hennepin County delinquent property tax list and the county's forfeited-land inventory as Govire collects them, matched to parcel records, and the numbers on it are dated.
Hennepin County tax forfeited land and delinquent taxes right now#
Figures as of September 16, 2026.
| Parcels tracked on the Hennepin County delinquent tax list | 4,114 |
| Still delinquent | 3,113 |
| Come off the list since first tracked | 1,001 (24%) |
| Parcels forfeited to the State of Minnesota | 185 |
| Forfeited parcels still held for sale | 180 |
Hennepin is the one Minnesota county where Govire can show the whole chain, from a parcel's first appearance on the delinquent list to its sale as forfeited land. The chain is steep. Of every hundred parcels that appear on the Hennepin County delinquent property tax list, roughly a quarter are off it again within the tracking period, and only a few ever reach forfeiture. The delinquent list is where the distress is; the forfeited list is where the inventory is; and they are separated by three years and a lot of paid tax bills.
Tax delinquent vs. tax forfeited in Hennepin County#
Tax delinquent means the owner has fallen behind on property taxes but still holds title. Interest and penalty accrue, the county publishes the parcel on the delinquent list under Minnesota Statute 279, and eventually a tax judgment is entered, but the owner can pay, or enter a confession-of-judgment payment plan, and keep the property for up to three years after the judgment under Statute 281.17. The 3,113 parcels above are at this stage. None of them is for sale.
Tax forfeited means the redemption period ran out with nothing paid and absolute title passed to the State of Minnesota. Hennepin County then holds the parcel as trustee and sells it under Statute 282. The 180 parcels above are at this stage. These are the ones a buyer can actually acquire.
A search for Hennepin County delinquent taxes and a search for Hennepin County tax forfeited property are searches for two different lists, three years apart. Govire shows both and labels which is which.
How a Hennepin County parcel becomes tax forfeited#
- Taxes go delinquent. Unpaid property tax becomes delinquent the following January and starts accruing penalty and interest. The county publishes the delinquent list.
- Tax judgment. The county takes the delinquent taxes to district court and a judgment is entered against the parcel, starting the redemption clock.
- Three-year redemption period. The owner can pay everything owed, or set up a payment plan, and keep the parcel. This is where most of the 3,113 parcels will resolve.
- Notice of expiration of redemption. Before the deadline the county serves and publishes notice. This is the last exit.
- Forfeiture. Title passes to the state. The parcel joins the 185.
- Sale. The county classifies, appraises and offers the parcel for sale. The parcel joins the 180 held, and leaves when someone buys it.
The whole path takes three to five years. A parcel on the Hennepin County delinquent tax list today is not a parcel for sale; it is a parcel whose owner is under pressure and has years of options left.
How Hennepin County tax forfeited land is sold#
Once a parcel has forfeited, the county's job is to get it back into private ownership and back on the tax rolls. Hennepin has historically sold forfeited parcels through public sales it schedules, with parcels that do not sell available afterward. Formats change, so confirm the current process with the county before relying on anything here. The inventory skews toward vacant lots, odd-shaped remnants and parcels with access or title complications; occasionally a usable or buildable lot appears, and those go fast.
Before bidding on any Hennepin County tax forfeited land:
- Research the parcel. Access, zoning, wetlands, easements, whether it is landlocked, and any conditions the county attaches to the sale.
- Check what survives. Forfeiture wipes most liens, but special assessments can be reinstated and some easements always survive.
- Read the appraisal. Since 2024 the county appraises with the former owner's surplus in mind; forfeited land no longer sells for the tax debt alone.
Tyler v. Hennepin County: the case that changed Minnesota forfeiture#
Hennepin County is where the law changed. Geraldine Tyler owed about $15,000 in taxes, penalties and interest on a Minneapolis condominium. The county forfeited it, sold it for $40,000, and kept everything. In 2023 the U.S. Supreme Court held unanimously in Tyler v. Hennepin County that keeping the $25,000 surplus was a taking without just compensation under the Fifth Amendment.
Minnesota rewrote its forfeiture statutes in 2024 so that a former owner is now entitled to the surplus when a forfeited parcel sells for more than the debt, and a $109 million settlement, given final approval in Ramsey County District Court in December 2024, covered owners whose property forfeited under the old rules. For a former Hennepin owner, forfeiture no longer erases equity and a claim process exists through the state; be wary of anyone offering to recover a surplus for a fee. For a buyer, it means the county now sells with the surplus in mind.
Tax forfeiture and foreclosure in the same county#
Hennepin runs both processes, and they are easy to confuse. Hennepin County foreclosures are disputes between an owner and a lender, ending at a sheriff's sale with a six-month redemption period, roughly a thousand a year. Tax forfeiture is between an owner and the county, ending in title passing to the state after a three-year redemption period. A parcel can be in both at once, and when Govire sees a Hennepin parcel on the delinquent tax list and the sheriff sale list together, that is the strongest distress signal the public record offers. In Minneapolis there is a third list, the city's vacant building registry, and a parcel on all three is rare and worth understanding.
Hennepin County tax forfeited land records: where the data comes from#
The figures on this page come from the Hennepin County delinquent property tax list published under Chapter 279 and the county's tax-forfeited land inventory, collected on a schedule and matched to Hennepin County parcel records. "Come off the list" means a parcel Govire tracked as delinquent that no longer appears on the county's current list; in most cases that is a paid bill, in a few it is forfeiture. Where Govire estimates rather than reads a figure, the page and the underlying record say so. Govire does not buy properties, does not recover surpluses, is not anyone's agent, and takes no part in any sale.
See current Hennepin County delinquent and tax-forfeited parcels →
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