Ontario Superior Court Upholds Property Sale Over Unpaid Municipal Taxes

Judge notes prior property owner didn’t challenge tax sale despite notice Following the tax sale of a residence after nonpayment of municipal property taxes, the Ontario Superior Court declared the purchaser as the registered owner, permitted it to issue a writ of possession, and ordered the occupants to vacate the property. Mako Group Inc. v. Riethmueller, 2026 ONSC 4616, revolved around a property on Ferguson Avenue, Temiskaming Shores, Ontario, previously owned by G. Riethmeuller, mother of P. Riethmueller, a respondent in this case. Due to unpaid municipal property taxes, the City of Temiskaming Shores planned to sell the property for tax arrears under Ontario’s Municipal Act, 2001. On Sept. 16, 2025, the day before the scheduled tax sale, P. Riethmueller moved urgently for an injunction to stop the tax sale based on hardship. That same day, Justice Robin Bellows issued a temporary injunction to halt the sale. On Sept. 24, 2025, Justice Bellows lifted the temporary injunction. Through a tax sale last Jan. 8, the applicant Mako Group Inc. bought the property from the city and registered it on the same date. The applicant could not take possession of the premises because the occupants – P. Riethmueller and her husband, who were the respondents in this case – refused to vacate. The respondents alleged that they, as vulnerable seniors who had treated the property as their home for many years, should not have to leave. The respondents also claimed that the tax sale was invalid. Allowing Mako Group’s application, the Ontario Superior Court granted the following relief: The Superior Court confirmed that a registered tax deed transferred the property to the applicant. According to the court, the applicant had the right to possession as the property’s legal owner. The court determined that G. Riethmueller, the property’s previous owner, failed to challenge the tax sale despite the notice given to her and to P. Riethmeuller as her representative. The court added that G. Riethmueller and P. Riethmeuller were both aware – through numerous demands to pay taxes and notices that the city planned to hold a tax sale if taxes remained unpaid – of the city’s steps in response to nonpayment of taxes. Regarding the respondents’ plan to appeal, Justice Susan Stothart opined that this intent should not delay the applicant’s requested relief, assuming that the occupants had standing to assail the tax sale of a property they had never owned. The court noted that 10 months had passed since Justice Bellows lifted the temporary injunction and that eight months had passed since the applicant became the property owner. In issuing an order for vacant possession, the Superior Court pointed to the property’s valid transfer on Jan. 8 and the respondents’ receipt of a demand for vacant possession on Feb. 10. The court added that the respondents continued to possess and occupy property they did not own despite the lack of any legal basis to do so. The Superior Court reiterated that the applicant deserved to possess property that they legally owned. The court noted that the respondents as occupants had received notice of the proceedings and enough time to pursue relief. Here are some other tax-related decisions by Ontario courts. On Sept. 12, 2025, the Superior Court denied a hotel association’s application to quash a by-law repealing prior by-laws establishing a municipal accommodation tax and extending its application to vacation rentals and bed and breakfast operations. On June 20, 2025, the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed a landlord’s main appeal upon rejecting its argument that the judge misdirected himself regarding the lease requirements, which required a “reasonable” allocation of taxes, not a “crisp, clear explanation.” Enjoy this story? Read the latest tax law news on the main page! The Canadian Legal Newswire is a FREE newslett