The parish took our family's house for taxes: what adjudicated property means in Louisiana

What does adjudicated property mean?

It means the parish or city holds the tax title to the property because the taxes went unpaid and nobody bought the property at the tax sale. Louisiana law calls that an adjudication to the political subdivision. The tax sale gives the buyer, or the parish, only a tax title for a period. Ownership passes for good only if the property is not redeemed in time. This is a general picture, not legal advice, and we are a home buyer, not a law firm or a tax service.

So "the parish took our house" is often only partly true. The name on the deed may not have changed yet, and you may still have a way back. How long that lasts is the question to answer first.

How is this different from the 2026 tax lien sale?

The two systems are not the same. Starting January 1, 2026, Louisiana changed to tax lien sales, where the buyer gets a lien and not the house. Our guide on property taxes in Louisiana explains that change, so we will not repeat it here. Adjudicated property is the older kind of problem: a tax sale that happened under the earlier rules, and the parish ended up holding the tax title.

The law reflects the change. R.S. 47:2196, which governed the bids at older tax sales, was repealed effective January 1, 2026, and R.S. 47:2241.1 says redemptions for tax sales are made under the law in effect on December 31, 2025. In plain words, a property sold or adjudicated before 2026 generally keeps the older redemption rules. Caddo Parish says the same on its adjudicated property page: only property with a tax sale title from before January 1, 2026 is treated as adjudicated for its program. The rules are in Title 47 of the Revised Statutes, and a lawyer can read the exact sections for your date.

Can a former owner or heir still redeem?

Often yes, for a while. In general, the former owner, called the tax debtor, can redeem by paying through the tax collector, and the redemption is made in the debtor's name. For adjudicated property, a source we checked says redemption can run past the usual three-year period, until events such as a notice period ending, a sale or donation of the property by the parish being filed, or a court order of possession. The statutes are R.S. 47:2241 through 2247, and a lawyer should check the current version.

What you generally pay is the back taxes with penalty, interest and costs, and the parish may add its own liens. We are not giving you a number, because it changes with the property and the date. Ask in writing for a redemption figure and the date it is good through.

Redeeming does not mean the house is clear of other trouble. A mortgage, a city lien or a succession problem may still be there. If you cannot redeem, a parish sale generally cuts off the former owner's rights, so timing matters.

Who handles it in each parish?

The sheriff is the tax collector, and redemptions are made through the tax collector. The parish or city holding the tax title handles the sale. What we found for each:

• Caddo Parish. The Parish Commission sells its adjudicated parcels by sealed bid, through the Adjudicated Property Department in Public Works at Government Plaza, 505 Travis Street. See the Caddo adjudicated property page, which has a redemption request form for former owners. If the city of Shreveport alone holds the parcel, the city's Property Management office handles it. The Caddo Sheriff's office is the tax collector.
• Bossier Parish. We did not find a current public adjudicated property program page. Older reports show Bossier used the online platform CivicSource. A court case on this subject says the Sheriff's Office, as tax collector, handles redemption and the Police Jury handles sales. Call both offices.
• DeSoto Parish. The parish uses E&P Consulting for its adjudicated property list, published at louisianalandsolutions.com/desoto-parish. The list shows the previous owner's name and parcel number. The Police Jury holds the title.
• Webster Parish. The Police Jury holds the title, and E&P Consulting runs the parish's auctions; registered bidders only, so call E&P for the date and place. See louisianalandsolutions.com/webster-parish. The City of Minden also sells its own adjudicated parcels by ordinance. Our page on Webster Parish sheriff's sales covers the sheriff side.

Also check the parish assessor's site to see who is listed as owner. Tax auctions have used CivicSource in some places; do not pay anyone who contacts you offering to "get the house back" without first checking with the sheriff's tax office.

What if the owner died and nobody opened a succession?

That is a common way houses end up here. The notices often go to a dead owner's old address. The tax debtor can redeem, and heirs generally act through the succession. A succession is the court process that decides who owns the house after a death. Our guide on selling a house in a succession explains the steps, and a lawyer can tell you whether you need one to redeem. Our page on inherited houses covers selling.

What are your options?

Start with the free ones.

1. Call the tax collector and ask whether the property is adjudicated, when, and what it takes to redeem. Ask for it in writing.
2. Call the parish adjudicated property office and ask whether a sale is set and what the cut-off date is.
3. Talk to a Louisiana lawyer, especially if the owner has died or there are several heirs. The Louisiana State Bar Association can point you to one.
4. Redeem and keep the house, if you can pay the figure by the deadline.
5. Sell your interest. If the family wants out, we may buy it as is.

Selling when the parish holds the tax title

Selling is sometimes possible before the parish sells the property. The back taxes and redemption cost generally have to be paid, and the title company can arrange that at closing. We buy houses as they sit in Shreveport, Bossier City, Keithville, DeSoto Parish and Webster Parish, in any condition, and we look at each one case by case. Whether we can buy depends on the title, the deadline and who has the right to sign. You pick the closing date, and closing is at a local title company. If time is short, call right away.

Updated October 22, 2026