How Rhode Island sells what goes unsold
Assignment of city-held tax titles (discretionary)
There is no standing over-the-counter list. When no bid equals the tax and charges, the collector buys the parcel for the city or town (44-9-14). The city or town treasurer may later assign a tax title it holds to any person for exactly the amount then needed to redeem, after at least 10 days' mailed notice to the owner of record; the assignee then stands in the shoes of a sale purchaser, with the redemption base being the amount stated in the assignment (44-9-18, 44-9-21). Whether and how a municipality offers its tax titles is its own choice, so ask the treasurer. Separately, after one year a treasurer may auction low-value city-held parcels without foreclosure, with title absolute on recording (44-9-36).
Does Rhode Island publish a lands-available list?
No statewide list. Each city or town treasurer holds its own tax titles; whether any are offered for assignment is the treasurer's choice, so ask the treasurer of the city or town.
This route skips the live auction, which means these are the parcels nobody bid on, so the due diligence matters even more. Every state names this inventory differently, and the state-held and struck-off land table maps each local name to the same mechanism. The over-the-counter guide has the cross-state playbook.
Verified Sep 27, 2026 against Rhode Island sources.
Tax Sale Atlas publishes educational information about public tax sale processes. This is not legal, financial, or investment advice. Rules, dates, and fees change; confirm with the office that runs the sale before you bid.