Analyzing the Extent and Cost of Unenforced Obligations in Wayne County’s Property Tax Foreclosure Auction

Abstract

Property tax foreclosure auctions represent a critical revenue source for local governments, but offer another venue for these governments to exhibit predatory behavior. In Detroit’s Wayne County, the county’s auction rules disqualify purchasers with unremitted property taxes from purchasing properties in its auctions, but enforcement is not consistent. This paper uses records of deeded auction purchasers (2019–2023) obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, as well as biweekly tax‑delinquency data, to demonstrate the widespread nature of non-enforcement. More specifically, I found that 319 of 3,428 properties (9.3%) auctioned from 2019 to 2023 had in sum $985,705.97 in unremitted taxes at the time the deeds of the properties were transferred from the county to their new owners. To obtain these results, I tested both fuzzy and geolocation Python matching methods, eventually settling on Excel‑based fuzzy and wildcard matching. This study provides the first widespread evidence of property‑tax non‑enforcement at Wayne County auctions, underscoring implications for urban blight mitigation, equitable housing policy, and adherence to federal and state civil rights law. Michael Hartt