R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-9-11 — Notice to mortgagees and other parties in interest

(a) In case the collector shall advertise for sale any property, real, personal, or mixed,
in which any person other than the person to whom the tax is assessed has an interest,
it shall not be necessary for the collector to notify the interested party, except
for the following interested parties, provided that their interest was of record at
least ninety (90) days prior to the date set for the sale: the present owner of record;
mortgagees of record and mortgage assignees of record; former fee holders whose right
to redeem has not been foreclosed; holders of tax title; federal agencies having a
recorded lien on the subject property; holders of life estates of record and vested
remainder, whose identity can be ascertained from an examination of the land or probate
records of the municipality conducting the sale; and/or their assignees of record
who shall be notified by the collector, either by registered or certified mail sent
postpaid not less than twenty (20) days before the date of sale or any adjournment
of the sale to an agent authorized by appointment or by law to receive service of
process; or to the address of the party in interest set forth in the recorded mortgage
document or the recorded assignment; or to the last known address of the party in
interest; but no notice of adjournments shall be necessary other than the announcement
made at the sale. The posting and publication of the notice of the time and place
of sale in the manner provided by § 44-9-9 shall be deemed sufficient notice to all other interested parties. This provision
shall apply to all taxes levied prior to and subsequent to 1896. This provision shall
be subject to the notice requirements of § 44-9-10. It shall not be necessary, however, to provide the names of the mortgagees and other
parties in interest under this section to the Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance
Corporation or to the office of healthy aging. In the event that the Rhode Island
Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation does in fact pay the tax and acquire a lien
on the subject property, then the Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation
shall, within ninety (90) days of making the tax payment, notify those mortgagees
of record and mortgagee assignees of record whose interests in the property was of
record at least ninety (90) days prior to the date set for the tax sale as identified
in the recorded collector’s deed of the fact that the taxes have been paid by the
Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation and that a tax lien has been
acquired by the Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation.
(b) Only a person or entity failing to receive notice in accordance with the provisions
of this section and §§ 44-9-9 and 44-9-10 shall be entitled to raise the issue of lack of notice or defective notice to void
the tax sale. The right to notice shall be personal to each party entitled to it and
shall not be asserted on behalf of another party in interest. If there is a defect
in notice, the tax sale shall be void only as to the party deprived of adequate notice,
but shall be valid as to all other parties in interest who received proper notice
of the tax sale.
(c) Once a petition is filed under § 44-9-25, and any party in interest entitled to notice of the tax sale receives actual notice
of the pendency of the petition to foreclose, the party must raise the notice defense
in accordance with the provisions of § 44-9-31 or be estopped from alleging lack of notice in any action to vacate a final decree
entered in accordance with § 44-9-30.