Stoop & Kin

Louisiana

The four things that differ here, and where the law says so.

Since January 2026 a tax sale sells a debt, not the land.

A herd of cattle on green pasture in front of a stand of pines and a big oak
Pasture near Ragley, Louisiana. Photo: USDA, Amy Robertson, Public domain.

$3,950 an acre is the average for farm real estate here, against $4,500 nationally (NASS, 2026). Pasture averages $3,600.

Land sold for back taxes

Since January 1, 2026, a parish tax sale auctions a tax lien certificate rather than the property. Bidders bid the interest rate down from 1% a month, to no lower than 0.7%. The holder cannot go to court to enforce the lien until three years after it was recorded, and must give 180 days' notice first.

What to do: A Louisiana tax sale no longer gets you land. If you are buying privately, the tax bill must now say whether there is an unredeemed tax sale or tax lien certificate on the property: ask for the bill and read it.

Source: Act 774 (SB 505) of 2024, résumé digest; Act 409 (SB 119) of 2024, constitutional amendment

Septic before you build

Sanitarians in each parish health unit run the permitting system for onsite sewage, and 57 of the 64 parishes have their own onsite sewage ordinance on top of the state code.

What to do: Call the parish health unit before you make an offer, and ask whether the parish has its own ordinance. In most of them, it does.

Source: Louisiana Department of Health, Onsite Wastewater Program

Being taxed as a farm

Agricultural, horticultural or timber land qualifies for use-value assessment if it is at least three acres, or has averaged $2,000 a year in gross income from those uses over the four preceding years. The owner has to sign an agreement to keep it in that use.

What to do: Three acres is a low bar. If you will keep it in timber or pasture, the agreement is worth signing; ask the assessor before closing whether the seller's agreement is in place.

Source: La. R.S. 47:2303

Old well records

New water wells must be registered with the Office of Conservation within 30 days of completion, and the registrations can be searched in SONRIS.

What to do: Search SONRIS for registered wells near the parcel. Wells built before November 1985 were not required to register, so an old well may simply not be there.

Source: DENR, Ground Water Resources: For Water Well Owners; SONRIS

Laws change. Check the source before you rely on a date or a deadline, and ask the county office named, because local rules sit on top of these.

The county research checklist

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