Mid Murray Council auctions properties as a last resort for rates recovery – realestate.com.au

An SA council has sold seven properties as a last resort in a bid to recoup more than $100,000 in unpaid rates.

Mid Murray Council announced last month it would sell nine properties, mainly vacant land, as a last resort to recover $100,400 in unpaid rates after extensive efforts over several years to recover the money from the properties’ owners.

Council Chairman Ben Scales said one of the properties in the nine-lot auction – Lot 5 – was removed from the auction as a result of setting up a payment plan ahead of the auction.

“Seven of the eight have been sold, and one was postponed, but I would say it has been passed on, and negotiations on that are continuing,” he said.

The results are as follows:

Lot 1 – $4000

Lot 2 – $4000

Lot 3 – $4500

Lot 4 – postponed

Lot 6 – $50,000

Lot 7 – $30,000

Lot 8 – $47,000

Lot 9 – $70,000

Mr Scales said lots six to nine covered their debts, while lots one to three did not.

“The market will determine what the value of the property is … and the debt (on parcels one through three) will be written off,” he said.

Mr Scales said the auction attracted 30 people and although every effort is being made to prevent people’s properties being sold, he was pleased with the outcome.

“We never want to sell people’s properties, but people also have a responsibility to pay their rates,” he said.

“We want to work with people and we have a hardship policy in place and we understand that circumstances sometimes affect people’s ability to pay, so we would encourage everyone to have a conversation with the council about that and possibly payment plans.

“But the council is committed to taking steps to recover debts from people who fail to pay their rates in accordance with the law.”

Rob Brown of BH Partners, who sold the properties on behalf of the council along with Peter Wright, said there was good interest in the properties going in.

The move comes shortly after Loxton Waikerie District Council sold 57 properties – mainly deceased estates – in a last-ditch effort to reclaim more than $170,000 in unpaid taxes.

They were sold collectively for just over $500,000, with council leader David Beaton explaining that most would be passed on to the owners.

“We can only get the interest back, we have to pass the rest of the money on to the mortgage holder and the people who own the property,” he said in September.

Peterborough Council also sold eight properties under the hammer earlier this year to recoup unpaid rates.

Councils are allowed to sell properties where rates have been overdue for at least three years under section 184 of the Local Government Act.

Lot 4 Sturt Highway, Annadale – one of the properties on the original auction list.

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Mid Murray Council chief executive Ben Scales said at the time of the sale announcement every effort had been made to engage with property owners and negotiate alternative payment options.

“When the council began this process in 2023, 70 properties had originally been identified with unpaid rates totaling $746,000, which had accrued over periods of seven to 14 years,” he said.

“We understand that selling a property is an important step.

“We have therefore taken a careful, considered and thorough approach and explored all reasonable options to secure payment.

“Council has made substantial efforts to engage with affected landowners through formal debt recovery, written warnings, pre-Section 184 notices, notices on affected properties and providing owners with options to enter into other payment options.

“Since the council began this process, payments have been received from 31 properties clearing three-year arrears, while a further 23 property owners have entered into payment arrangements to clear unpaid rates within 18 months.

123 Kruger Rd, Sedan – one of the properties on the original auction list.

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“Payment negotiations are also ongoing in relation to a further seven properties.”

The council had recovered $456,000 before announcing it would auction the last nine properties unless their debts were paid earlier.

“Most of our taxpayers are doing the right thing, but when a small number consistently default on their obligations – despite multiple offers of support – it becomes unfair to everyone else,” Mr Scales said when the auction was announced.

– with Jessica Brown and Erin Jones