Coober Pedy Council to auction 40 properties after abandoning attempts to recoup years of unpaid rates

About 40 desert properties will be auctioned – and could ultimately be given away – because the owners refuse to pay rates. And other councils could follow suit.

Coober Pedy Council will sell 40 properties at auction in a bid to recover money in lieu of years of unpaid council rates.

The council says 17 above-ground houses, four dugouts, and 19 vacant land lots will go under the hammer in June. And if any of the properties fail to sell, the council will consider giving them away to people willing to develop them.

Collectively the owners owe $280,000, about 17 per cent of the council’s annual rates revenue.

“There’s a lot of abandoned properties – that’s primarily what we’re dealing with here,” administrator Tim Jackson said.

“Properties are not worth a lot in Coober Pedy and often, people just stop paying their rates because their rates are a fair proportion of what the property is worth. People just walk away.”

Coober Pedy Council plans to sell 40 properties at auction in June, after their owners haven’t paid their rates bills in years. A file picture of the town. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

Through the sales – and potential giveaways – the council aims to recover rates and transfer properties to new owners who will invest in the community.

It will also help reduce the council’s debt, which sits just under $10m.

After offering help such as payment plans, councils can move to sell properties if owners have been in arrears for three years.

In many cases, these Coober Pedy property owners haven’t paid for more than decade.

“In recent times there has been no effort to recover the rates using this method as a last resort,” Mr Jackson said.

Councils often find owners settle up or begin gradually paying rates once advised their property could be sold – but Mr Jackson said in these cases that was unlikely.

Coober Pedy Council hopes to recover unpaid rates revenue through selling properties. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

Council chief executive Dean Miller said 16 other owners had either paid or entered payment plans since the council contacted them about long-term outstanding bills.

“The ones we have left are people who haven’t even bothered to contact us – this is where we’re really left with no choice,” he said.

If properties don’t sell, the council can apply to the State Government to have them transferred to the council.

Coober Pedy may then look at offering them for a token amount, such as $1, to residents or social housing providers.

Mr Miller said the auction would be held over two days, and it had already received a lot of interest from prospective buyers.

Whyalla Council has also advised local property owners that if they don’t pay their rates the council will sell their properties as a last resort. Picture: Simon Cross

Whyalla Council will also begin action against 37 property owners who collectively owe $528,000, advising them of the steps that may be taken to recover rates, including a potential property sale.

But staff will not move to sell 10 of these properties, which are primary residences, without a council decision.

Whyalla’s corporate director Kathy Jarrett said the council ensured owners were aware of its hardship program, which had included “extensive COVID relief” and given “every opportunity” to make ongoing payments.

“Even those who have become this far in arrears can still avoid the sale of their property if they engage with (the) council and are seen to be making genuine attempts to begin making repayments,” she said.

“If certain properties are in significant arrears, this means those ratepayers who pay their rates are subsidising those who don’t, which is neither fair nor equitable,” she said.

“This is why this process needs to be an available option for all councils, albeit as a last resort.”

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