Maranoa Regional Council to auction properties if rate debts aren’t paid

A regional Queensland council will auction off 16 privately-owned homes in a last-ditch resort to recoup thousands in unpaid rates. See the list of properties to be sold here.

The Maranoa Regional Council has listed properties for auction to recover unpaid rates.

A number of properties in western Queensland are set to be auctioned off to recover thousands of dollars of unpaid rates.

After a lengthy process, the Maranoa Regional Council will finally be auctioning off parcels of land where the registered owners have not paid their rates.

The council published a public notice on April 12, which listed ten properties for auction, and a notice of intention to sell served to the owners of a further six properties.

In their notice, the council said they resolved to sell the properties in order to recoup the unpaid rates on September 20, 2023.

A Maranoa Regional Council spokesman said selling the properties was the council’s absolute last resort, and there was a very lengthy process to get to that point.

“Council is understanding of the challenges people can face and will work with ratepayers with payment arrangements if they are having difficulty paying rates,” the spokesman said.

“It is important for ratepayers to contact council as soon as they know they will have difficulty paying their rates so that appropriate arrangements can be made early.

“The process for conducting the auction is set by state government regulation and council only takes this step as a very last resort.”

The council has served a notice of intention to sell to the owners of ten properties, which are now set for auction on April 30 at 11am. The auction will take place at the Old Senior Citizens Hall at 53 Bungil St, Roma.

The properties to be sold at the auction are as follows:

Council also has a list of properties where, despite their best efforts, they have not been able to track down the registered property owners.

In these circumstances, council has issued a public notice that they intend to sell the properties.

There are six properties on the list, racking up almost $100,000 in unpaid rates.

A council spokesman said the auction will start at a reserve price, set by an independent property consultant.

The process before council resolves to sell land for unpaid rates is extensive.

For a residential property, the rates must go unpaid for three years before council can issue a notice of intention to sell.

Prior to that, the Maranoa Regional Council will send the initial rates notice, two reminder letters, and a letter of demand all at 14-day intervals.

At that point, if rates are still unpaid, council may resolve to file a statement of claim in court to recover the unpaid rates.

If the rates are still unpaid after court proceedings, the council can enforced payment by way of enforcement warrant, or resolving to sell the land. The council can only resolve to sell the land once court proceedings are finished, and if the rates have been paid for more than three years.

For the properties listed above, it is unclear how long the rates have been outstanding.

“(They have) not seen a significant increase in the level of unpaid rates this year,” the spokesman said.