The state government tried to seize Ted Amos’ multimillion-dollar properties. So he claimed they were in trust

Edward Amos describes himself as a real estate agent and auctioneer.

But it may be the state government that auctions off the property mogul’s sizeable portfolio of houses and land, some in Brisbane’s most sought-after, blue-chip suburbs.

Amos amassed a sizeable property portfolio across Brisbane’s northside. But for years, the now 84-year-old did not pay land tax or council rates and allowed the houses to fall into such disrepair most appear to be uninhabitable. At least two houses have been demolished.

Edward Amos’ property at 247 Lancaster Road in Ascot.Credit: Google Street View

For more than a decade, the landlord who has a long history of litigation, has been locked in a legal battle over unpaid land tax and court costs with the Queensland Revenue Office.

In a Supreme Court decision handed down this month, the revenue office has been given the green light to seize and sell Amos’ nine properties in Clayfield, Ascot, Wooloowin, Newmarket, Northgate, Albion, Virginia and Surfers Paradise to recoup unpaid court costs.

Under the court order, Amos stands to have his properties, which are collectively worth millions, seized over outstanding legal costs and interest amounting to less than $200,000, unless he pays up.

The state government was successful in forcing Amos to pay $487,994 in overdue land tax a decade ago, after first launching court action in 2013.

But Amos refused to pay court costs totalling $122,464.

The government subsequently obtained an order to seize and sell his properties.

However, its plans to auction Amos’ houses in Albion and Virginia in 2018 were abruptly halted when Amos claimed he held them in trust for his children, and had done so since 1989.

Edward Amos’ property on Lever Street in Albion, which was divided into five apartments. Credit: Google Street View

That sparked a court battle in which Amos initially claimed documents proving he held the properties in trust had been lost when a safety cabinet was stolen from his Clayfield home in 1993, only to sign an affidavit saying he had found them in poor condition “having been submerged by flooding under my home on several occasions”.

“He claimed he regarded himself as a trustee of the property,” Justice Paul Smith wrote in his April 11 judgement.

“The children, however, did not know about the trust.”

The judge said Amos’ evidence was not convincing for a number of reasons, including that the landlord “claimed that his intention was to create a trust, but all of his actions were to the contrary”.

The court heard the Albion property was divided into five apartments and Amos received rent and bond payments into an account in his own name from which he paid his personal day-to-day expenses. The bond and rental payments from the Virginia property, which has since been demolished, were also paid into his personal account.

The vacant block of land on Wellington Street, Virginia.Credit: Google Street View

Smith said he did not accept Amos’ claim that the two properties were held in trust.

“I was able to observe his demeanour and that has assisted me in assessing his evidence,” he wrote.

“He did not keep a trust account for the beneficiaries. He did not tell his children about the trust. He treated the properties as his own.”

Smith granted the state government permission to seize and sell Amos’ nine properties.

The property moguls’ neighbouring houses on Oriel Road in Clayfield. Credit: Google Street View

Amos was approached for comment, but a friend who answered calls on his behalf said he was not in a position to respond.

The landlord has a lengthy history with Queensland’s courts. In 2016, he was ordered to pay Brisbane City Council $807,148.28 in unpaid rates, including interest, after he failed to pay rates and charges on his eight properties in the northern suburbs. He ultimately took that fight to the High Court where he was victorious, although the council vowed to continue to pursue the unpaid funds on behalf of ratepayers.

Amos has had other legal stoushes with the council, having unsuccessfully sued them in 2005 claiming he was injured when he tripped over a water valve in Albion.

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