West Coast Council threatens to auction off homes in absence of rate payments

A local council will auction some 60 houses in three months’ time if the owners cough up their unpaid rates. LATEST >>

The West Coast Council will auction some 60 houses in three months’ time, unless the owners cough up their unpaid rates.

Mayor Shane Pitt said ratepayers had 90 days to come forward and pay their rates, or form a payment plan.

Mr Pitt said a recent total of unpaid rates was about $600,000 – nearly 10 per cent of the council’s rate base.

He said the issue had started last year.

“It was brought to council then that we had a substantial amount of unpaid rates,” Mr Pitt said.

“We decided at the time, that’s when Covid-19 hit, that we’d put it on hold til things improved given there was some hardship at the time.”

After the hiatus, Mr Pitt said a report was presented at an ordinary council meeting in September and approval was granted to sell properties with unpaid rates.

The auction is scheduled to happen early next year.

West Coast mayor Shane Pitt. Picture Supplied: West Coast Council

“This is an opportunity for people to come forward,” Mr Pitt said.

“This is the final advertising that council can do to try and contact these ratepayers who may have moved on and haven’t forwarded address, which is a big issue for our employees to try and track down some of these people.

“Some might have passed away as well.”

Mr Pitt said tens of homes were also put on auction in 2016 in a similar attempt to regain money owed to the council.

More than $68,000 was recovered in the auction.

“We’ll try and recover what rates are owing on the property and then the rest will go to the owner if we can contact them,” Mr Pitt said.

“Some of these properties are on vacant land but they could be utilised for developers to build housing on, which is an option to assist the housing crisis.”