Unpaid rates lead to sale of house
A house in Manaia is being advertised for sale by the High Court because of more than $10,000 in unpaid rates.
The South Taranaki District Council has applied to the Court to put the property on the market as it is entitled to do under the Local Government Act 2002.
The property, a three-bedroom house on a 1012 square metre section, appears to be vacant.
The advertisement lists Gregory Clive Day, with a New Plymouth address, as the respondent. It has a rateable value of $118,000 dated September 2018, according to information on the Taranaki Regional Council website. The annual rates total is listed as $2441. Multiplied by five, the likely arrears total would be $11,786.5.
No rates had been paid on the property at 33 Kauae St for five years, South Taranaki District
Council communications Gerard Langford said.
For two years, council staff attempted to make arrangements with the owner to pay the arrears, but without success.
‘‘Council doesn’t take this lightly, this is not something we ever want to do,’’ Langford said.
Any profit from the sale after the rates arrears and costs were deducted would be transferred to manager the Public Trust, and the property’s current owner could apply to claim that money back.
The Local Government Act allows councils to demand the sale of a property to recover rates that have not been paid.
A council has to go through a court process to do this but it can result in it eventually applying to the High Court to put the property on the market.