Sale of land for unpaid rates and charges

Redland City Council will hold an auction in September to sell properties with overdue rates and charges to recoup more than $550,000 in unpaid rates.

Council’s land auction for unpaid rates and charges is a routine practise followed by many councils across Queensland and follows extensive efforts to work with property owners to assist them in paying their rates.

Rates and charges are used to upgrade local roads, build new parks and provide other important infrastructure and Council services.

The Local Government Regulation 2012 empowers councils with the ability to recover rates and charges by selling land when some or all rates and charges have been overdue by three years, generally, or one year for vacant land when Council has obtained judgement from the Magistrate’s Court.

Council has a range of assistance options for customers who are having trouble paying rates and charges, including short-term extensions and flexible payment arrangements.

An auction is the last in a long line of actions, sometimes extending over many years, that Council undertakes to recover rates and charges; and a property is auctioned only after all other avenues to recover rates have been exhausted.

Council has been in contact with all property owners who have a property listed for auction, and owners have until the auction commences on auction day to pay the amount in arrears, in which case their property will not be auctioned.

Upon the sale of any property, Council will receive the amount owed in overdue rates and charges, and costs incurred, with the balance of the proceeds paying for any other outstanding debts associated with the property title, and the remainder going to the property owner.

Information to support property owners experiencing difficulty paying rates and charges can be found on Council’s website.

Council has also established a Civic Support Fund for community organisations to assist Redlands Coast residents adversely impacted by cost-of-living pressures.

The fund is expected to be open for applications from eligible community organisations later this year.

The land auction will take place at 9.30am on Tuesday 12 September 2023 at Capalaba Place, 14 Noeleen Street, Capalaba.

For more information about the auction, visit Council’s website.