A LOCAL council will drop the hammer on dozens of properties to recover the cost of unpaid rates.
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For the first time since 2018, Tamworth Regional Council has been given the green light to proceed with the auction, to recover $706,779.32.
Debt recovery processes were called off by the Office of Local Government while COVID disrupted lives and livelihoods, but a significant number of properties have now become eligible.
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The sale of land to recover unpaid rates and charges is a last resort enforcement measure, only put in place after other debt recovery options have been exhausted.
The council said it has given property owners numerous opportunities to make and follow mutually agreeable payment arrangements.
In 2018, 56 properties and parcels of land were sent to auction.
The auction was advertised with 126 properties on the block, however 56 owners and estates made contact and other arrangements were made for repayments.
Landowners wishing to avoid the sell off this time around must pay half of the total overdue amount prior to auction day, and enter into an ongoing agreement with council.
Last month, Gunnedah Shire Council recovered $166,541 from the sale of 15 properties.
All 15 properties were vacant at the time of auction with one being used by squatters.
Annual notices and periodic usage bills are charged on properties in council areas. If these are unpaid by due dates, debts get attached to the property and can be recovered by normal legal processes or must be settled from sale proceeds when ownership is transferred.
If any rate of charge has remained unpaid for more than five years on from the date it became payable, council can sell the property to recover it.
Money from the sale - minus the outstanding amount - is held in trust pending discharge to persons having interest in the properties.
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