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The fact that his 41-year-old home was up for sale by court order seemed to surprise Justin Gregory Wednesday morning.
The Napier City Council says it shouldn’t have, because it says it has spoken to him and “has done everything possible” to get the fees owed for more than a year paid.
The 75-year-old retired engineer and his wife Valerie had lived in Taradale’s three-bedroom home since 1979. They raised a son there. Since Valerie died two years ago, Gregory has been living alone.
MARTY SHARPE / Things
“It’s the only home I have,” Gregory said.
Their home was one of two listed in a local newspaper as for sale after Napier City Council obtained Superior Court orders under the Local Government (Qualification) Act of 2002.
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The orders were obtained in August of last year. Tenders for the properties close on October 13.
Requests do not guarantee unoccupied possession and whoever buys the property must organize entry and access.
MARTY SHARPE / Things
Justin has been living alone since his wife Valerie died two years ago.
A qualifying sale is a very rare step that boards can take when fees have not been paid for an extended period.
Gregory said he had no idea that his fees weren’t being paid.
“I got a letter earlier this year telling me to set up a direct debit to pay my fees, so I went to the bank and did it. I thought that I was leaving my pension automatically as my energy and my insurance, ”he said.
The 440-square-meter rear property and three-bedroom home was recently valued at $ 385,000. The annual fee bill was $ 2,285.
“It is the only home I have. I don’t know what I would do, where I would go if I wasn’t here. I am not selling my house, ”he said.
“I’ll go to the council tomorrow to sort this out,” Gregory said.
MARTY SHARPE / Things
Gregory’s house is in a back section. The house in the section opposite his was owned by his parents.
A spokeswoman for the city council said that it was an unusual situation, derived from the non-payment of fees and that “as on previous occasions, the city council did everything possible to resolve the matter, including discussing the situation with the owners, before resort to judicial process ”.
He would not say how much is owed in fees.
The other property in Napier that the city was selling for the same reason was 4 Winifred Street.
It is owned by Sharon McCleary, who purchased it in May 1983 for $ 38,000. The 550-square-meter property and three-bedroom home was recently valued at $ 330,000. She has an annual fee bill of $ 2,209.
The windows are covered with cardboard and newspapers. A woman in the management did not want to give her name and would only speak through a closed window.
He said he had no idea the property was for sale and said he was not selling it.
The council spokeswoman said council staff tried to work with both owners to clear the arrears in both cases.
“After more than 12 months of non-payment of outstanding amounts, arrears had increased to a level where debts were recorded before [an] external agency to administer the judicial process, ”he said.
“The process that the staff goes through involves communicating with the property owner by letter, phone, and sometimes in person if the property owner can go to the council offices,” he said.
“If the property owners came in today or tomorrow and paid the arrears, they could end the qualifying sales of their properties,” he said.
He said there was a rate relief and discount package available to owners, “but neither of them have accepted it despite being informed.”
MARTY SHARPE / Things
The property at 4 Winifred St., Napier, owned by Sharon McCleary, is also for sale due to unpaid fees.
LOSS OF A PROPERTY FOR UNPAID FEES
When someone has not paid the fees for four months after the due date, a council can go to District Court to initiate legal action to recover the payment.
If the District Court finds in favor of the council, the council may, four months after the judgment, request the Superior Court to enforce the judgment. When enforced, the property can be put up for sale.
Rainey Collins Lawyers’ registered senior legal executive Lindsey Smith said rating sales by boards were rare.
“They are generally a last resort option for the council, and when there are significant arrears,” he said.
One notable recent case was a property that burned down in Wellington in 2011. At the request of the Wellington City Council, the Superior Court in 2018 ordered the sale of the property, which had accumulated $ 348,943 in unpaid fees and other costs.
It had been five years since Wellington City Council had to sell sold properties to recover unpaid fees.
Auckland Council Interim Group CFO Kevin Ramsay said: “We have only been forced to seek a property sale for unpaid fees twice since the council was established 10 years ago, any other qualifying sale requests it was resolved with the taxpayers before the sale process took place. started”.
“We do everything we can to help solve the problem without resorting to this action,” he said.
Diane Brandish, general manager of finance and business for the Christchurch City Council, said there have been no qualifying sales in the last five years “and that step is largely a last resort, if all other forms of recovery fail.”
A spokesman for the Hamilton City Council said, “There have been no cases in at least the last 10 years where the Hamilton City Council has obtained an order from the Superior Court allowing it to sell a property to recover back payment.”
