Woman refuses to pay rates bill

Lisa Prager is refusing to pay her rates bill. Photo: NZPA / Wayne Drought

An Auckland woman is prepared to risk her house over an unpaid rates bill.

Activist Lisa Prager is withholding this year's rates increase of $559.85 on her property in Garnet Rd, Westmere.

Ms Prager and her partner, Verity George, have advised the council they are opposed to the public subsidy of Auckland's public transport system, the lack of details about the public subsidy, the legality of wording on their rates assessment notice and no information on the rates notice about where council-controlled organisations (CCOs) are spending their rates money.

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After not paying the rates increase on the first rates installment, the council wrote to Ms Prager and Ms George to remind them their rates were in arrears and providing details of payment options.

The letter said if the rates were not paid in full or satisfactory arrangement made within seven days, "Auckland Council has a number of legal options it may pursue under the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002 to recover the rates outstanding".

These include contacting their mortgagee for payment, obtaining judgment against them for the arrears, obtaining a charging order over their property, and selling their property by way of a rating sale.

Ms Prager has written to the credit control rates team to "strongly object to the tone" of two letters.

She considered the council's options to recover the arrears "to be a form of corporate bullying, extremely upsetting and way out of proportion to my action".