Hammer to fall on rates dodgers

TIME TO PAY UP: Twelve property owners in South Wairarapa are facing legal action over unpaid rates. PHOTO/FILE

Failure to pay rates could cost 12 South Wairarapa families their homes.

The South Wairarapa District Council has so far taken to court three of 12 property owners who have avoided paying their rates, with judgments on those cases due out this month.

In September last year more than $1million was owed by 809 ratepayers with $608,000 outstanding, relating to debts from previous years.

Council chief executive Paul Crimp said that since then the outstanding amount had dropped by almost half a million dollars. He said that was a good result.

It could be credited to following through with the banks, he said.

"There is still $130,000, which we are pursuing with our lawyers."

The council had been able to reduce the outstanding amount to $130,000 by taking the unpaid rates directly from people's mortgages.

Mr Crimp said the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002 was powerful, allowing councils to recover rates either through the homeowner's bank or through the court.

If the council was successful in court, it could sell or lease a property to recover the debt.

Mr Crimp said the council had worked with the homeowners for a long time before being forced to start legal proceedings to try to recover the outstanding rates.

He said most of the district's 6500 ratepayers paid on time but there were a lot of people struggling to pay their rates bills.

As of now, $784,000 was owed by 798 property owners.

"While it's quite high if you look back, it's not a really bad number, which it was for a while."

But 478 ratepayers had missed the latest instalment, which was disappointing, he said.

"The post-Christmas period is often difficult for people. That's possibly one of the reasons." Mr Crimp said the unpaid rates did not affect council services.

"We have got sufficient cashflow. It's not at the level that it impacts on our cashflows. [But] it does take a lot of time chasing up people. There are better things we could be doing."

Mr Crimp said the council would be asking to be reimbursed for legal costs associated with taking the nonpaying ratepayers to court.