Auckland Council is forcibly selling a South Auckland home to recoup hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid rates and penalties. 

The ramshackle three-bedroom Guthrey Pl property in Ōtara will be auctioned next month by Barfoot & Thompson in just the second-ever forced rating sale taken by the council. 

Property records show the 92sq m weatherboard home sits on a 693sq m section. It has a CV of $950,000 and is owned by Joseph William Leef. 

The rates bill on the property, which is surrounded by state homes, has grown to $317,846.55 and is now the city’s longest outstanding debt. 

Auckland Council group chief financial officer Ross Tucker said the owner had not made a rates payment since March 2005 - more than 19 years ago. 

The council had gone to great lengths to try to locate the owner or their family in a bid to come to a repayment arrangement that could avoid a forced rating sale. 

“All of our attempts to speak with the owner or communicate with them in any way have been unsuccessful,” Tucker said. 

“We have now exhausted all options available to us and have no choice but to proceed to a rating sale process. 

“We do not take rating sales lightly. In fact, this council has only ever sold one property under these conditions, so it really is a last resort.” 

The owners of this Guthrey Pl, Ōtara house haven't made a rates payment in 19 years. Auckland Council is set to forcibly sell the property next month by public auction. Photo / Jason Oxenham 

The auction is scheduled to occur on August 21. There remains a short window of opportunity for Leef or his family to contact the council to make payment arrangements and halt the sale process, which Tucker hopes will occur. 

“I am making a final call out to the owner to phone us on 09 301 0101 to see whether there is any way we can come to an arrangement over the outstanding debt and help them to retain ownership of their home.” 

Auckland Council commenced debt recovery action in 2016 

The council began debt recovery action in June 2016 and court action commenced later that year seeking what was then $46,000 in unpaid rates. 

Repeated attempts to serve notice on the property owner were unsuccessful. 

The council was granted judgment by default in 2018. Attempts to serve the judgment were also unsuccessful. 

This Guthrey Pl, Otara property, pictured in 2021, which had then racked up $161,000 in overdue rates. Photo / Michael Craig 

“The property had become increasingly overgrown and the judgment was left attached to the front door,” Tucker said. 

High Court charging orders were lodged on the title in 2019 but no further debt recovery action was taken until 2022 due to Covid. 

In February 2022, council staff visited the property again and left a card requesting contact. Neighbours suggested the owner still lived at the property. 

The council applied to the High Court for a rating sale in May last year, including leaving notice of the proceedings at the property’s front door. 

The council then received a phone call from a person “purporting to be the owner” and a rates postponement application form was sent to the individual’s email address. 

But despite further visits, calls and emails, there was no further contact by the owner and the High Court is now proceeding with the sale. 

A public notice for the forced rating sale of the Guthrey Pl, Ōtara property which has racked up more than $300,000 in unpaid rates and penalties. 

Tucker said in almost all cases, the council was able to avoid taking “strong action” to recover unpaid rates and could instead work with property owners who were having difficulty paying. 

Anyone concerned about paying their rates, or catching up on arrears, should contact the council to discuss available assistance. 

A “High Court sale” public notice posted at the weekend says the property is being sold under the provisions of the Local Government (Ratings) Act on instruction from the council. 

It says the freehold property is zoned mixed housing urban. It appears to have a large freestanding structure at the rear. It also has a wide road frontage and a short drive in a cul-de-sac which sits in “close proximity to high tension power lines”. 

Interested buyers are urged to contact the Barfoot listing agents for information on viewing times ahead of the auction. 

The Herald understands Auckland Council had earlier investigated whether the property was abandoned or a deceased estate prior to applying for a rating sale. 

Council staff are legally unable to enter the property to conduct a welfare check but have contacted police about their concerns. 

Other high-profile cases involving unpaid rates 

The case is only the second time the council has moved to sell a privately-owned home over unpaid rates, with just one other successful compulsory rating sales since the supercity came into being in 2010. 

Charlotte Hareta Marsh lost her home of 20 years in a 2015 court-ordered sale after failing to pay rates for nine years. 

Charlotte Marsh at her former home in Manurewa before it was forcibly sold by Auckland Council following her refusal to pay $12,000 in rates. Photo / Dean Purcell 

Despite repeated warnings, she refused to recognise the authority of Auckland Council and claimed to have paid her rates instead to the “rightful land owner” - Arikinui o Tuhoe. 

At the time of the sale, Marsh owed more than $12,000 in rates and penalties and nearly $3000 in court costs. 

Asked at the time if the council was being mean-spirited forcing Marsh from her home over a $12,000 debt, the council said it had to be fair to all ratepayers. 

Penny Bright struck an 11th-hour deal with Auckland Council to postpone her unpaid rates, halting a court-ordered sale of her Kingsland house. Photo / Brett Phibbs 

The late activist Penny Bright’s 11-year refusal to pay rates nearly cost her her Kingsland home in the months before her death. 

Bright, a colourful protester who spent much of her life holding Auckland Council to account, had disputed and refused to pay her rates, citing “the lack of transparency in council spending on private sector consultants and contractors”. 

The council went to court to have Bright’s home forcibly sold to recoup tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid rates and penalties, and it was listed by Barfoot & Thompson in April 2017. 

But in May that a year, a deal was struck after Bright applied for a rates postponement, which was accepted by the council and the forced sale proceedings halted. 

In December 2021, Auckland Council was applying to the High Court for a forced sale of Rupa's Cafe in Freemans Bay due to an outstanding rates bill of $350,000. Photo /Michael Craig 

In December 2021 the Herald reported the council was going after Freemans Bay cafe owner Dilip Rupa’s business and home due to his refusal to pay $350,000 in rates - the city’s then largest overdue bill. 

It was applying to the High Court for a forced rating sale. Rupa would then have six months to pay the debt, or his family-owned business premises and jointly-owned Grey Lynn home could be hocked off at auction to recoup the arrears. 

On Friday, the council said the Rupa matters were still before the courts “and we have no further comment at this time”.