All 25 Mount Isa homes sold after Aboriginal corporation owed $1m in rates
An Aboriginal housing corporation's 25 Mount Isa properties sold this week after the group fell behind on nearly $1 million in rates.
Mount Isa City Council auctioned 33 properties over three days, all meeting their reserve. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation for Welfare Services owned 25 of the properties and had fallen behind on rates.
About 50 residents were living across 15 of those properties when the auction began. The 25 properties sold as part of sales totalling $4.95 million.
Some new owners are willing to keep the existing tenants. Others will negotiate separately with residents about whether they can stay.
The corporation built up almost $1 million in debt over several years. Queensland law allows councils to sell properties after rates go unpaid for more than three years.
The auctions were originally scheduled for July but were pushed back. Officials hoped alternative arrangements with local, state, and federal governments could be reached.
None did. Settlements are expected throughout October.
- 25
- Properties sold
- Almost $1 million
- Unpaid rates
- $4.95 million
- Total sale price
- About 50 across 15 properties
- Residents affected
Why it mattersThe sale resolves a months-long standoff. But it leaves dozens of residents in limbo about whether they can remain in their homes with new owners.
AustraliaRoughly 50 residents in a remote Queensland town now face renegotiating their tenancies with private buyers; the outcome depends on individual landlord arrangements.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 19 h ago
