Thanks Robert and John for your replies. I spoke with the bank representative from whom I received the information. According to him, the bank still has the mortgage on the property which they will not release and they wont sell the land from their end. They wont pay the rates either and will wait for Council to sell the land for unpaid rates once it becomes eligible. If there any funds available, they will then claim that amount to settle against the mortgage.
I am not sure if the banks can force the Council by taking this approach and if Council can initiate legal proceedings against the bank to recover the unpaid land rates as this properties in question are vacant blocks of land.
