Council tax recovery action

What if I cannot pay?

If you miss a payment, we will take action to recover money.

Please contact us if you are having difficulty paying. We may be able to make a different payment arrangement. If you are on a low income you may be entitled to council tax benefit.

Reminders and final notices

If you miss a payment we will send you a reminder. A maximum of two reminders will be issued during the year.

Summons

If you ignore a reminder or a final notice we will send you a summons and charge you costs. You have lost your right to pay by instalments and must pay the full balance for the year.

A summons will tell you how much money you owe and will explain that we are taking the matter to the Magistrates’ Court. We will give you approximately 21 days notice of the court hearing.

If you cannot afford to pay, please contact us. We will not withdraw the summons but we may agree to a new payment arrangement. If you make an arrangement but fail to make the agreed payments we will recover the money you owe in another way.

Magistrates' Court

In court we will apply for a liability order and charge you further costs. You do not have to attend the Magistrates’ Court. Please contact us before the court hearing.

Liability orders

A liability order gives us legal powers to recover the money you owe. These powers are as follows:

• Request for information - we will send you a form on which you must supply your employment and income details, this form allows us to look at your financial circumstances and decide how we will collect the money. You have 14 days to complete and return the form
• Attachment of income support or jobseekers’ allowance - we will ask the Department of Work and Pensions to deduct a certain amount of your entitlement to pay off the debt.
• Attachment of earnings - if you are in work, we will ask your employer to deduct a certain amount from your wages to pay off your debt.
• Charging order - if your debt is more than £1,000 and you are the owner of your home, we may place a charge on your home, this could force the sale of your house to repay your debt.
• Bankruptcy - if your total debt is more that £750 we may begin proceedings to make you bankrupt.

Visit by bailiffs

Costs will be added for a bailiff's visit and also for removing any goods to sell and pay towards your debt.

If a bailiff calls on you, they will give you the opportunity to make a satisfactory arrangement for payment and will ask to enter your home to make a list of any goods that come to the value of the unpaid council tax and costs.

If you make an arrangement with the bailiff but fail to make the agreed payments, the bailiff can return to your home and take your goods for resale.

Prison

If the bailiff is unable to collect the debt, we may send a summons requiring you to attend a committal hearing in the Magistrates’ Court.

The magistrates will look at your circumstances. If they believe you should have paid the money, they may issue a warrant of committal, and you could go to prison for up to three months.

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