What will happen if you don't pay your Council Tax

If you miss a payment or don't pay the full amount by the date shown on your bill, we will take action to recover the amount not paid. All instalment payers will be subject to the same recovery procedures as laid down in the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations.

The following action is taken: -

Issue of reminder notice

Legally, a reminder or final notice can be issued the day after an instalment is missed, and if you fail to pay the amount asked for in full within 7 days, the balance for the year becomes payable in a further 7 days. In practice, a reminder is usually issued approximately 7 days after your instalment became due. The wording on the reminder will depend on:

• whether you have had a reminder before,
• whether you have moved from the property
• whether all the instalment dates for the year have passed.

If you don't bring your payments up to date and continue to pay on time, a summons will be issued by the Magistrates' Court.

Issue of summons

When the summons is issued, extra costs of £35.00 are added to your account. To stop the account going to court, the Council must receive payment of the full amount outstanding, including the costs, before the court date.

Liability Order

At the Court Hearing, if the full amount has not been paid, the Court will grant the Council a Liability Order, and another £38.00 costs are added to the amount outstanding. This order allows the Council to take further action to recover the debt. We can:

• Instruct Bailiffs to call at your home to recover the debt. If this happens, the Bailiffs will add more costs to the amount outstanding.
• Ask your employer to take deductions direct from your wages and pay them to the Council. Your employer can add an administration fee to the amount deducted. The amounts to be deducted are prescribed by law, and you cannot set the amounts yourself.
• Ask the Department for Work and Pensions to take deductions direct from your Income Support or Job Seekers Allowance, and pay them to the Council.
• Take action to make you bankrupt.
• Register a charge on your property.
• Take action to commit you to prison.

When a Liability Order is made, you will be sent a form asking for details of how much money you have coming in to the house, and what you spend. This form will enable us to work out how much you can afford to pay, and come to an agreement with you. As long as you make all the payments as agreed, no further recovery action will be taken on the account.

If you are on a low income, you may be able to make a claim for Council Tax Benefit. You must continue to pay your Council Tax while you are waiting for a decision on a claim for Council Tax benefit. If an award of benefit is made any amount overpaid can be refunded to you.

If you are unable to pay your Council Tax, you should contact the  Local Taxes Division immediately to make an arrangement to pay. The earlier you contact us, the less likely it is that you will have to pay extra costs.

If you are having financial problems, the Citizens Advice Bureau has money advisors who may be able to help you.