Council Tax

What happens if you don't pay

Remember that paying by direct debit ensures that your payments are made on time every month. You can download a Direct Debit Instruction from this website.

If you pay late we send you a reminder or final notice. We normally send only 1 reminder before taking further action.

If you do not pay, you lose your right to pay by instalments. You must then pay the full balance outstanding. If you do not pay, we send you a summons to appear in the Magistrates Court and charge you costs.

If the court decides you are responsible for paying and you have not paid in full, they can issue a liability order. This means that we can collect the money by:

Deductions from your Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance or from your wages
Asking our bailiffs to collect the debt by removing and selling some of your possessions which result in you having to pay their fees
Commencing insolvency proceedings through the County Court
Applying to the County Court for a charging order on your property that enables us to force its sale or repay your council tax out of the proceeds of any future sale. This will also result in you paying additional fees

If you do not pay we can return to court. The court may decide to send you to prison, order you to pay with conditions, or tell us to write off part or all of the debt.