What happens if you don't pay your Council Tax bill
If you are having problems paying its important you contact us as soon as possible.
Reminders
The first time you miss a payment we’ll send you a reminder and ask you to pay within 7 days.
If you pay on time we’ll take no further action and you can continue to pay monthly.
If you don’t pay after a reminder
If you do not pay within 7 days, we will issue a Magistrates Court summons. Any court costs will be added to your account.
If you miss another payment within the financial year we will send you a second reminder. If you do not pay within 7 days we will issue a summons and you will have to pay the additional court costs.
If you bring your account up to date, you will be able to continue to pay monthly.
If you miss a third payment
After the third time you miss a payment you will no longer be allowed to pay by monthly payments.
We will then send you a final notice and you will be required to pay the remainder of your annual Council Tax bill.
If you do not pay your bill in full we will issue a Magistrates Court summons and add the court costs to your account.
Liability Order
At the court hearing the magistrates will grant us permission to recover the outstanding balance in other ways.
The Liability Order will grant us permission to collect money by:
- making deductions from your Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance, Employment Support Allowance, Universal Credit or from your wages
- asking our enforcement agents to collect the money by removing and selling some of your possessions, you will also have to pay their fees
Bankruptcy and charging orders are other options available to us if you ignore a Liability Order.