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If you don't pay your council tax

Find out what happens if you don't pay your council tax and how to get financial advice.

Reminders

If you do not pay your council tax, or if you pay late, we will send you a reminder.

Having trouble paying your council tax

Speak to us for advice on how to pay.

Final notices

Information about what happens if you are sent a final notice to pay your council tax.

Summonses and liability orders

If you do not respond to reminders to pay your council tax, you will get a court summons.

Bailiffs

What happens if your debt is passed onto enforcement agents (formerly known as bailiffs).

Charging orders

If you own your home a charge may be placed on your property so that, when the property is sold, the council tax debt (including costs) will be paid from the proceeds of the sale.

Bankruptcy

We can apply to the High Court to petition for you to be made bankrupt if your debt exceeds £5,000.

Committal

For cases where none of the options to recover the money are successful or practical, we will have no choice but to ask the Court to issue a warrant with bail for you to attend a committal hearing.

Deductions from your benefits

​If your council tax is overdue, we can contact the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and ask them to deduct it directly from your benefits. This is called an ‘attachment of benefits order’.

Deductions from your earnings

​If your council tax is overdue, we can contact your employer and ask them to deduct it directly from your salary. This is called an ‘attachment of earnings order’.