If you make a payment arrangement prior to the Court hearing you do not need to attend Court, however the Magistrates' Court will be asked to grant a Liability Order to secure the debt.
If you do not pay the full amount due on your summons, we will request a Liability Order at the Court hearing. The liability order gives the Council powers to recover the outstanding debt using the methods listed below:. After the court hearing, you will get a Notice of Liability Order advising that if you do not make an arrangement with the Council within 14 days, the debt will be passed to an Enforcement Agency for collection.
The notice will also advise you of the additional costs that will be incurred if this happens. Please do not delay in making a payment arrangement or returning the form with your employment or benefit details.
To prevent any of the above actions being taken, please ensure that your Council Tax is paid on time. If you begin to struggle with the payments, please contact us immediately.
We can offer options that could help your circumstances, such as:. There is also useful advice on dealing with Council Tax arrears on the Citizens Advice Bureau website, or you can use their drop-in service at our Central Library. The local authority are allowed to recover the debt in a number of ways, including by deduction from your earnings, or by sending bailiffs to your home to seize your possessions the local authority should send you a letter warning you of a bailiffs first visit, at least 14 days before.
England and Wales are the only countries in Europe where you can be sent to prison for not paying a council tax bill. In the earlier sections of this guide we explain the rules about who is liable to pay council tax, based on our understanding of the council tax legislation, and we know this information is accurate.
However, sometimes local authorities will still dispute liability and insist that a student is liable where we know they are not. In this type of case, to avoid an escalation of the dispute through the courts, our advice is to pay the council tax and contact a Welfare Adviser who can advise about appealing and requesting a refund, as well as advice about options regarding financial hardship paying council tax may cause.
Your credit rating may also be affected if the local authority issues council tax arrears notices or begins legal action against you for non-payment of council tax, which might make it difficult for you to get credit such as a mortgage in the future. This is why it is important to act quickly in any council tax dispute. The council only has to prove to the court that notices have been sent to you, not that they have been received by you.
The Liability Order gives the council the right to recover the debt in any of the following ways We can instruct an enforcement agent formerly bailiff to collect the debt.
Action will be taken in stages, each of which incur further fees as shown below. We will make the request and the DWP will then contact you to confirm deductions are going to be made. We can order your employer to take deductions from your wages or salary until the debt is repaid. Your employer is legally required to comply. We can apply to the County Court for a Charging Order if you own a property.
When the property is sold we would receive the money you owe. In extreme circumstances, we could commence bankruptcy proceeding against you or winding up proceeding against your company. This is a serious matter and you will have to give up any possessions of value or assets. We can summons you back to the Magistrates' Court to attend a committal hearing. The Magistrates will examine your means income and circumstances now and at the time of the arrears.
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