What happens if you do not pay your Council Tax: step by step

The process we will follow if you do not pay your monthly Council Tax instalments.

What happens if you do not pay your Council Tax, including:

  • the letters we will send
  • the legal process we will follow
  • how we will recover debts 

Step by step navigation

  1. Contact us

    Before we start any formal process to recover any unpaid Council Tax, we encourage you to contact us to see what we can do to help. 

  2. Reminders and final notices

    If you do not pay a Council Tax instalment, we will first send you either a payment reminder or a final notice letter. 

  3. Issuing a summons

    If you still have not paid, we will next issue you with a summons to pay.

  4. Issuing a liability order

    If you are summoned to appear in court, and you have still not paid, we will seek to have a liability order granted by the court. This allows us to start recovering your debt.

  5. How we recover debts

    The last stage involves us starting the process to recover your debt. This may include passing your debt to an enforcement agency and taking payments from your wages.

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