How we recover Council Tax debts

We will take action to recover Council Tax debts. This can include deductions from your wages, passing your debt to an enforcement agency and even the loss of your home.

If we are granted a liability order, we will take action to recover your debt. This may include:

• passing your debt to an enforcement agency
• deducting payments from your wages
• deducting payments from your benefits
• starting insolvency proceedings
• enforce the sale of property
• applying for a warrant

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We may pass your debt to an enforcement agency

We may pass your debt to an enforcement agency. Further costs will then be added to your debt.

To avoid a visit to your property by a bailiff (enforcement agent), with the intention of removing your belongings for sale at auction, contact the agency directly. You can then arrange a payment plan with them to clear your outstanding Council Tax.

Find out more about bailiff powers when they visit your home on GOV.UK.

Enforcement agencies and contact details

• Reventus Limited – 0330 122 1221
• Newlyn – 01604 633 001
• CDER Group – 0333 323 0333

We may deduct payments from your wages

We may send an order to your employer to make deductions directly from your wages to pay your Council Tax.

The amount deducted from your wages is a percentage of your daily, weekly or monthly wages and will be different depending on the amount you earn. The percentages are set by central government.

We may deduct payments from your benefits

We may issue an attachment of benefit order to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). This will ask them to make deductions from your benefit to clear your outstanding Council Tax. This could apply if you receive:

• Income Support
• Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA)
• Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Universal Credit (not including housing costs)
• Pension Credit

We may start insolvency proceedings

If you owe Council Tax of £5,000 or more (or £750 in the case of a limited company), we may start insolvency proceedings against you in accordance with the Insolvency Act 1986 as amended. These proceedings may be either bankruptcy proceedings against an individual or winding up proceedings against a limited company.

We may enforce the sale of your property

If you owe Council Tax of £1,000 or more and own a property, we may apply to the county court for a charging order. Once the order is granted we will be able to enforce the sale of the property in order to clear your outstanding Council Tax.

We may apply for a warrant

If your Council Tax remains outstanding after enforcement agents have tried to recover the debt, we may apply to the magistrates' court for a warrant committing you to prison. If the court determines the outstanding debt is due to wilful refusal or culpable neglect, they may commit you to prison for a maximum of 3 months.

The court may decide to postpone the period of imprisonment on certain conditions, normally relating to payment of your debt over a period of time.