Recovery of unpaid Council Tax
Recovery action will be taken against you if we are granted a liability order. Once an order is granted we can take further recovery action against you such as:
- Passing your debt to an Enforcement Agency
- Deduct payments from your wages
- Deduct payments from your benefits
- Start insolvency proceedings
- Enforce sale of property
- Apply for a warrant
Please be aware that we will take action against those who wilfully withhold or avoid payment of Council Tax, the results of which can include the loss of your home.
Passing your debt to an Enforcement Agency
Your account may be passed to one of the Enforcement Agencies used by the Council Tax recovery team and you will incur further costs.
To avoid a visit to your property with the intention of removing your belongings for sale at auction, contact the agency directly to arrange a payment plan to clear your outstanding Council Tax.
| Name | Reventus Limited (external link) | Equita Limited (external link) | Newlyn (external link) | CDER Group (external link) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Telephone number | 0330 122 1221 | 01604 628 360 | 01604 633 001 | 0333 323 0333 |
Deduct payments from your wages
- An order may be sent 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 and are detailed in the Deductions to be made under attachments of earning order (external link)
- Further information is available in the Attachment of Earnings guide for employers (PDF, 52KB)
Deduct payments from your benefits
An Attachment of Benefit Order may be issued to the Department for Work and Pensions asking them to make deductions from your benefit to clear your outstanding Council Tax, if you receive:
- Income Support
- Jobseeker's Allowance
- Employment and Support Allowance
- Universal Credit (not including housing costs)
- Pension Credit
Start insolvency proceedings
If you owe Council Tax of £5,000 or more (or £750 in the case of a limited company), insolvency proceedings may be commenced 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.
Enforce sale of 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.
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 three 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.