The first thing to do if you cannot pay the annual Council Tax amount is to speak to the local Council Tax office, who will be able to work with you to create an agreement where you are able to pay your Council Tax in instalments. This will usually be a monthly payment. 

If you miss a payment the council will wait two weeks before sending you a reminder. When you receive the letter, they will give you seven days to make the payment without any consequence. 

If you fail to make your payment within seven days or have missed three payments in a row, you will be served with what is known as a final notice by the council. This means the agreement no longer holds and you will have to pay your Council Tax in full within the next seven days. 

Following any failure to make a payment after receiving your final notice, the council will go to court and request a liability order. 

Should you fail to make the payments even after the liability order, you will risk facing a prison sentence, but only in extreme cases. This only occurs in incidents where there is evidence you are deliberately refusing to pay your Council Tax.

What happens next?

If no payments are made following the issue of a liability order, the council has the power to use the following actions to retrieve its missing payments: 

• Send bailiffs to your property to retrieve payment 
• Receive money directly from your wages or support allowance 
• Gain payment from benefit programmes such as jobseekers allowance and pension credit 

Your local council can send bailiffs (also known as enforcement agents) to your door if they have been unsuccessful in retrieving their debts. Before the bailiffs arrive you should be able to confirm the amount you owe them. It is worth noting that bailiffs are not allowed to force themselves into your property unless you have a controlled goods agreement in place. 

What is a controlled goods agreement?

A controlled goods agreement is an agreement between the bailiff and the debtor in which the debtor is able to remain using their possessions and, in return, they pay off the remaining Council Tax debt with an agreed payment schedule.

Before signing the controlled goods agreement make sure all the details are correct, including the amount you owe and any additional fees required. 

If a bailiff is going to visit you at home, they will have to do so between 6 am and 9 pm. If they come to your door outside of this, they will require a court warrant.  You can find out more about bailiffs and your rights here.

What possessions can bailiffs not take? 

Council Tax bailiffs are not allowed to take the following possessions from you as part of your payment:

What are the extra fees they can charge? 

Before making its decision, the court will take two things into consideration: 

• Are you able to afford the payments? 
• Did you have a valid reason for missing the payments? 

If you are unable to afford the Council Tax payments, notify your council as soon as possible.

They may be able to offer you a tax reduction if you meet the below criteria:

In order to apply for this reduction, you will need to make sure you have the valuation of your home and the amount of Council Tax you would pay on a property with that valuation. If you have had any changes to your circumstances since you last paid your Council Tax, a valuation officer will be able to confirm if the changes will impact the Council Tax you are eligible to pay.

If you feel the council has not helped you or failed to follow the correct procedures you can put forward a complaint but please note, this can be a lengthy process. 

The first complaint must go to your council, which can take up to 12 weeks before you hear a reply. If you are unhappy with the outcome you can make a second complaint to the ombudsman; this needs to be done within 12 months of you realising the council has not helped you correctly or followed procedure.