If you don't pay your council tax

If you are worried about not being able to pay, please contact us as soon as possible. We may be able to spread your instalments over 12 months rather than 10.

If you find yourself unexpectedly in financial problems we may also be able to offer you a short-term council tax reduction.

How we recover money owed to us

These notes are provided for guidance only. They are not intended to be a comprehensive or definitive interpretation of the law. 

1. Demand notice

Your council tax is usually payable in ten monthly instalments, starting in April and finishing in January. 

If you pay by direct debit, you can ask us to collect the instalments on the 1st, the 10th or the 20th of the month. 
 
For all other methods of payment, the instalments must be paid on the 1st of the month. Your bill will show the amounts and dates of your instalments. 

2. Reminder notice

If you don't pay your instalments on time, we will send you a reminder. 

You will have 7 days to pay the late instalment. 

If you don't pay, you will lose the right to pay by instalments. This means you will have to pay the whole year’s bill within a further 7 days. 

3. Second reminder notice

If you bring your account up-to-date after a reminder and fall behind again for a second time in the same year, we will send you a second reminder. 

You will have 7 days to pay the late instalment. 

If you don't pay, you will lose your right to pay by instalments. This means you will have to pay the whole year’s bill within a further 7 days. 

4. Final notice

If you bring your account up-to-date after 2 reminders and fall behind for a third time in the same year, we will send you a final notice.

You will have 7 days to pay the whole amount for the year. Otherwise, we may start legal proceedings to recover the balance. 

5. Court summons

If you fail to pay after a reminder or final notice, and you have not been in touch with us to agree a revised payment arrangement, we will send you a court summons, which allows us to make an application at court for a liability order. 

The summons will tell you the date and time of the hearing at North Hampshire Magistrates' Court in Basingstoke and the amount that we are seeking to recover. This will be the outstanding amount of council tax for the year plus our costs. No costs are added to your account at this stage, but we will apply for £75 in costs at the liability order hearing, which will be added to your account. 

You can attend the court and give reasons why the court should not grant the liability order. However, you are not obliged to, as the court is able to decide the matter in your absence. 

Even at this stage, we may be able to help you, so please contact us immediately using the contact details on this page. 

We will ask you questions about your financial circumstances and try to work out a realistic and fair payment schedule with you. We may still apply to the court for a liability order but if you pay the agreed amounts when they are due, we will not take any further action. 

You should also contact us if you think you are not liable to pay the council tax, or disagree with the amount of the summons. 

6. Liability order

If you fail to pay the amount shown on the summons before the court hearing, we will make an application to the magistrates for a liability order for the outstanding amount of council tax for the year, plus additional costs of £75. 

The fact that you may be waiting for the outcome of an appeal or for assessment of a benefit claim, is not a valid defence against the issue of a liability order. 

The court will grant a liability order against you if it is satisfied that the amount shown on the summons has become payable and you have not paid it. 

7. After we obtain the liability order

The liability order gives us the right to request information from you about your employment details and your income. We will write to you after the court has granted the liability order to inform you how much you must pay and what information you must give us. The letter will also invite you to make a realistic offer of how you propose to settle the debt. 

If are unable to pay in full, you must supply the information requested within 14 days. If you fail to supply the information requested or supply false information, you will be committing a criminal offence, for which you could be fined up to £500. 

We will assess the information you supply and decide what is the most appropriate course of action to recover the outstanding debt. 

If we do not receive an acceptable offer of payment or we are unable to agree an instalment arrangement, we can take further action to recover the debt: 

Attachment of earnings order

We can order your employers to deduct amounts directly from your wages or salary and pay them direct to us. The amounts will be a set percentage of your net earnings. See the deductions table for further information. 

Deductions from Income Support / Job Seekers Allowance / Employment and Support Allowance 

If you receive any of these benefits, we can ask the Department of Work and Pensions to deduct amounts directly from your entitlement. 

Enforcement action 

We can instruct an enforcement agent (formerly known as a bailiff) to collect the debt and/or remove your goods to sell at auction to recover the outstanding amount. 

On 6 April, the government introduced important changes to the regulations governing the enforcement industry. These regulations are known as the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014. One of the most significant changes is a new fee structure that the Ministry of Justice has set. 

Because of the significant increases in enforcement fees, we strongly recommend you to contact us if you have difficulties paying your council tax. 

If you are unable to pay the outstanding debt in full, the enforcement agent must follow three distinct stages: 

• Compliance stage - £75 fee - covers all activities from receipt of the instruction up to, but not including, the enforcement stage 
• Enforcement stage - £235 (plus 7.5 per cent of debt amount over £1,500) - covers all activities from first attendance to the property up to, but not including, the sale or disposal stage 
• Sale or disposal stage - £110 (plus 7.5 per cent of debt amount over £1,500) - covers all activities from first attendance to transport goods to the place of sale or starting to prepare for the sale until completion of the sale or disposal 

Transitional arrangements are in place for accounts where we started enforcement action was started before 6 April 2014. 

Bankruptcy 

We might start bankruptcy proceedings against you under the provisions of the Insolvency Act 1986. 

Charging order 

We might apply for a charging order against your property (if you own one). 

Prison sentence 

If we are not able to collect the amount due from you using any of the methods above, we may apply to the magistrates for a warrant committing you to prison. 

We will send you a summons to attend a hearing at the magistrates' court. If you don't turn up for the hearing, we will ask the magistrates to issue a warrant for your arrest. 

In addition to the debt outstanding, you will become liable for the costs associated with our application. 

At the hearing, the magistrates will carry out an inquiry into your means and conduct. If they conclude that your failure to pay was because of wilful refusal or culpable neglect, they may sentence you to prison for up to three months, without remission. 

Fair collection and debt recovery policy 

Our fair collection and debt recovery policy sets out what our customers and businesses can expect from us, and what we expect from them, when we collect council tax and other debts that are owed to us.  

Our aim it be consistent and to tackle problems as early as possible. 

To support us in maintaining good practice in this, we have signed a protocol with the local Citizens Advice and this is included as an appendix to the policy. The protocol provides guidance on ways to strengthen relations between councils and debt advice agencies.