You must pay your Council Tax in the instalments and dates we have listed on your bill.
We will start a recovery action if you miss a payment or are late making a payment.
If you have a query about your bill, you must pay your instalments until:
- we have resolved the query
- we have sent you a revised bill
You must still pay your bill and instalments even if you are unhappy with our services.
If you have a complaint against a particular service, you do not have the right to withhold all or part payment of your bill.
Who must pay council tax?
Find out who must pay council tax.
Council Tax recovery
We will only issue two reminder notices in any one financial year. After we have sent you two reminder notices, we will issue you with a summons.
Summons
We can apply to the Magistrates Court asking them to grant us a Liability Order.
The court will send you a summons telling you we have applied for a Liability Order.
The summons will tell you:
- the date and time of the hearing
- the full amount you have to pay. This includes £65.00 for the issue of the summons and £30.00 for the liability order.
If you make full payment including costs before the hearing date, we will inform the court and no further action will take place.
Court Hearing
If you do not make the full payment before the hearing date, the court hearing will take place as detailed in the summons.
If you feel your liability for Council Tax is incorrect please contact the Council Tax team before the hearing date so we can check your account.
During the hearing, the Magistrates cannot take into account:
- any claims you have for Council Tax Benefit
- any appeals to the Valuation Tribunal for Council Tax liability
If you still dispute your liability, you can put your case to the Magistrates. Otherwise, you do not need to attend the hearing.
You can contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau for impartial advice, about your Council Tax or our recovery process.
