Council tax - reminders and arrears
If you are having difficulty in paying your council tax, please do not wait until you receive a recovery notice. Contact us straight away to discuss the problem. We will do our best to help you by agreeing to a temporary arrangement. You may be eligible for:
All instalments are due on the 1st of each month (unless payment is made by direct debit, in which case you have a choice of payment dates). If you do not pay your instalments as they become due, we will send you a reminder notice to advise you of the amount of arrears. If you bring your payments up to date within seven days, you will be allowed to continue paying by instalments.
If your instalments are not brought up to date, the full balance on your account will become payable and will result in a summons being issued and action being taken through the Magistrates' Court to enforce payment of the debt. This will result in costs against you.
If you pay on receipt of your first reminder, but pay late on another occasion, you will be sent a second reminder. However, if you pay on the second reminder but pay late on a third occasion, you will lose the right to pay by instalments and will be sent a final notice for the outstanding balance for the year.
Failure to pay the balance in full on receipt of a final notice will result in a summons being issued and action being taken through the Magistrates' Court to enforce payment of the debt. This will result in costs against you.
Please note, we will only issue a maximum of two reminders for overdue instalments within a financial year.
Forgetting to pay your council tax
If you forget to pay your council tax, it might be a good idea to pay by direct debit. This will ensure your payments are made automatically each month. For more information see how to pay your council tax.
Debt problems
If you have a problem with debt it may help you to contact the local Citizens Advice Bureau.