If you miss a payment, we will start the council tax recovery process. This process has 3 stages: 

1. Reminder 
2. Court summons 
3. Liability order 

Reminder notice

We'll send you a reminder notice the first time you miss a payment. You'll have 7 days to make the payment or call us to agree a payment arrangement. 

If you do nothing, you will not get a second reminder notice. 

If you miss another payment 

If you paid or agreed a payment arrangement within 7 days of the first reminder, you will get one more reminder if you miss another payment. If you continue to miss payments, you will get a final notice. 

Final notice 

If you get a final notice, you will lose your right to pay by instalments and payment for the full year will be due within 7 days. You can also call us to agree a payment arrangement. 

If you do nothing, you will get a court summons. 

Court summons 

If you get a court summons, you will be liable to pay for the full year, plus £92.50 costs. You can also call us to agree a payment arrangement.  

If you do nothing, we will apply to the court for a liability order. If you do not attend court, the hearing will still go ahead. 

Liability order 

If the court makes a liability order, you must pay the amount you owe, including costs within 14 days. You can also call us to agree a payment arrangement. 

 If you do nothing, we can:  

• take money from your wages, known as an attachment of earnings order
• take money from your benefits, known as an attachment of benefits order
• ask an enforcement agency to collect your debt
• start bankruptcy or liquidation proceedings against you in court
• apply for a charging order against your property. This means a court can force you to sell your house to pay the debt.

You could get a fine of up to £1,000 if you do not give us information about your work or benefits when asked to do so.