If a bailiff is collecting council tax debt, they aren’t allowed to force entry into your home unless they have a controlled goods agreement in place.

In England, Wales & Northern Ireland, debts are statute barred after 6 years, meaning that it cannot be enforced anymore. However, it’s unlikely that someone in council tax arrears will be able to wait that long as the council will usually ask for a liability order if the 7-day payment reminders are ignored.

Your council will send you first reminder notice giving you 7 days to pay if you miss a payment. If you don’t pay within 7 days, you’ll have to pay the whole year’s council tax instead. You’ll be sent a second reminder notice if you miss another council tax payment. Over a financial year (between April 1st – March 31st) you will get a maximum of 2 reminder notices. If you miss a payment for the third time, your council will then send you a final notice saying you must pay the whole year’s council tax. The council can send bailiffs to seize your property if there’s no other way to recover your debt. Where failure to pay has resulted in the loss of your rights to pay by instalments a summons will be issued from the Magistrates’ Court.

If you don’t pay off your council tax debt, the council will apply for a liability order to recover the debt, meaning they might be able to take action to get the money you owe. The council could then send a bailiff to take items from your home.

Yes, you can pay the council directly instead of paying the bailiff. However, the bailiff fees will still apply.

Councils have the power to write off council tax bills and arrears through Section 13A (1)(c) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

If the bailiff is unable to recover the debt, and your council tax still isn’t paid in full, you may go to prison, for a period of three months. This is only if the court decides that you’re deliberately not paying your council tax and bailiffs haven’t been able to recover the debt.