- Notice before a visit
- 14 clear days28 if a debt adviser asks
- Forced entry on a first visit
- Nopeaceful entry only
- Fees before any goods are removed
- £326£79 then £247
- Prison for non-payment
- England onlyup to 3 months, by court order
How council tax reaches a bailiff
A missed instalment
In England the council sends a reminder giving 7 days to pay. GOV.UK says that if payment is not made within the 7 days, the whole year’s council tax becomes due. A third missed payment in a year brings a final notice for the full amount.
Summons and liability order
The council asks the magistrates’ court for a liability order. GOV.UK calls it “a legal demand for payment”. The council’s costs can be added, and the person can attend court to give their reasons for not paying.
The council chooses how to collect
A liability order opens several routes, set out further down this page. Enforcement agents are one of them. GOV.UK says a council can send bailiffs “if there’s no other way to recover your debt”.
- At least 14 clear days before a visit
Notice of Enforcement
The enforcement firm writes, and its £79 compliance fee is added. What the notice must contain
- 6am to 9pm
A visit
If the debt is still unpaid and no arrangement is in place, an agent attends and the £247 enforcement fee is added. What the rules say at the door
Wales is now different
Since 1 April 2026 a household in Wales has at least 62 days after a missed instalment before the full year’s bill can be demanded. Bailiffs in Wales
What council tax bailiffs can and cannot do
The rules allow them to
- Come in through an unlocked door, or if someone lets them in.
- Take control of a vehicle on the drive or on the road, if it belongs to the person named on the liability order.
- List goods and offer a controlled goods agreement.
- Add the statutory fees: £79, £247, and £116 if goods are removed for sale.
- Return and force entry, but only after a controlled goods agreement has been signed inside the home and then broken.
The rules do not allow them to
- Force entry to a home on a first visit. A liability order carries no such power.
- Visit before 6am or after 9pm.
- Take goods belonging to someone else in the household.
- Take essential household items, or work equipment worth up to £1,350 in total.
- Arrest anyone. Committal to prison is a separate decision for a magistrates’ court.
What the fees add to a council tax debt
| Council tax owed | After the notice | After a visit | If goods are removed and sold |
|---|---|---|---|
| £800 | £879 | £1,126 | £1,242 |
| £1,500 | £1,579 | £1,826 | £1,942 |
| £2,500 | £2,579 | £2,871 | £3,032 |
| £4,000 | £4,079 | £4,484 | £4,758 |
Several liability orders held by the same firm each attract a compliance fee, but the enforcement fee is charged once where they can be dealt with together. Work out the fees on a specific amount
Rather talk it through with someone? Request a call
The other ways a council can collect
Enforcement agents are not the only route. With a liability order a council can also:
- order an employer to take payments from wages (an attachment of earnings order),
- apply for deductions from Universal Credit, Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance or Pension Credit,
- apply for a charging order on a property where at least £1,000 is owed,
- petition for bankruptcy where at least £5,000 is owed, or
- in England, ask the magistrates’ court to consider committal to prison.
On the last of those, GOV.UK says a person “can be sent to prison for up to 3 months if the court decides you do not have a good reason to not pay your Council Tax and you refuse to do so”. The court looks at whether the person can afford to pay. Imprisonment for council tax debt has been abolished in Wales.
What can pause or end enforcement
- Payment in full, including the fees incurred so far.
- A payment arrangement, with the enforcement firm or with the council. On requests to pay a smaller amount, GOV.UK says a council “does not have to agree but will usually try to make an arrangement”.
- The council taking the case back. The council remains the creditor and can recall a case from the firm, for example where someone is vulnerable.
- A request for the 28-day notice period, made by a debt advice provider before the first 14 days run out.
- Breathing Space, where a debt adviser confirms the person qualifies. Council tax arrears are a qualifying debt. Breathing Space and bailiffs
- Checking the bill itself. Council Tax Reduction, discounts and exemptions can be applied by the council, and some can be backdated.
Which of these fits depends on a person’s whole situation. That is a question for a debt adviser.
Changes on the way in England
On 15 April 2026 the government published its response to a consultation on council tax administration in England. The written statement to Parliament commits to:
- capping liability order costs at £100,
- extending the period before a missed payment makes the whole year’s bill due, and requiring councils to do more to work with the taxpayer in that time, and
- letting households spread payments over 12 months automatically.
The statement describes these as reforms “to be delivered over the course of this Parliament”. No start dates have been announced, so the rules described on this page still apply.
Common questions
Can council tax bailiffs force entry?
Not on a first visit. They can only enter peacefully. Force becomes possible only if an agent has already been inside, a controlled goods agreement was signed, and it has then been broken.
Can the council be paid directly once bailiffs are involved?
A council can accept payment, but the enforcement fees already incurred remain payable, and it is the council that decides whether to take the case back from the enforcement firm.
Can someone go to prison for council tax arrears?
In England, a magistrates’ court can order up to 3 months where it decides the person has no good reason for not paying and is refusing to. It is a decision for the court, not the bailiff. In Wales it is no longer possible.
Is there a time limit on council tax debt?
A council has 6 years from the date the tax became due to apply for a liability order. Once a liability order has been made there is no time limit on enforcing it.
Will council tax bailiffs eventually give up?
An enforcement agent’s power to take control of goods runs for 12 months from the Notice of Enforcement. If nothing is recovered the case goes back to the council, which still holds the liability order and can use any of the other collection routes.
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Free debt advice is available
These organisations give free, impartial debt advice and are independent of Bailiff Support Team. Nobody has to use a paid or commercial service to get help with their debts, and using one of the free services does not reduce the options available. Their advisers can also ask an enforcement firm to extend a notice period or apply for Breathing Space where it fits.
- MoneyHelperGovernment-backed. Finds a free debt adviser nearby or online.
- StepChange Debt CharityFree debt advice online and by phone.
- Citizens AdviceDetailed help with bailiffs, online and in person.
- National DebtlineFree advice and sample letters, run by the Money Advice Trust.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Pay Council Tax arrears
- Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, Schedule 12
- Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, regulation 6 (minimum period of notice)
- Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014, Schedule (fee tables)
- Taking Control of Goods (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/366)
- Written statement HCWS1511: Modernising and improving the administration of council tax (15 April 2026)
- Welsh Government: New rules confirmed for fairer council tax collection
- GOV.UK: Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space) guidance for creditors