The court is being asked to say that you are liable to pay the Council Tax and to issue a Liability Order against you. The council will provide evidence to this effect, and if the court is satisfied with this, it will issue the Order.
You should pay what you can before the court date, although if we do not receive payment in full, we will still ask the court to issue a Liability Order. If a Liability Order is obtained from the Magistrate’s Court this will include additional £25 costs. The total £95 costs are payable by you.
You do not have to attend court. The court will decide whether you are legally liable to pay the Council Tax.
If you decide to attend, please note , at this stage, the court cannot consider why you have not paid your Council Tax or any personal or financial difficulties you may be having.
There are limited valid defences against the award of a Liability Order for Council Tax. Realistically, there is little chance of you successfully defending the application if your defence falls outside those listed here.
- The property is not entered in the appropriate Valuation List
- The Council Tax has not been properly set
- The Council Tax has not been billed per the legislation
- The amount demanded has been paid in full (including summons costs). Please note that provided the council has received fully cleared payment, then no further application will be made by the council
- More than six years have passed since the balance became due
- Bankruptcy proceedings have been initiated.
If you are unable to pay the full balance, you can request a special payment arrangement.
You will need:
- Your Council Tax reference; this can be found in the 'ACCOUNT NO.' box at the top of your court letter.
- The total balance outstanding as shown on your summons
- Your bank account details if setting up a direct debit.
Please note that the summons and court costs will be included in your payment arrangement.