What happens if you do not pay Council Tax

• We'll send you a reminder notice the first time you miss a payment. We might also text, email or call you (and leave a message) including evenings and weekends
• Within 7 days you must make the payment or call us to agree a payment schedule
• If you don’t, you will not get a second reminder notice and the full balance of your outstanding Council Tax bill becoming due after a further 14 days

If you have made payment during the 5 days before receiving your reminder this will be reflected in your account. Check your My Account to ensure everything is up to date. 

A final notice will be issued if you fall behind with instalments a second time. At this stage your instalment facility is withdrawn and the full remaining balance for the year has to be paid within 7 days. 

If you don't pay following a reminder or final notice, a court summons will be sent to you. You'll be summoned to court for a hearing and £125.00 of costs will be added to your bill. 

What to do when you receive a summons 

You'll need to pay the whole balance of your account plus summons costs before the hearing date. 

Pay in full or pay in instalments 

If you don’t pay, a liability order will be granted at court, and additional costs will be added to your account. 

Contact us if you think you have received a summons in error 

Attending court by video hearing 

If you believe you have a valid defence and want to challenge your case before the court, you must contact us to book a time to attend court by weblink.  

You can do this by phone 020 8359 2608 or email: enforcement@barnet.gov.uk 

We’ll send you an invite for the video hearing containing a weblink and the time of the hearing. 

Liability order 

In most cases the district judge will issue a liability order. This tells you that you have to pay and gives us permission to take action to get the money you owe us.  

We will also ask for another amount for court costs, which will be added to the total you owe. 

Attachment of (deduction from) earnings or benefits 

We can order your employer to deduct a regular amount from your wages toward your unpaid Council Tax.  

We can apply to have money deducted from your benefits. Such as: 

• Jobseekers’ Allowance (JSA) 
• Income Support 
• Pension Credit (Guaranteed Credit) 
• Employment Support Allowance 
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP)  
• Universal Credit 

Enforcement agents (bailiffs) 

Also known as bailiffs, enforcement agents will write to you and phone you to recover the money owed. The also have the power to take some of the things you own from your home. They'll sell them to pay off your debt. They will also add their charges to your account.