Council Tax Bill Problems
If you haven't paid your Council Tax, the first step the Council will take to
force you to do this will be to threaten you with an application for a
'liability order' in the Magistrates Court for arrears of Council Tax. If
the court grants the liability order, it will mean the Council can:
- use bailiffs to get the money from you (by taking things of value that you
own); or
- take money from your wages or benefits
Are you paying too much?
At this stage, it is worth checking whether you could ask for lower Council
Tax payments, or whether you should have to pay Council Tax at all (Council Tax
exemption). There are different ways you might be able to reduce what you
owe. Some examples include:
- claiming backdated Council Tax benefit over the past 52 weeks if you have
been on a low income;
- Council Tax discount of 25% if you were the only adult in the house (other
than students, full-time carers, severely mentally disabled people and
anyone whose main home is elsewhere);
- asking to have your house or flat revalued (if it is revalued into a lower
Council Tax band, you will pay less Council Tax);
- not having to pay Council Tax if the house or flat has only students
living in it, or
- not having to pay Council Tax if the people who live in the house or flat
are 'severely mentally disabled'.
There are other circumstances where you may not have to pay or could get
lower payments. Contact counciltax@sunderland.gov.uk
for more details.
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last updated
16/08/07
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