Join our campaign to ban bailiffs from council tax debt collection.
When families face unpayable debts, a knock at the door from bailiffs can be hugely traumatising.
“I didn’t even understand really what a bailiff was, but that they were going to come to my house and take my stuff. I had a three-year old child. I just thought I need to stop this.” – Jo, Manchester
Council tax debt has soared in recent years, yet rates just keep going up. 4.4 million people are now in debt. For many, it’s becoming impossible to pay when the cost of living crisis and economic turmoil have squeezed budgets to the limit.
And debts can mount up incredibly quickly. Families only need to miss one council tax payment, and within two weeks a bill can be issued for the entire year. What starts as a missed instalment of £190 can become a £2,280 debt at terrifying speed.
Sending in the bailiffs
But instead of supporting families to get out of debt, councils are using violence, harassment and intimidation – sending in the bailiffs. Worse, the cost of a bailiff visit is added to people’s debt – leaving them hundreds of pounds worse off.
Recently, over 1.3 million orders were made for bailiff visits despite there being little evidence that using bailiffs even increases collection rates.
But there is another way. Some councils have stopped using bailiffs to collect council tax debt, and introduced new support to help people get out of debt for good.
We want to see all councils in the UK stop using bailiffs to collect council tax debt. It’s completely unjust that the government are using a form of legalized harassment to try and collect debts. No matter what people’s financial circumstances are, everyone should be treated with dignity and respect.
Sign your name to Ban the bailiffs!
No matter people’s financial circumstances, we all deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Bailiff visits have soared in recent years leading to widespread harassment, intimidation and trauma. Councils must stop this archaic practice
FAQs
We’re calling for two simple changes that would mean councils don’t automatically turn to bailiffs when families are behind on their council tax payment.
We want the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
- Revoke section 45 of the Council Tax Regulations 1992, that allows councils to use bailiffs to collect council tax debt, and
- Introduce a new duty of care that puts harm reduction at the heart of council tax collection.
Many councils are very low on funds at the moment after over a decade of government cuts to their budgets. However, the vast majority of the people who have fallen behind on council tax arrears are on low or no incomes, they simply can’t pay.
Using bailiffs is ‘cost neutral’ for councils they don’t pay for the service, the bailiff’s fees are just added to people’s debts. However, this overlooks the cost of the harm this harassment causes. We estimate this costs the UK taxpayer and the wider economy £91m annually
Research for Policy in Practice found that stricter debt collection practices (such as using bailiffs) doesn’t result in increased collection rates. Adding recovery and enforcement fees only increased the harm household experienced, pushing 83% of those modelled into income shortfall.
What they found instead is that the highest collection rates are associated with the generosity of a local authority’s Council Tax Reduction Scheme, and that lower collection rates are associated with the level of poverty in the borough. Programs offering income maximisation and debt advice are therefore more likely to be effective, as well as kinder, than enforcement.
The table below shows the costs associated with bailiff action
| Recovery stage | Enforcement charges |
|
Enforcement notice (letting you know action is being taken against you) |
£75 |
|
Enforcement visit to “take control of goods” (visiting you at home and valuing your possessions) |
£235 + 7.5% of debt above £1500 |
| Enforcement visit to remove goods |
£110 + 7.5% of debt above £1500 |
If someone experiences all stages of this process, fees of at least £420 will be added to their debt. Fees for storage, locksmiths, court costs, auctioneer commissions and advertising can also be added to a person’s bill.
