National Debtline hails ‘long overdue’ improvements to council tax debt collection
The Government has today confirmed plans to improve council tax debt collection, to slow down escalation and introduce new safeguards for people who fall behind on payments
Posted April 15, 2026
The Government has today confirmed plans to improve council tax debt collection, to slow down escalation and introduce new safeguards for people who fall behind on payments. This includes:
- Extending the time period before someone can be made liable for their entire annual bill, after missing a monthly payment, something debt charities have said pushes people further into financial difficulty
- Introducing a ‘pre-action protocol’ – a set of mandatory steps councils must take before they can pass someone’s debt to enforcement, including bailiffs.
The changes follow campaigning by National Debtline and other debt charities.
Grace Brownfield, Head of Debt Advice Communications at National Debtline, said:
“Council tax is one of the most common debts we see, with three in every ten people we help at National Debtline struggling with council tax arrears. For years, we’ve highlighted how quickly council tax debt can escalate, turning a single missed payment into a much larger problem for people already in financial difficulty.
“The Government’s plans to extend the time before someone can be made liable for their full annual bill is therefore welcome, if not long overdue.
“Alongside the introduction of a clear set of steps councils must take before moving to bailiff action, we hope these changes will see people struggling to pay given the support they need, rather than being pushed further into financial hardship.
“However, we’re disappointed that the Government has stopped short of removing imprisonment for non-payment of council tax debt. While this is rare, the threat of prison is often used to pressure people into paying more than they can afford, and we believe it has no place in a modern system of debt collection.”
Read our latest report, Lost in the system, published in February 2026, which set out recommendations to the Government and local authorities to help ensure council tax regulations do not cause harm to financially vulnerable households.
