National Debtline welcomes plans to change ‘hugely outdated’ council tax rules
National Debtline has welcomed Government plans to reform the rules managing how missed council tax payments are collected in England – following their longstanding campaign for improvements.
Posted June 20, 2025
National Debtline has welcomed Government plans to reform the rules managing how missed council tax payments are collected in England – following their longstanding campaign for improvements.
As part of a wider review of council tax billing and administration, the Government is consulting on:
- Extending the length of time from someone missing a payment to them being made liable for their entire annual bill (‘liability orders’)
- Capping the costs that can be passed on to people in debt for liability orders
- Requiring councils to take more steps to understand a person’s circumstances, and to tailor support and collection action accordingly.
The consultation comes after a long campaign by National Debtline, whose advisers are regularly helping people struggling with council tax debt:
- 1 in 4 (25%) of people seeking help from National Debtline have council tax debt – making it the second most common debt, behind only credit cards.
- On average, people with council tax debt owe £1,958 – a 46% rise (£617) since 2020.
- National Debtline research found an estimated 2.7 million people are behind on their council tax bill.1
Grace Brownfield, Head of Influencing and Communications at Money Advice Trust, the charity that runs National Debtline, said:
“Rules on how missed council tax payments are collected are hugely outdated, having not been reformed since 1993. Since then, we’ve seen a significant rise in the number of people struggling to pay their council tax bills. .
“Currently, people in financial difficulty can be asked to pay their full annual bill after just two missed payments and can quickly see their debts passed to bailiffs. This isn’t fair or effective, and only risks pushing people further into hardship.
“We’ve long campaigned for improvements to how people are treated when they fall behind on their council tax, which would benefit councils too. We’re pleased the Government has recognised this and is looking at making changes. Extending the time period before councils can make people liable for their entire annual bill, as well as introducing new steps councils have to take to understand someone’s situation and support them accordingly could make a big difference in reducing the harm council tax debt can cause.
“As welcome as these measures would be, if the Government is serious about tackling council tax debt, they will also need to invest in increased council tax support – to help stop people falling behind in the first place.”
