Can I be sent to prison for not
paying my Council Tax?
In very rare cases your local Council
may apply to the Magistrates' Court for a warrant committing you
to prison in the event of non payment of Council Tax. The Council
will only ever take this step when
all other efforts have failed. This would include failed bailiff visits.
Before issuing a warrant of commitment the court must hold a 'means
enquiry' and you must be present. You will be sent a Summons to
appear. If you fail to answer to the Summons the Council will,
in most cases, request that a warrant for arrest be granted. Depending
on the circumstances this will be with or without bail. When you
attend a 'means enquiry' you will
be required to complete a very simple Income & Expenditure
Calculation so that the Magistrate is able to agree an affordable
level of re-payment.
A Warrant of Commitment will only
be issued if the court is satisfied that the failure to pay is
the result of wilful refusal or culpable
neglect. This would not be the case if you cannot afford
the debt. The maximum period of imprisonment is three months.
In the Legal Cases section of our
secure Downloads area, you will see
details of a recent Human Rights Case from the European Court
that confirms that local authorities must look at
all other available options before considering imprisonment.
Note:
We have received many reports that bailiffs collecting council tax have either stated at the door or by letter that unless the entire debt is paid in full or that you allow the bailiff into your home to remove goods, that he is going to the court to apply for you to be taken to prison. This is nonsense and the bailiff has no such power. He is using this threat as a means of either making you pay straight away or making you borrow the money instead.
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