Council Tax and business rates recovery procedure policy

Charging orders

We can apply to the county court for a charge to be put on a property on which a council tax debt is owed if it has liability orders for a debt more than £1,000, providing the property is owned by the debtor.

We can apply to the court to force an order for sale of the property to pay the council tax arrears including all costs incurred.

We are likely to apply for a charging order against a property that is fully or jointly owned by the customer if:

  • the customer has a vulnerable person in their household e.g. disability or the customer/partner is over 70 years of age
  • a third party has power of attorney
  • no contact can be made with the debtor
  • they do not appear to have sufficient income or assets to pay the arrears
  • the property is currently for sale and no payment arrangement has been agreed