You should pay the amount of Council Tax that you owe in full, including costs as shown on the summons.  If you do this before the date of the court hearing your case will not be heard and the council will not apply for a Liability Order.  

Pay Council Tax

If you are unable to pay the full amount, a payment arrangement is provided on the summons. Please note that we will continue with the application for a Liability Order; however, as long as you adhere to this arrangement, no further action will be taken and you do not need to attend the court hearing.

If you are unable to pay the arrangement detailed on your summons and would like to request an alternative payment arrangement you can set up a Special Arrangement online via MyCouncil Tax Online. 

Set Up a Special Arrangement

A repayment offer can also be submitted through our online Income & Expenditure form,  which is provided on the Apply4Online portal.

For all further enquiries please telephone 01908 253794. Our opening hours are 9:00am until 5:00pm Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday (excluding Bank Holidays). 

A Liability Order is a legal demand requiring you to pay the total outstanding amount of your Council Tax, along with any additional costs incurred. Once granted, a Liability Order gives the council increased powers to recover the debt you owe. These powers include several enforcement actions designed to ensure payment. 

Actions the Council May Take 

• Requesting your employer to make regular deductions from your salary to cover the outstanding amount. 

• Arranging for payments to be taken directly from your benefits, such as Universal Credit, Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance, or Employment and Support Allowance. 

• Instructing Enforcement Agents to visit your home, where they may collect the amount owed or, if necessary, remove and sell personal belongings to recover the debt. 

• Placing a charging order on your property. This could result in the forced sale of your property to pay off the Council Tax arrears, or the arrears being settled from the proceeds if you sell the property in the future. 

• Applying to make you bankrupt if the debt remains unpaid. 

• Applying to the Magistrates Court for your committal to prison as a last resort if other enforcement methods are unsuccessful. 

Attendance at the Court Hearing

You do not need to attend the court hearing unless you have a legal defence against the issue of a liability order. The magistrates will hear the case whether you attend or not.

Valid Defences Against a Liability Order

The magistrates are only able to consider legal defences relating to the issue of a liability order. Some common defences include: 

• The property is not entered in the appropriate valuation list. 

• The Council Tax has not been properly set. 

• The Council Tax has not been billed in accordance with the legislation. 

• The amount demanded has been paid in full, including summons costs. 

• More than six years have passed since the balance became due. 

• Bankruptcy proceedings have been initiated.

• You are not the person liable to pay the Council Tax for which you have been summonsed. 

What is not Considered a Valid Defence

It is not a valid defence against the issue of a liability order, and you do not need to attend court if:

• You are unable to pay the amount owed in full.
• You would like additional time to pay or are experiencing difficulty paying.
• You wish to make a payment arrangement.
• You have applied for Council Tax Support and have not received a response.
• Your Council Tax Support is incorrect.
• You are appealing against a decision regarding Council Tax Support entitlement.
• You have appealed to the council or the Valuation Office Agency about the amount of your Council Tax or your property's band. 

If you have a valid defence and plan to attend the court hearing, please contact the Recovery Department with your reason before the hearing. 

Email recovery@milton-keynes.gov.uk or call the Council on 01908 254060. Opening hours are 9am-5pm Monday, Thursday and Friday, and 10am-5pm on Wednesday. 

Court Costs and Recovery Charges Explained

When a summons is issued, the Council is required to pay a fee of 50 pence to the Magistrates’ Court. This amount is added to the total shown on your summons.

In addition, we apply a charge of £52.00 when a summons is issued. If a Liability Order is granted, we request the Magistrates to award a further £30.00 in costs. These charges reflect the Council’s expenses in recovering unpaid debts up to the point of obtaining a Liability Order.

Because the level of administrative work involved in each case varies, it would be too costly to calculate a detailed breakdown for every individual case. Instead, we calculate the total cost of administering the recovery process and divide it equally across all cases.

Our cost calculation includes staff time within the Revenues and Benefits Service, as well as associated expenses such as printing, postage, and IT systems.

These costs are based on an estimate of the total number of summonses and liability orders expected to be issued over the course of a year. This approach avoids applying disproportionately high costs to hearings with fewer cases.

If you would like a breakdown of how these costs are calculated, please email: recovery@milton-keynes.gov.uk

The Council can issue an Attachment of Earnings Order without having to go back to Court. The Liability Order allows the Council to do this. The amount of the deductions are not set by the Council but by the Government that provides a table of percentage deductions from your net income. Council Tax Deduction Table.

Attachment of Earning Guidance Notes

The Council can apply for deductions to be made from someone’s universal credit, income support, jobseekers’ allowance, pension credit and employment and support allowance. 

Enforcement Agents are appointed to recover outstanding Council Tax debts by seizing and, where appropriate, removing goods for sale. If the Council instructs Enforcement Agents to act, this will result in considerable additional charges for the debtor. It is therefore advisable to contact the Enforcement Agents as soon as possible to help reduce these potential costs. 

Enforcement Agent Charges 

• Compliance Stage – £75: This fee is charged to the debtor when the Council instructs Enforcement Agents to collect an unpaid debt. 

• Enforcement Stage – £235: This fee is incurred upon the first visit from the Enforcement Agent. 

• Sale/Disposal Stage – £110: This fee is charged if the Enforcement Agent makes a subsequent visit with the intention of removing goods for sale. 

Please note, an additional fee of 7.5% will be applied to any balance over £1,500. 

Marston Contact Details 

For postal payments, send a postal order, cheque or banker’s draft made payable to ‘Marston’ to the address above. Ensure your name and the reference number are written on all correspondence and, if sending payment, on the reverse of the postal order, cheque, or banker’s draft to clarify what the payment is for. 

Bristow & Sutor Contact Details 

For postal payments, send a postal order, cheque, or banker’s draft made payable to ‘Bristow & Sutor’ to the address above. Include your name and reference number on all correspondence and, if sending payment, on the reverse of the postal order, cheque, or banker’s draft to identify the payment. 

The Council wishes to avoid committal wherever possible, but has a strict policy of taking such proceedings where no other form of recovery is appropriate. In the first instance the Council will apply for a summons for you to attend Court. This action will lead to substantial costs being added to your debt.

You must attend this hearing. If you do not attend, a warrant will be issued for your arrest.

At the hearing, the Council will apply for you to be committed to prison for non-payment.

You will undergo an enquiry as to your means. If the Magistrates find you guilty of either Culpable Neglect (you did not pay and it is deemed to be your fault) or Wilful Refusal (you intentionally chose not to pay) they can choose to commit you to prison or to suspend committal on an order for payments. The maximum sentence for each Liability Order is 3 months imprisonment. It is strongly recommended that you take legal advice in advance of the hearing.

If a Liability Order has been granted and the total indebtedness to the Council is over £1,500 the Council can petition for your bankruptcy.

Should you be made bankrupt your personal finances will be handed over to a Trustee who will administer your estate.

Your assets can include any interest in any home you own, personal pension, endowments and savings plans.

It will inhibit your ability to obtain credit. The costs of obtaining a Bankruptcy Order and the subsequent actions of a Trustee can amount to several thousands of pounds.

These costs would be deducted from the proceeds of your liquidated assets.

A Bankruptcy Order can still be made even if you refuse to acknowledge the proceedings. You should therefore ensure that you do acknowledge any such proceedings and contact the Council immediately.

All enquiries should be directed through Wilkin Chapman Rollits' website: https://www.wilkinchapmanrollits.co.uk

If a Liability Order has been granted and the total indebtedness to the Council has over £1,000 outstanding under Liability Order(s) and the Council Tax payer has a legal interest in the property, we may apply to the County Court for a charging order on the property.

The effect of a charging order is that if the property or other legal interest is sold, the amount of the charging order is paid out of the proceeds.

All enquiries should be directed through Wilkin Chapman Rollits' website: https://www.wilkinchapmanrollits.co.uk