Council tax warning issued as millions at risk of bailiffs due to 4.4million unpaid bills
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A warning has been issued to millions of Brits as 4.4million council tax bills have been left unpaid with over one million people handed over to bailiffs. A survey by Sell House Fast of local councils in England and Wales has revealed that 1.8 million council tax debt cases were referred to the courts in 2022-23. This rose to 2.1million in 2023-24 and is a rise of 14%. Alongside this, councils are increasingly turning to bailiffs to collect unpaid debts, with referrals rising sharply by 21% – reaching nearly 1.3 million cases in 2023-24.
According to the data collected through Freedom of Information (FIO) requests from Sell House Fast, Liverpool City Council topped the list for unpaid council tax, with £362million owed across 539,752 accounts. Meanwhile, Birmingham City Council - which declared bankruptcy in September 2023 - revealed £194million in council tax arrears on its books.
The average debt among these accounts sat at £997. However, some cases are far more extreme, with one account holder in Birmingham owing an eye-watering £641,777. The three highest council tax debts in England and Wales, all within Birmingham City Council's jurisdiction and exceeding £465,000, are linked to portfolios of multiple properties.
Birmingham, which has been slashing public services in 2024 to balance its books, said these cases had been in recovery for four years without resolution. Councils in the East Midlands and West Midlands have seen the sharpest spikes in referring residents with council tax arrears to bailiffs for collection, with increases of 68% and 58%, respectively, compared to the previous year. By contrast, London, the South East, and Wales reported more modest rises of around 13-15%, while Yorkshire and the Humber saw the smallest change, at just 4%.
