Can’t afford to pay council tax; what happens next?

[coldinearlyspring]

Slightly complicated one as it isn’t mine; I’ve been paying council tax for a relative who is autistic (but not diagnosed) and vulnerable but ‘high functioning.’ He basically falls into that grey space where he can’t fully function independently but also isn’t eligible for support (and probably wouldn’t engage anyway.)

So he moved into his flat February 2024 and didn’t pay the council tax so it obviously built up. I started paying it back and I have paid all of it bar £350. I just can’t afford to pay it this month because my pay has gone down.

I obviously need to speak to the council but I’m wondering what’s going to happen, what they will be likely to say? This payment was already part of a payment plan and I have made three payments before and this was the last instalment.

If it was your bill, I'd say ring them and explain, as long as you're engaging in the process of repaying they are likely to be accommodating. If you can afford to pay anything, even if it's just £20, offer it and they will probably accept (getting repaid slowly is still better for them then having to go to court or hire bailiffs).

The more complicated bit is that you are paying it for someone else. For repayment purposes, they will want to look at your relatives ability to pay, not yours. If they have disposables income the council won't accept them just deciding not to pay.

What is the long term plan with this, as it doesn't seem sustainable that you just pay any bill they don't want forever. If they have capacity, they need to take responsibility for paying their own bills, even if they nerd suport setting up direct debits or budgeting. If the don't have the capacity to understand, then adult social care needs to be involved, and an appropriate person needs to be appointed to handle their money for them.

@coldinearlyspring is your relative working?

Does he have savings?

You can’t afford to pay but what about your relative ? Why hasn’t he been paying anyway? Can he afford to live in this flat ? Are there other bills unpaid ?

Thanks @Sprogonthetyne . I wonder if it varies from council to council coil as when I initially contacted them they fixed the payments and it is high but they were adamant it couldn’t be any less. My worry if it being handed on to bailiffs and getting out of control.

He isn’t working but he was when this bill accumulated so that’s why it isn’t covered by benefits.

As above what’s his income and what’s he spending his money on? Does he have it and spends it on other things?

Get some help from CAB.

@coldinearlyspring if he's not working now is he on Universal Credit?

Does he get the 25 percent discount for living alone, assuming he does.

It’s the one bill that has to be paid as non payment can lead to prosecution. Part of me thinks that high functioning people are done no favours by others bailing them out. Are you a sibling and parents have died so you feel a bit responsible?

It’s all about capacity, I would contact social services for advice in the first instance. They can take over a persons financial affairs but it’s complex and last resort if they lack capacity.

He only gets benefits which are practically nothing to be honest. They would cover council tax for this year but these arrears are from last year so that’s why complicates things. I’m not sure CAB can help much as council tax is a priority debt. They can help with your rights and access to benefits but he has those; they can’t just make it vanish. (Brother is constantly hammering the door of CAB and various other organisations pleading poverty!)

See CAB quickly. (You) he needs to do an income/expenses list (not including the council tax arrears) then see what is left to pay debt. Council tax is a priority above, for example, credit cards. The you show the council.

Well it isn’t going to do him any favours if he goes to prison! Realistically though it doesn’t come to that; what does happen is it gets passed to a debt management company and they add thousands of fees which we obviously don’t want to happen. He’s high functioning in the sense he can speak etc but he isn’t really very capable. But capable enough. I don’t want to sound grumpy but if you don’t get it … you don’t get it 🤷‍♀️

They will initially want the bill repaid in the financial year hence the high monthly repayment plan. Our LA will accept very low repayments but only after they have a liability order from the court. This will add a little more to the bill and enables them to use bailiffs or to apply for deduction from benefits if he is on benefits. But they will usually agree a repayment plan without going to these options. If you/ he don’t stick to it they have the order as back up. The first step is as others have said to make sure that he is getting all benefits he is entitled to and all discounts such as single person and council tax reduction. The LA may also have discretion to award other sums to those in hardship. Ours is called the exceptional hardship payment. Look on the website for details. Also speak to your local citizens advice as they should have knowledge of the LA policies. Good luck.

He needs evidence that he struggles with day to day management of his activities of daily living. You keep saying he is high functioning, not sure if that is relevant. CAB is there to help everyone including those with additional needs even if no specific diagnosis/'label'. You will also have a social prescriber at the GP surgery that may be able to help with whatever other benefits he may be able to access to help with finances. Does this person have anyone else that can help with the bills in the interim?? And if they are not working and have CT debts can they successfully live alone long term?

Also CA can deal with priority debts. Check if they have a local debt advisor who will work through this with your relative.

Thank you @ivyleafgeranium . It’s frustrating as it’s the very last payment; just want to pay it and get it over and done with 😩

Re his disability, there are just no easy answers; he’s disabled but not disabled enough. There are a lot like him sadly.

Brother is constantly hammering the door of CAB and various other organisations pleading poverty!) what is the outcome of these conversations? What does he think the cause of the poverty is?

We had an issue paying ours years ago and the council let us pay in instalments along side our regular bill and paying for 12 months instead of 10.

When you speak to them, you need to use polite but very blunt language. So instead of saying he's "struggling to pay" or asking if you can pay less, you need to tell them our right that you/he cannot pay that amount and that doing so would place him/you in extreme financial hardship and make you unable to buy food or cover basic living expenses.

They really shouldn't have placed an unemployed and vaunrable young person on a repayment plan costing £350/month. Even if you are helping him pay, you aren't legally obliged to so the debt and repayments should have been set at what is resonable for his financial situation.

I missed a payment last year on my council tax, they just rolled it over to this year. I would just ring them up and talk to them.

If you have set up a plan and renege on it you will receive a summons in the post with a court date on it. You will also have money added to the bill as a fine. Mine was an extra £86.

The summons will give you three options:
Pay it all at once and make it go away
Ring the council tax people up straight away to make arrangements/payment plan but the summons stays in place in case you renege again
Go to court and plead your case

If you ignore it entirely, court will find against him and look at bailiffs/taking it directly

To avoid all of the above, especially the added fine, you need to contact them NOW to let them know you will be reneging on the payment BEFORE they start with the summons.
Make a different plan or ask for the £350 to be added to 26/27.

I would ring up and speak to the council. I would also ring social services and explain this to them, if your brother is disabled he is a vulnerable adult living alone not able to pay priority bills. There may be LA services that can help with this, it also highlights that he are not as "independent" as they have assessed him to be. If he is officially marked as vulnerable then this may open up extra allowances regarding repayment options.

Most councils have a council tax discretionary fund. I think they can look at help towards debts. You would obviously need to explain the situation.
If he is getting universal credit then has he been through a work capability assessment ? he could get extra money on his UC if found not capable of work.

The amount of money he is living on NOW should be taken into consideration in any payment plan.

Has he done a proper budget and submitted it to the council? CAB or an organisation like National Debtline can help him with this.

Thanks, this is what I’ve been doing but because it was quite a lot it’s still a high monthly amount.

SS won’t be interested and even if they were, he wouldn’t engage with them.

If this is the last payment could you take out a loan to cover it and pay that back over 12 months. Or get a zero % credit card and pay it with that and pay back before the 0% runs out?

I hope he is paying you back, even at £10 a month, he has to take responsibility for his debt.