A summons will be sent to you to appear at the magistrates' court if you have been sent a reminder or final notice, and you haven’t paid the full amount requested on time.

The summons will include an explanatory leaflet, which provides information on defences to the issuing of a court liability order. 

The main defences are:

• The amount demanded has been paid in full
• More than six years has elapsed since the sum became due
• The tax has not been properly set
• The property named on the summons is not shown as an entry in the Valuation List
• The amount has not been demanded in accordance with statutory provisions
• Bankruptcy or winding up proceedings have been initiated.

The magistrate won’t take into account if:

• You don’t have enough money to pay the Council Tax
• You have applied for Council Tax Reduction, or a discount, exemption or other reduction and are waiting to hear from the Council. 
• You have an outstanding appeal with the Council or Valuation Tribunal.

If a summons is sent, you will have to pay costs of £65.00. If you pay the full debt, including the summons costs, before the date of the court hearing, we will withdraw our application for a liability order.

If you do not pay in full including summons costs, at the court hearing we will ask the magistrate to issue a liability order and ask for additional costs of £30.00. 

If you aren’t able to pay the full amount before the hearing, you should contact us as we may be able to offer you a payment arrangement. 

To pay in full, see our ways to pay page.