Member Article

A quarter of young people are in arrears with their council tax

A quarter of young people aged 18-24 (24%) say that they are behind with their council tax, research conducted by Debt Advisory Centre has found.

Rising housing costs are the main driver of this – with 44% of those young people in council tax arrears saying that they put the money towards their rent instead. A further 16% said that they had prioritised paying unsecured debts, such as loans and credit cards, and a similar number (16%) had needed to put the money towards utilities bills. One in 10 young people say that they spent the money buying food.

Overall 1 in 7 adults in the UK (13%) say that they are behind with their council tax with just under half of them (6%) saying that they are more than three months in arrears.

Council tax is considered a “priority bill” and should be paid before money is allocated for unsecured debt repayments.

Young people were also sketchy about the implications of not paying their council tax. A quarter (24%) said they had no idea what could happen if they got behind.

Councils may take a number of steps if you do not pay your tax. In most cases the council will send two reminder notices. The second will usually give you seven days to pay – and if you don’t then the whole year’s council tax becomes payable immediately – you lose your ability to pay in instalments. If you still don’t pay the council can apply to the court for a liability order, which is a legal demand for payment and can also include the council’s costs.

The council can also contact your employer and ask them to deduct the money you owe directly from your wages. The can also take the money from certain benefits (Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance, Pension Credit and Universal Credit). In some cases the council will appoint bailiffs to visit your home to try to recover property up to the value of the amount owed. Finally, the council can take non-payers to court , the ultimate sanction being up to three months in prison for those who can afford to pay the tax but refuse to do so.

Melanie Taylor, debt expert at Debt Advisory Centre commented: “council tax arrears amongst young people is reaching epidemic proportions.

“It is concerning to see that so many are making the mistake of prioritising re-paying loans and credit cards instead of their council tax. One of the first things we do when we speak to customers is help them re-prioritise their budget so that they pay their essential bills, like council tax first. If this means there isn’t enough left to cover unsecured debts then we can help customers agree lower repayments with their lenders, via either formal or informal debt solutions.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Lisa Appleby .