Appeal a Council Tax bill while bailiffs are enforcing a liability order

Bailiff enforcement does not give the enforcement agent power to decide whether the council tax bill itself is legally correct. Liability disputes are determined through the statutory council tax appeal machinery.

A person aggrieved by a billing authority's decision about liability, or by specified calculations affecting the amount payable, may first serve a written notice on the authority under section 16 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.^[1]

In England, the council has two months to decide the matter. If it rejects the challenge, an appeal may ordinarily be made to the Valuation Tribunal within two months of the decision. If the council does not reply within two months, the appeal may ordinarily be lodged within four months of the date of the original notice.^[2]

The Valuation Tribunal can decide council tax liability issues, but it does not have jurisdiction to quash a magistrates' court liability order.^[2] If a corrected council decision means the liability order should not have been made, ask the council to use the regulation 36A procedure.^[3]

An appeal does not automatically suspend collection. Write separately to the council's recovery team asking it to place bailiff enforcement on hold until the liability dispute is decided, explaining why the appeal is material and supplying the appeal reference.

Keep the legal issues separate: the billing appeal concerns whether and how much council tax is due; the liability order concerns magistrates' court enforcement; and the bailiff process concerns taking control of goods under Schedule 12. A strong challenge identifies which decision is being attacked and uses the correct route.

^{[1] Section 16 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992
[2] Valuation Tribunal: Council Tax liability appeal (England)
[3] Regulation 36A of the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992}