A Council Tax liability order is a decision made by the Magistrates’ Court. It confirms that the Council Tax shown on your court summons is legally owed.
If a liability order is granted, it also gives the Council the legal authority to take further action to recover the unpaid Council Tax if the balance is not paid.
The Council attends a Magistrates’ Court hearing where many Council Tax cases are considered together.
At the hearing:
The Magistrates’ Court grants liability orders during a bulk hearing and does not issue individual printed copies for each case.
This means you will not receive a copy of the liability order.
Instead, the court notifies the Council of all liability orders granted at the hearing. The Council then updates the relevant Council Tax accounts in line with the court’s decision.
If a liability order is granted and the Council Tax remains unpaid, the Council can take further recovery action. This may include:
We will always try to work with you first to agree a payment arrangement you can afford before taking further action.
If you already have a payment plan and you keep to it, no further recovery action will be taken on the liability order.
To understand what may happen if payments are not made as agreed, read our further recovery action page.
If you are struggling to pay because you do not have enough money, you may be able to get help through Portsmouth City Council’s Council Tax Support Scheme. Find more information or apply online to the scheme on our website.
If you need to discuss your Council Tax, or if your circumstances have changed, please contact the Council Tax team.
Email is the fastest way to contact us, as phone lines are very busy. Please include as much information as possible, especially if you would like us to look at a payment plan. Once we receive your email:
You can also use our online contact form 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. When completing the form:
You can call us between 9am and 4pm, Monday to Friday:
Free, confidential financial advice is available locally. You can find organisations offering independent debt advice on our free independent financial advice pages.
