From next year, people who miss a monthly payment will have roughly two months to settle their bill.
This will be replacing the current system under which if people missed one monthly payment they faced having to pay the entire outstanding sum in a single payment within two weeks.
Bolton West MP Phil Brickell said: “The issue has been highlighted repeatedly by Martin Lewis Money Saving Expert who has previously called the national rules “outdated, outmoded and cruel”.
“Since my election as the MP for Bolton West, I have asked a number of questions of the government on this and supported campaigns by national debt campaign group, Step Change.
“The way Council Tax had been dealt with in the past was completely out of step with private financial service providers.
“One missed payment of Council Tax could lead to bailiffs at the door.
“This is an approach more extreme even compared to the most difficult of private financial lenders.
“So, I’m pleased to see the government announce that the timeframe before a person loses the right to pay in instalments will be extended from one missed payment to three, and at least 63 days, providing more room to repay.”
In March 2024 a Freedom of Information Act request by The Bolton News revealed that more than 13,000 people had been summoned to court over non-payment over the previous year.
A total of 13,122 people had been taken to court for non-payment of council tax over 2023/24.
These same figures showed that a total of £43M was owed across the borough in unpaid council tax.
The changes to the rules from next year will give households 63 days to settle their bill and a requirement for councils to work with them on a sustainable repayment plan.
Billing for council tax will also be shifted to 12-month payments by default, rather than the current 10 months.
The new rules will also cap the costs which councils can charge when seeking a liability order, meaning how councils recover overdue bills, to £100.
Money and Mental Health Policy Institute and MoneySavingExpert founder and chair Martin Lewis said: “Council Tax debt collection is so aggressive it’d make banks blush.
“It’s the most vicious and damaging form of legal debt collection out there – causing counterproductive misery for millions.
“We’ve spent the last 18 months campaigning hard to change this hideous system, and having seen so much pain caused by it, I’m genuinely moved by this huge first step towards making things better.
“Currently, in England, if you miss a monthly payment, many councils, usually within three weeks, demand payment for the entire year.
“How people who can’t find a month’s money are expected to find a year’s I don’t know.
“Yet if they can’t pay, within just three more weeks, they are often taken to court, have ‘admin costs’ added, and soon see bailiffs sent in.
“No commercial firm would be allowed to do anything close – constituents are treated worse than customers.
“The new rule from next April means councils must wait two months, not three weeks, to ask for a year’s money, and the ‘admin costs’ will be capped at £100.
“In a perfect world, it would be even longer and the lower cap would apply, but this is still a hugely welcome change to a 33-year-old process.
“For councils too, it is worth remembering that this grotesque system is often catastrophic for people’s finances and wellbeing, leaving many needing more help and support, and ultimately the same council having to pick up the pieces.”
