As well as Derby, other Derbyshire councils who the BBC approached for figures also highlighted increasing difficulties for households paying the bill.
Derbyshire Dales, Amber Valley and North East Derbyshire councils did not respond to the BBC’s request at the time of publication.
The number of “first reminders” Erewash Borough Council sent to households who had failed to pay the bill rose by about 60% in roughly the same time period.
In Chesterfield, there was an almost 50% increase in the number of households in debt between the financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25.
However, the starkest rise was seen in Bolsover. There, the number of households in council tax debt rose from 1,291 in the 2023-24 financial year to 2,802 – an increase of about 117%.
Bolsover is one of the most deprived district councils in the East Midlands.
The authority said the figures were a “snapshot” of arrears at specific points in time and said the figure will have reduced as monies are repaid.
High Peak and South Derbyshire have seen the number of residents in arrears stay roughly level over the past few years. In High Peak, this is about 5,000 households, about 12% of the borough.
