How to stop bailiffs for council tax

Bailiffs By Council Tax Helpline, 10 September 2026

In short

Act as soon as you get a notice of enforcement. Dealing with it then avoids the £247 visit fee.
Your council can take the account back from the bailiffs at any time. Ask it directly, with an affordable offer.
Breathing Space pauses bailiffs for up to 60 days while you get advice.
A Debt Relief Order, IVA or bankruptcy stops enforcement of the debts included.
If you are vulnerable, or the bill or fees are wrong, say so in writing. Both can stop enforcement.

Once your council has passed a council tax debt to bailiffs, officially called enforcement agents, it can feel as though it is out of your hands. It is not. There are several ways to stop the bailiffs, and the most effective ones go through your council.

1. Act during the notice period

Before any visit, the bailiff firm must send you a notice of enforcement and give you at least 14 clear days. At this point only the £79 compliance fee has been added.

If you pay, or agree a payment plan, before the first visit, the £247 enforcement fee is never added. That makes this the cheapest moment by far to deal with it. See notice of enforcement.

2. Ask your council to take the account back

This is the route most people do not know about. The bailiffs act on your council’s behalf, and your council can recall the account at any time.

Write to your council’s council tax or recovery team and:

Explain what has happened, and anything that makes your situation harder
Set out your income and essential outgoings
Offer an amount you can afford each month, on top of this year’s bill
Ask them to recall the account from the bailiffs and agree a special payment arrangement

Send a copy to the bailiff firm so it knows an offer is with the council. Councils do not have to agree, but many do when the offer is realistic, and especially when there is vulnerability.

3. Agree a payment plan with the bailiffs

If the council will not take the account back, most bailiff firms will still agree a plan they believe you will keep to. They do not have to, but most do. See can bailiffs refuse a payment plan.

Never agree to more than you can afford just to make them leave. A broken agreement leads to more fees, and can let them come back in using reasonable force after giving notice.

4. Tell them if you are vulnerable

If you or someone you live with is vulnerable, for example through illness, disability, mental health problems, pregnancy, bereavement, or caring for young children, tell the firm and the council in writing, with any evidence you have.

Bailiff firms must take vulnerability into account, and the £247 enforcement fee cannot be charged unless you were first given a proper chance to get advice. Councils often take accounts back in these cases.

5. Breathing Space

Breathing Space is a legal pause of up to 60 days, in England and Wales. While it lasts, the bailiffs, and your council, must stop enforcing the debts included, and interest and charges are frozen.

You cannot apply yourself: a debt adviser has to start it for you. It is a pause, not a solution, so use the time to agree an arrangement or apply for a formal option. See Breathing Space.

6. A formal debt solution

A Debt Relief Order, IVA or bankruptcy stops enforcement of the council tax arrears included in it. Tell the bailiff firm and your council in writing as soon as it is in place.

7. Challenge the debt or the fees

If the council tax itself is wrong, for example you were not liable, the band is wrong, or you have missed a discount, or if the bailiff fees are wrong, say so in writing. Ask the council to hold enforcement while it looks into it.

Check the fees with our bailiff fee calculator
Check for help you are missing: discounts and exemptions and Council Tax Reduction

What does not work

Ignoring the letters. Fees are added at each stage, and your council has other ways to collect.
Hiding goods or moving them to someone else’s home. It rarely works, and once goods are controlled, moving them is a criminal offence.
Paying for “bailiff removal” services. Free help is available, and no one can stop bailiffs by a method your council could not.

In Scotland

Scotland has sheriff officers instead of bailiffs, and different rules. Our sister service helps people in Scotland:

Where are you with the bailiffs?

Choose the one that fits best and an adviser will call you back. Free, confidential, and no obligation.

Takes about 3 minutes.