Council tax bailiffs in England and Wales
When council tax goes unpaid, the council can get a liability order from the magistrates' court and pass the debt to an enforcement agent (a bailiff). We have matched 127 councils to the firms they use, from the councils' own websites and from published contract awards.
| Firm | Councils found using it | |---|---| | Marston Holdings | 49 | | Bristow & Sutor | 43 | | Jacobs Enforcement | 40 | | Newlyn | 34 | | CDER Group | 28 | | Rundle & Co | 22 | | Dukes Bailiffs | 18 | | Equita | 9 | | Chandlers | 6 | | Rossendales | 4 | | Ross & Roberts | 4 | | Hambury Tilmond | 4 | | Reventus | 4 | | Excel Civil Enforcement | 3 | | Stanford & Green | 3 | | Andrew James Enforcement | 3 | | Grencar | 3 | | JTR Collections | 3 |
Find your council on our councils directory to see its bailiffs, its council tax arrears and its eviction figures.
What a bailiff can charge
| Stage | Enforcement started on or after 1 May 2026 | Started before 1 May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Compliance stage (from when the bailiff firm gets the case, including the Notice of Enforcement) | £79 for each debt or liability order | £75 for each debt or liability order |
| Enforcement stage (from the first visit) | £247, plus 7.5% of the total debt over £1,900 | £235, plus 7.5% of the total debt over £1,500 |
| Sale or disposal stage (from when the bailiff first comes to take goods away, even if nothing is taken) | £116, plus 7.5% of the total debt over £1,900 | £110, plus 7.5% of the total debt over £1,500 |
Source: Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014, regulations 5, 7 and 11 and the Schedule, as amended by SI 2026/366. If one visit covers several debts, a compliance fee can be charged for each debt, but the enforcement and sale fees are charged once, on the combined total. Costs such as storage, locksmiths and auction costs can be added on top (regulations 8 to 10), and VAT may apply. These fees apply to council tax, parking and magistrates' court debts; High Court Enforcement Officers use a different scale. If you disagree with the fees, you can ask the county court to decide (regulation 16).
You can check the fees on your account.
What a bailiff can and cannot do
- Entering your home. You usually do not have to open the door or let a bailiff in. For council tax and parking debts, a bailiff cannot force their way into your home, for example by pushing past you, and can only come in through a door. They can come in through an unlocked door. Different rules apply to unpaid criminal fines, Income Tax and Stamp Duty, where force can be used as a last resort, and where you have broken an agreement about goods a bailiff has already listed. Do not physically block a bailiff. If you do not let them in, they can take goods from outside your home, such as a car (GOV.UK).
- Times. In most cases a bailiff cannot take control of goods before 6am or after 9pm. The exceptions are a court order, business premises open at those times, and finishing a visit already under way (Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, regulation 13).
- Children and vulnerable people. A bailiff cannot come in if only children under 16 or vulnerable people are at home (GOV.UK). This does not stop them coming back another time.
- What they cannot take. Clothing, bedding, furniture and household items reasonably needed for your household's basic needs, including a cooker or microwave, a fridge, a washing machine, and a table with enough chairs for everyone, are protected. So are tools and equipment you need for work or study, up to £1,350 in total (Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, regulation 4). They cannot take someone else's belongings (GOV.UK), but goods you own jointly with someone else can be taken.
- Notice. A Notice of Enforcement must give you at least 14 clear days before a bailiff can take control of your goods (7 clear days for cases started before 1 May 2026), unless a court has ordered a shorter period. Sundays, bank holidays, Good Friday and Christmas Day are not counted (Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, regulation 6).
Free, confidential help
Do not ignore a Notice of Enforcement. Contact the council or creditor as soon as you can: it can agree a payment arrangement and can ask the bailiff to pause.
You can get free debt advice from:
If a debt adviser asks for more time before your notice period ends, the bailiff must wait at least 28 clear days before taking control of your goods (Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, regulation 6(1A), for cases started on or after 1 May 2026). A debt adviser can also check whether you can get Breathing Space (the Debt Respite Scheme), which pauses most enforcement action while it lasts.
If you are disabled, seriously ill or finding it hard to cope, tell the bailiff and the council. The enforcement-stage fees cannot be charged to a vulnerable person unless they were given a proper chance to get help and advice before goods were removed (Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014, regulation 12). If you are struggling to cope, you can call Samaritans free on 116 123.
Published by Deposit Recovery Claims Ltd, which runs The Tenants Voice and a tenancy deposit service. We do not give debt advice and are not paid by any enforcement firm, council or advice service named here.