Streamlining council tax debt recovery in Scotland

It will not come as news to many that council tax rates across Scotland increased for the 2025/26 period, in some areas by as much as 15.6%. What may be new information to many however, are the new rules introduced to allow councils to streamline the recovery of outstanding payments after only a single missed payment of council tax.

Previously, those who failed to make full or partial payment of an instalment would be issued with a first reminder, followed by a final notice. However, under the new rules, no final notice will be issued. If a payment is missed, the debtor will be issued with a single reminder notice, and if no payment is then received within 21 days, the debtor will thereafter lose the right to pay by instalments, and the full years balance will become due.

Following the expiry of the reminder notice, the Council will be able to make an application to the Sheriff Court for a summary warrant without any further notice to the debtor. This is a legal document signed by a Sheriff which grants recovery of the debt by diligence. Additionally, in applying for the summary warrant, the Council will add a 10% statutory penalty to the outstanding account.

Once the summary warrant is granted, Sheriff Officers will be instructed to carry out diligence on behalf of the Council for collection of the debt.

If the debtor does not engage with the Sheriff Officers instructed and make payment, they then have the power to undertake various enforcement measures against the debtor including, but not limited to, bank arrestment and sequestration.

It is important to note that when this action is taken, it will be taken against all parties who are jointly and severally liable for payment of the outstanding Council Tax debt.

Various councils in Scotland have already implemented this change, including West Dunbartonshire Council and Edinburgh City Council. Edinburgh City Council’s policy provides even less time before taking action, stating that a summary warrant will be served if payment is not received within 14 days of the reminder notice.

This change is likely to result in a large increase in the number of applications for summary warrants by councils. In 2023 alone 270,000 people in Scotland missed a council tax payment at least once according to an analysis by Citizens Advice Scotland. The change is designed to streamline the debt recovery process for councils.

A similar change has been implemented in England, but following ongoing campaigning against this, a government consultation is due to be launched to investigate the process, with a view to making the practice fairer. This consultation will only cover England, but the Welsh government is already in the process of conducting its own similar investigation. It is yet to be seen if this will influence the Scottish Government to carry out its own review, but there is likely to be increased pressure to do so depending on the outcome of these investigations and as the change is implemented more widely across Scotland.

Whether these new rules are reviewed and amended or not, there is certainly the need to have an effective debt recovery process in place in order to secure revenue for Councils and the critical services which they provide.

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