Enforcement stages and fees
Compliance stage
The compliance stage starts as soon as a Liability Order for unpaid Council Tax, business rates or Business Improvement District (BID) levies has been sent to one of our enforcement agents. A compliance fee of £75 will be added to the amount you owe at this stage.
A Notice of Enforcement will be issued to you advising the date that the amount outstanding must be paid in full. The letter will detail how to pay and how to contact our enforcement agent to arrange a repayment agreement.
Enforcement stage
If you have not paid the outstanding amount or arranged a repayment agreement within 7 days of the Notice of Enforcement being issued, our enforcement agent may visit you to take control of goods.
An enforcement fee of £235 will be added to the amount outstanding when our enforcement agent visits. If you owe more than £1,500, an extra 7.5% of the total amount to be recovered will be added.
Sale of goods stage
Where our enforcement agent removes goods for sale, we will charge a fee of £110. If you owe more than £1,500, an extra 7.5% of the total amount to be recovered will be added.
The regulations allow us to:
- keep the goods on the premises under a controlled goods agreement (they may be removed later if you do not keep up with your repayment agreement)
- secure goods on a highway
- remove goods to a secure location
If you do not pay the full amount outstanding including the compliance and enforcement fees, we will sell your goods to settle the debt.
Fees
It will cost you less if you pay what you owe during the earliest stages of enforcement.
The fees for the collection of outstanding Council Tax, business rates and BID levies are in the table below. They are added to your debt at the beginning of each stage.
| Stage | Fixed fee for amounts owed up to £1,500 | Percentage fee of amount to be recovered if more than £1,500 |
|---|---|---|
| Compliance | £75 | 0% |
| Enforcement | £235 | 7.5% |
| Sale of goods | £110 | 7.5% |
If we have more than one Liability Order for you at the same time, we will add the following fees at each stage:
- fixed compliance fee for each Liability Order
- fixed enforcement or sales of goods fee for only one Liability Order
- percentage fee calculated on the total amount outstanding for all Liability Orders
Read more about the stages of enforcement action in our Internal Enforcement Agent Policy.
The statutory fees are prescribed by law in the Taking control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014.
Page last updated: 11 April 2025
