A rule change on council tax has Martin Lewis saying he's 'genuinely moved' by the change as one of the most 'vicious' parts of it is being scrapped.
The government is changing how council tax collection works to postpone the 'vicious and damaging' practice of allowing councils to demand payment for the entire year three weeks after a monthly payment is missed.
Under the current rules this means people who miss a payment can be sent a reminder notice after 14 days and a demand for full annual payment after 21 days, while they can also face extra costs, have bailiffs sent round to their home and be taken to court.
Under new plans due to kick in from April 2027 onwards admin costs will be capped at £100 and households will have 63 days to sort out the money they owe rather than 21.
Advert
Essentially it means UK households that miss a council tax payment will have two months to pay what they owe rather than it being three weeks before they face 'aggressive' forms of debt collection.
Martin Lewis welcomes council tax changes
One of the big supporters of this incoming change to council tax is the UK's favourite money saving expert Martin Lewis, who has welcomed the change to the rule which he'd said had been the source of 'so much pain'.
"Council Tax debt collection is so aggressive it'd make banks blush. It's the most vicious and damaging form of legal debt collection out there – causing counterproductive misery for millions," he said on his site.
"We've spent the last 18 months campaigning hard to change this hideous system, and having seen so much pain caused by it, I'm genuinely moved by this huge first step towards making things better."
Lewis said that he didn't know how people were expected to pay an entire year's council tax bill within a few weeks if they'd missed a monthly payment and that 'no commercial firm would be allowed to do anything close – constituents are treated worse than customers'.
Even worse is people in such a situation would end up having to pay more through 'admin costs' and a 'liability order' and would 'soon see bailiffs sent in', with the changes from next year they will be capped.
Welcoming the changes, the money saving expert said it was a 'hugely welcome change' even if a 'perfect world' for him would involve an even longer grace period and a lower cap on fees.
Calling the outgoing system 'grotesque', Lewis said that making people who missed a payment have to cough up a year's worth of council tax within three weeks was 'often catastrophic for people's finances and wellbeing'.
He warned that it had left lots of people 'needing more help and support', and the old approach was self-defeating as it was 'ultimately the same council having to pick up the pieces'.
Back in 2024 the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute (MMHPI) had called the rule allowing councils to pursue full payment after three weeks 'outdated, outmoded and cruel'.
In their report they'd found that 87 percent of councils England and Wales had used their powers to bring the full extent of the law to bear on people who missed a payment and it was causing 'unnecessary distress' as well as mental health conditions.
They found that 73 percent of people in council tax arrears who were referred to a bailiff have experienced a mental health problem, and that around 6.2 million Brits were behind on some kind of payment to the government such as council tax.
Topics: Martin Lewis, UK News, Cost of Living, Money
Joe Harker