Many people across the country occasionally find themselves unable to make a Council Tax payment on time, often due to circumstances outside of their control. Councils are bound by national regulations which states what course of action they must take to recover the money.
After sending initial and reminder letters, if the outstanding debt is not paid then a third ‘final notice’ letter will be sent, requiring the remaining Council Tax for the whole of the current year to be paid within seven days.
In Havering, this would mean that if a Band C household missed the first payment (in April), they would be required to pay the whole £1,536.59 for the year straight away.
The Residents’ Association of Emerson Park have added their support to the Local Government Association’s (LGA) call for regulations to be changed so that local authorities are no longer required to collect the whole years Council Tax following a single missed payment and for councils to be allowed to use other methods to recover money without having to go to the courts.
If you are in the position where you are unable to make a Council Tax payment it is important that you let Havering Council know straight away so that arrangements can be made to help you. Their advice page can be found via this link or you can contact the Havering Welfare Rights Unit by e-mail at welfarerightsunit@havering.gov.uk or on 01708 434 444.
Can someone advise me in connection with the council tax band A to H for 2019/20. The highest amount for band H is 3457.32 pounds. Does this mean that the houses in Emerson Park, Upminster etc that are valued at 3 million pounds and over are classed as band H. I live in St Georges Avenue and two of the properties in this Avenue are in band G, there is no comparison in property value etc to the houses in Emerson Park which I assume are charged in band H. Would you be kind enough to advise me because this seems a mystery, it would be pleased to hear that these high value properties pay higher than band H to help Havering manage to give back the free 30 minutes parking to local residents, and help the local stores as per Councillor Damian White free parking for 6 weekends to help local stores. If he thinks free parking will help why not bring back the free 30 minutes parking.
Dear Margaret,
Council tax banding is standard across the country, using bands A-H. There is no higher banding than H and so to answer your question simply, the highest council tax amount for any single dwelling in Havering is currently £3,457.32.
Regards
The Residents’ Association of Emerson Park Team