Council tax debts have soared, charity warns

By Natasha Roberts

Date: Monday 11 Jun 2012

The number of cases of people falling behind of their council tax is up 27 per cent despite the majority of English councils freezing their charges, a debt charity has reported.

Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) said that number of people contacting them for assistance with council tax arrears rose to 17,000 cases in 2011, compared to 13,000 the previous year.

The average amount owed to the council in arrears has also risen in that time, from £675 to £717.

The CCCS blames much of this of the worsening financial position of renters, saying for the first time more renters are contacting the charity on this issue than homeowners.

CCCS Director of External Affairs Delroy Corinaldi said: “The financial squeeze is causing more and more households to fall behind with their council tax bills, and this is a problem we expect to get worse over the coming year."

NR

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