Council tax and the rule of law

ON September 20, 2023, the Leighton judgement was handed down to protect the public from having their property seized by debt collectors.

- by LANCE PEATLING

Campaign group PeaceKeepers has since promoted this judgement, as not only does it stop enforcement agents (formerly bailiffs) in their attempts to confiscate your possessions, it also opens a path towards suing them for harassment.

It is also a means to stop councils up and down the country from pursuing what PeaceKeepers assert to be an unlawful demand for money through council tax. To obtain this tax, local authorities will use the threat of court action, bankruptcy, an attachment of earnings order (allowing for money to be taken directly from your wages), a charging order against your property (after which the council may look to sell your home out from under you) or, ultimately, imprisonment.

In summary, Leighton successfully sued the enforcement agency, Bristow & Sutor. That success hinged on paragraph 26(1) (b) of Schedule 12 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, which states that an enforcement agent must show evidence to the debtor and any person who appears to be in charge of the premises upon request.

Ordinarily, when asked to evidence their authority to act, an enforcement agent will airily wave a bit of paper or show a screenshot produced by the council.

In this particular instance, Mr Leighton challenged the presumption that the bit of paper had any authority whatsoever; after all, most people own a printer these days.