Leighton’s jobless have faced taxing times since benefits changes came into force in April.
There are now 8,700 new council tax payers in Central Beds, with many people who previously escaped paying now having to meet 25% of the full bill.
But of these, 680 people have not yet paid their first monthly instalments even after receiving a bill in March.
However, the council say that in the current circumstances with the reductions in benefit, it has taken the approach of contacting the relevant residents to ensure “all appropriate help and support is being delivered”.
Court action would usually have started by this time in normal circumstances.
A report for councillors on the corporate resources overview and scrutiny committee meeting, said: “There will undoubtedly be an impact on the overall council tax collection rate arising from this issue but this cannot be quantified until the end of the financial year.”
The spare room subsidy that was also brought in in April has impacted on 1,548 residents with an average reduction in benefit of £14.75 per week for those with a spare room and £26.88 per week for those under occupying by two rooms or more. The report adds there has been a 20% increase in incoming council tax and benefits work for Central Beds in 2012/13 than in the previous year.