The number of low-income residents who are failing to pay their council tax has risen by 40 per cent in 12 months. 

An additional 1,800 low-income residents in Waltham Forest were summoned to court between April 2014 and 2015 for non-payment of council tax, compared to the same period in 2013, a report has found.

Changes to council tax support in April 2013 meant claimants no longer received 100 per cent council tax benefit.

Each local authority set up their own schemes, with Waltham Forest council opting for a 8.5 per cent contribution, which rose to 15 per cent in April 2014.

During that year, 4,490 residents were summoned to court, but the figure for the last financial year shows court summons have risen to 6,282.

In total, 10,021 benefit claimants in Waltham Forest and Redbridge were called before the courts in 2014.

The 40 per cent increase has been revealed in a joint report titled 'Too Poor to Pay' by the Child Action Poverty Group (CAPG) and anti-poverty charity Z2K, which found almost 123,000 low-income Londoners are in arrears on their council tax.

The council agreed in February to increase residents' minimum payment to 16 per cent for this year, which is three times higher than Redbridge council's 5 per cent contribution, and will rise again to 24 per cent from next April.

Despite the increase in summons, the number of times bailiffs have been used as an enforcement tactic has slightly reduced from 1,096 incidents in 2013/14 to 999 in 2014/15.

Of the 6,282 summons, 4,478 of those claimants were in arrears and 3,331 were charged costs for falling behind on their bills.

A council tax exceptional hardship relief fund of £150,000 was set up two years ago to help those who are unable to pay the tax, although none of it was used in the first year.

This budget has now increased to £750,000.

In comparison to all London boroughs, Waltham Forest has the highest non-dependant deduction at 25 per cent, and has increased its taper rate from 20 per cent to 25 per cent.

Across London benefit claimants in arrears has doubled with102,204 Londoners issued with a court summons and more than 71,000 claimants charged £8.5m in court costs on top of arrears.

CPAG chief executive, Alison Garnham, said: "Central government and local authorities must face the fact that the new scheme isn’t working.

"They need to play fair and stop charging council tax to people who haven’t got the money to pay it."

Joanna Kennedy, chief executive of Z2K, added: "At the same time as the government is making great efforts to lift low income households out of income tax, it is perverse that local authorities should start to charge them council tax.

"The end result is either cutting down on essentials and going hungry or fail to pay and risk having an aggressive bailiff knocking on your door.

"That is not a choice any family should face."