The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has been unable to collect council tax following a cyber-attack in November 2025, meaning households who pay their bills by direct debit are now being asked to pay large lump sum payments as systems are switched back on.
Following the attack last November, the council isolated its systems to keep them safe. This impacted many of its functions and services, including its ability to collect council tax.
The council has now switched systems back on, meaning households are being asked to pay between £274 and £1,095 in one go.
The council confirmed that during the November cyber-attack, some resident data was copied.
It said in a statement, updated this week (16 March): “We confirmed a data breach with the Information Commissioner's Office at the earliest opportunity and have provided updates both online and by writing to more than 100,000 households with guidance on what to do if they had any concerns.”
The council said it is working with independent cybersecurity specialists to carry out a “thorough forensic review” of the data copied during the attack - prioritising any sensitive or higher-risk personal information.
Cllr Elizabeth Campbell, leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council, said: “When we were hit by the criminal cyber-attack last November, we isolated our systems to keep them safe. This impacted many of our functions and services, including our ability to collect council tax. We know this has been frustrating and we sincerely apologise to our residents for the inconvenience. After the attack we communicated regularly with residents to explain that payments would be collected at a later date and to keep money in their accounts to cover this.
“Now after advice from cyber security experts we have confirmed that the threat has been contained, enabling us to carefully switch systems back on. We are collecting council tax again and are writing to residents with their adjusted bills advising them to look at the FAQ’s on the website. We understand the impact of big bills and for most residents this will be a maximum of three months.
“We have support available for people who are worried about paying the bill and our customer service centre is taking calls from residents who need help understanding the bill."
The amount that households pay for council tax will vary depending on how they pay their bills. Some people pay over 10 months, while some pay over 12.
