Activists have claimed that "those who are already struggling" are more likely to be referred to bailiffs over council tax debt.
Community group ACORN Haringey's analysis of data about bailiff use in the borough shows that more deprived and more ethnically-diverse areas see the highest number of referrals.
ACORN Haringey Chair Reuben Bard-Rosenberg claimed the new evidence suggests Haringey Council is "targeting" those who are already struggling.
But Haringey Council has denied this characterisation and said the "sad reality of council tax taking a higher proportion of poorer people's income means those in deprived areas are more likely to fall behind.
The data comes despite the authority implementing an ethical debt reduction policy that aims to end the use of bailiffs to enforce council tax debts “where people are vulnerable, face mental health issues or are on low incomes”.
Mr Bard-Rosenberg added that it was “particularly shocking” to see that the council send the “most bailiffs into the most ethnically diverse parts of Haringey”.
Using data provided to them by a Haringey councillor and the results of the 2021 census, ACORN Haringey has calculated the number of bailiff referrals in 2021/22 per 1000 households in each council ward.
These results have then been plotted against the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2019 and the percentage of ethnic minority groups in each ward.
The group's analysis suggests that in the western half of the borough, which ranks lower in the deprivation index and includes areas such as Muswell Hill and Highgate, the number of bailiff referrals is typically below 50 per 1,000 households.
In contrast, in the part of the borough surrounding Tottenham, referrals sometimes exceeded 90 per 1,000 households.
These wards in the eastern half of the borough were also typically those with a higher proportion of people from ethnic minority backgrounds.
ACORN Haringey Chair Reuben Bard-Rosenberg said: "Haringey Council have repeatedly claimed that they protect residents who are struggling from bailiffs and suggested that it’s mainly something they use against landlords and second homeowners.
“But from speaking to residents who have experienced the brutality of bailiffs sent to their door, we knew that this was not the full picture.
“Now we have clear evidence that the council are using bailiffs against those communities in our borough who are already struggling.”
Cllr Dana Carlin, Haringey's cabinet member for finance and local investment, urged anyone in financial difficulty to get in touch so that they could access support.
She said: "We have a range of initiatives in place to support residents struggling to pay council tax, which means that over 19,000 of our poorest households have not had a council tax bill to pay this year at all.
“In line with our Ethical Debt Reduction Policy, we also take a number of steps before resorting to bailiff enforcement."
She added: “It is widely recognised that council tax is a regressive tax which takes a greater proportion of income from those on lower incomes.
"The sad reality is that this means households in the more deprived areas of our borough can be more likely to fall into council tax debt.
"Unfortunately, power to change this sits with national government."
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