Council tax BAND REDUCTION.

[jaffabeach]

Council tax BAND REDUCTION.

There are several types of council tax discounts available. This for this post relates to to getting
Council Tax BAND REDUCTION if you have a disability.

Disabled Band Reduction Scheme

You may be eligible for the scheme if you live in a larger property than you would need if you or another occupant were not disabled.

You’ll have to show that you’ve either:
an extra bathroom, kitchen or other room that you need for the disabled person
extra space inside the property for using a wheelchair

The property must be the main home of at least 1 disabled person. This can be an adult or a child - it does not have to be the person responsible for paying the Council Tax.

http://www.gov.uk/council-tax/discou...isabled-people

Several councils do not make this clear on their website instead of focusing on council tax reductions based on income.

You need to check your own local authority website but remember this is a national scheme irrespective what's the local authority say if you qualify you can get the reduction.

http://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/Dis...l-Tax Discount

Under this scheme would be a reduction to the next lower band and could be several hundred pounds. If you are in band A the lowest band you are still entitled to a reduction usually based on a reduction of ⅙ .

Finally some local authorities say the reduction is not payable until they have investigated the claim. I think there is a strong case to argue that the reduction should be made from the date the claim is made if it is agreed. This case is made stronger as some local authorities take several weeks to investigate and conclude their review of claims.

If you make a claim and are happy to share this on the site please do.

Benefit advice is available free see here

https://www.mndassociation.org/support-and-information/our-services/

[Barry52]

Hi Jaff,

Thanks for posting this for our new members. I made a successful claim 5 years ago based on the fact I had a bathroom installed downstairs.

Regards,
Barry

[jaffabeach]

Good news Just got the news of £350 reduction

[Sueb]

Ours was backdated to when Steve started using his wheelchair full time. We get £230 reduction a year.

Sue

[Tan]

Can anyone confirm that the Council Tax Band reduction is only available if you have to use a wheelchair at home?
We've just built a wet room in (what was) the garage so that I can shower more easily. But it is my arms that are going not my legs (as yet) but reading my local council's website the reduction of one band appears only to be available to wheelchair users.
Tony

[Ellie]

Hi Tony,

Hopefully someone will have a definite answer for you soon - one doesn't need to be in a wheelchair per se, but need to be 'substantially & permanently disabled' as the first criteria. This is from the Carers UK website:

"Disability reduction scheme


You may be able to get a reduction in council tax under the disability reduction scheme if anyone resident in the property (adult or child) is ‘substantially and permanently disabled’.

In addition, one of the following conditions has to be met:

• there is an additional bathroom or kitchen in the property which is needed by the disabled person
• there is a room (other than a bathroom, kitchen or toilet) needed by and mainly used by the disabled person
• there is enough space in the property for the disabled person to use a wheelchair indoors

There is no general test of who is considered ‘substantially and permanently disabled’. However, if a person is registered as disabled with their local council, this should be enough to satisfy this condition (although this does not mean that someone who is not on the register would not fit this condition). It could also help to provide supporting evidence from your GP/consultant."

Also, I want to extend you a warm welcome to the Forum.

Take

[Barry52]

Hi Tony, I was not a wheelchair user at the time but when I converted a ground floor room to a wet room the council sent someone round and approved a band reduction.

barry

[Tan]

Thanks all for those swift responses. The reason for asking the question is this extract taken from my local council's website.

'... Enough space for the use of a wheelchair that needs to be used inside the dwelling (Please note- it is essential that the person needs to use a wheelchair indoors due to the nature of their disability).'

It seems to contradict Barry and adds a rider to Ellie's extract.

Tony

[Ellie]

Tony, is that extract part of an either/or list or an absolute requirement?

[Music man's wife]

Just to say we got this band reduction and its backdated for 4 years. Basically all we needed to show was that Chris used a wheelchair in the house. For some reason I thought there was more to it than that.