Advice needed re: Council Tax etc

smokeysmate · 8 November 2004 at 4:41PM

My uncle pays no council tax and gets rent rebate because of his low pension etc.

Recently, his wife has inherited money from her late mother. As yet, she has not opened a bank account and as such has not had the money transferred.

The problem is that my aunt will not divulge the amount of the inheritance to my uncle, nor anything to do with it.

My question is:- if she never lets my uncle know how much she received how can he declare a change of circumstances? Would he be liable to be prosecuted for not declaring the change in finances?

I realise that a) ignorance is no excuse
and b) as householder it is his responsibility to pay council tax . However, he will not be able to afford to pay any increase in rent etc as not only have his incomings not increased but he will also be far worse off as his wife will not pay her share.

Any advice welcome.

Thanks

melt71 · 8 November 2004 at 9:44PM

Blimey that sounds really unfair of your aunt, she would be putting him in a very awkward position. Maybe he should boot her out and then go for half of her savings! Only kidding ;D

He could try ringing the council tax department anonymously first off to get some advice or maybe you could do it on his behalf and then they won't be able to trace him, if they can't put him straight maybe Age Concern or the CAB might be able to advise.

Mel

smokeysmate · 9 November 2004 at 3:37PM

Hi Mel,
Sadly my uncle and aunt are going through a very long troubled patch!

Thanks for your advice, I've just spoken to my uncle and I will probably take your suggestion and ring for some advice anonymously but we are going to leave it a week or so, to see if she does open a bank account and if she plays fair with him re: council tax and rent etc.

Lynn

Fran · 9 November 2004 at 5:00PM

Hi smokeysmate,

What a difficult one! He has to declare it as the Council Tax payer and with her as his wife. Can another family member have a word? If she doesn't want to say, can someone advise her to go to CAB and get a calculation done to see where they stand re C.Tax & rent - but that assumes that she knows all the financial situation - would he tell her this if she doesn't know or would he play the same game? She could then pay the Council Tax if necessary but not have to divulge the amount of inheritance to him. She has got to be made aware how serious non-payment of council tax/fraud - ie. getting benefits when not entitled - can be. (And that she would be liable as well and that fraud is a criminal offence.)

Ted_Hutchinson · 9 November 2004 at 7:10PM

Eventually the knowledge of the inheritance will come to the attention of the Council Tax Benefit department. When that happens the benefit will stop and legal action will be taken against the claimant/s for claiming fraudulently and proceedings to reclaim the overpayment started.

It's important the uncle notifies the local authority of the situation as soon as possible if he believes the inheritance will bring their total capital to over £16,000. They will then write to her to ask her to confirm her savings and provide her bank details, so the correct level of CTB can be paid. They could do this confidentially so that the claimant wasn't made aware of the total level of savings or which bank they were located in.

deca_321 · 25 March 2007 at 12:30AM

Hi my fellow counci tax haters!! lol can any1 tell me the correct discount rate for council tax benefit for some1 unemployed and claiming JSA. l know that their is a 25% discount for single occupancy rate. And their is a 50% discount rate for empty domestic propertys, however the council are saying that this 50% rate has been reduced to only 10% now lol bull lol just more lies from the council.

CIS · 25 March 2007 at 1:29AM

Hi my fellow counci tax haters!! lol can any1 tell me the correct discount rate for council tax benefit for some1 unemployed and claiming JSA. l know that their is a 25% discount for single occupancy rate. And their is a 50% discount rate for empty domestic propertys, however the council are saying that this 50% rate has been reduced to only 10% now lol bull lol just more lies from the council.

The 50% rate is optional for councils, they have the power to reduce the discount to (IIRC) 0% in their area if they wish.

If you are the only occupant for council tax purposes you would get 25% single person discount and up to 75% of the Council tax covered by CTax benefit.

deca_321 · 25 March 2007 at 11:35PM

l was out of the rented property for a year. l sent in a letter stating that l want to be billed for empty domestic rates at 50% discount. l sent the letter via recorded delivey. l spoke to the individual the next day on the phone. He said he had got this letter. Now the council r saying they do not have this letter. And they r not giving me anything but the 25% single occupancy discount.

And my lawyer is just telling me to pay the bill, even though l have been over charged. The council are not even giving me any benefit for this years abcense at all. Only the 25%, but they should give me the other benefit like you state.

deca_321 · 9 April 2007 at 12:20AM

if l worked only 25 hours a week, what percentage of discount would l get for council tax band D.

dmg24 · 9 April 2007 at 9:58AM

deca,

You will need to enter your details into https://www.entitledto.co.uk, for an estimation of what you may be entitled to.

There is no automatic discount, it all depends on how much you earn, and your individual circumstances. Someone working 25 hours a week can still earn a lot of money!

Oh, and stop hijacking other peoples posts!

Morglin · 9 April 2007 at 11:35AM

Try this:

http://england.shelter.org.uk/advice/advice-120.cfm?r=gaw&WT.srch=1&frmAlias=/housingbenefit/

Lin

Advice needed re: Council Tax etc

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