Disability allowance for council tax.

74jax

My dad sadly died last week, I've contacted mum's local council and Council Tax is now in her name. She will get 25% single occupancy discount.

Whilst on the phone I mentioned mum is 82 and registered partially sighted as blind in one eye. The lady asked what changes we had made to the house to accommodate this as mum might be entitled to a further discount.

I said we had to turn the front room into a bedroom and the stairs had double hand rails on, we also have a swivel chair in the bath. We also have had to adapt the understairs to be her toilet add she can't manage stairs unaided. Just uses downstairs.

The lady said this wasn't classed as additions do unfortunately wouldn't qualify.

Does anyone know what adaptions qualify. I can't see anything on their website and the lady wouldn't say.

I forgot to mention to her the house has falls alarms and a bed monitor on but not sure this will help


Many thanks

agrinnall

From what I can see the council are right, there needs to be a significant addition to the property to aid living there for the discount to be given. To be honest, if she's only using half the house now, wouldn't it be better to sell and buy a smaller place that would almost certainly be in a lower council tax band anyway?

CIS

The rules are quite tight as to what adaptations need to be done to qualify - https://www.gov.uk/council-tax/discounts-for-disabled-people

I would appeal against the decision.

74jax

agrinnall wrote: »

From what I can see the council are right, there needs to be a significant addition to the property to aid living there for the discount to be given. To be honest, if she's only using half the house now, wouldn't it be better to sell and buy a smaller place that would almost certainly be in a lower council tax band anyway?

I wish.... She won't move.

Dad was ill for five years, they won't with me or my brother, wouldn't consider a bungalow.

Now dads died there's no way she'll move out. Been there 55years.

xylophone

Does your mother qualify for Attendance Allowance?

Now dads died there's no way she'll move out. Been there 55years.

A widow of my acquaintance insisted on remaining in the four bedroom detached/ large garden front and back family home despite the fact that arthritis, high blood pressure, poor mobility made life an endurance course - finally, after the third bone breaking fall (at age 91), which entailed eight weeks in a rehabilitation unit, it was decided that living alone was no longer safe and she was not able even to return to organise sale and move - all this fell on her son's shoulders.

It would have been so much easier and pleasanter for her if she had moved into a more suitable property ten years earlier.....

74jax

xylophone wrote: »

Does your mother qualify for Attendance Allowance?



A widow of my acquaintance insisted on remaining in the four bedroom detached/ large garden front and back family home despite the fact that arthritis, high blood pressure, poor mobility made life an endurance course - finally, after the third bone breaking fall (at age 91), which entailed eight weeks in a rehabilitation unit, it was decided that living alone was no longer safe and she was not able even to return to organise sale and move - all this fell on her son's shoulders.

It would have been so much easier and pleasanter for her if she had moved into a more suitable property ten years earlier.....

Yes she gets attendance allowance.

She's had one fall already. During one of dads stays in hospital. She has a falls alarm but refuses to wear it.

Social worker says mum has mental capacity so we can't force her to do anything she doesn't want to.

Dad would have moved, many years ago. For mum it's not even a question.