Council tax rebate for Mental Illness

Matt_Churchill

Hi guys, recently seen Martin talking about the rebates that were supposed to be applied to people diagnosed with an SMI. Despite telling the council this about my mother-in-law she never received this benefit and has now sadly passed away.

My question is whether the overpayment is still due to her estate or will the council simply refuse to pay It? Has anyone any experience if this situation?

Thanks in advance
Matt

CIS

The SMI disregard can be claimed retrospectively where it applies - it's a common query I see as a lot of people are claiming it. If the council refuse then it would need a valuation tribunal to make the determination.

Matt_Churchill

Thanks CIS. Have you any thoughts on the likelihood of them paying it, it could be a pretty sizeable amount as she was diagnosed and receiving AA for probably something like 10 years

CIS

Matt_Churchill wrote: »

Thanks CIS. Have you any thoughts on the likelihood of them paying it, it could be a pretty sizeable amount as she was diagnosed and receiving AA for probably something like 10 years

Which local authority is it ?


6 years back isn't so much an issue, it's the period prior to that which may cause issues. The arguments for backdating can tend to get in-depth with case-law and legislation (it's the most common issue I've drafted tribunal cases for) but I would say the the chance of it going back more than 6 years could be enhanced, depending on what the council knew (and when). A lot depends on the time-lime as there's potentially two slightly different arguments that can be advanced.

Matt_Churchill

There would actually be a couple, Gloucester City Council and Stroud District Council. The latter being more than 6 years old I would say.

Interesting that there are a couple of ways to approach it.

CIS

Matt_Churchill wrote: »

There would actually be a couple, Gloucester City Council and Stroud District Council. The latter being more than 6 years old I would say.

Interesting that there are a couple of ways to approach it.

The different ways of approaching it depend on exactly what has been done by what point and what each council were aware of - it would be a case of trying to head off the counter-arguments (which I would expect would be along certain, specific, lines) . If the initial arguments didn't work then it would be open to apply to a valuation tribunal.

Matt_Churchill

Sounds like it’s going to be quite the adventure! To be fair I’m expecting it to be a battle

CIS

Matt_Churchill wrote: »

Sounds like it’s going to be quite the adventure! To be fair I’m expecting it to be a battle

It can be - my advice would be to tread carefully, make sure the correct arguments are put forward, and make sure that any action is done so with an eye on the correct process required to take the case to a tribunal (if needed).

Matt_Churchill

I think (hope) we should be ok. At one point she was admitted to a Mental Health Unit and the Council were aware of that (as she was granted a period without Council Tax), so my thinking is that they can’t argue that they weren’t aware of her condition but at the same time, who knows.