Can anyone confirm this please about Council Tax Discounts?

garyandlynn

I complained to Universal Credit that I could not get a discount from the council. According to the council website you can't claim for a discount if you are on UC as it is already "factored in". So why would UC ask me to contact the council surely they should know this already?

CIS

garyandlynn said:

I complained to Universal Credit that I could not get a discount from the council. According to the council website you can't claim for a discount if you are on UC as it is already "factored in". So why would UC ask me to contact the council surely they should know this already?

There is no council tax discount or exemption for being on Universal Credit - what you can however do is claim Council Tax Support (also known as Council Tax Reduction) which is a means tested benefit paid by the council. Universal Credit does not include anything for council tax purposes, this is why you need to claim Council Tax Support.

calcotti

garyandlynn said:

I complained to Universal Credit that I could not get a discount from the council. According to the council website you can't claim for a discount if you are on UC as it is already "factored in". So why would UC ask me to contact the council surely they should know this already?

Are you asking about Council tax discounts or Council Tax Reduction? A discount is a reduction on your liability because of some circumstance such as being the only adult in the house. Council tax Reduction is a means tested benefit which is applied to help you meet your liability.

Can you quote what your council website actually says. Normally you would need to apply for Council Tax Reduction separately from UC but when assessing your entitlement most local councils now rely, in respect of claimants who are getting UC, on information provided by DWP as used to calculate UC entitlement. This makes it easier for claimant who does not have to evidence to the council their financial situation.

garyandlynn

I have tried to do that but when filling in the form it says if you are getting UC you can't claim for council tax support? Strange thing is when I first got UC (which we don't actually get as they take it off us as my wife has state and a work pension). We got a reduction from the council and I thought great I could pay that but a week later that got cancelled with no reason?

CIS

garyandlynn said:

I have tried to do that but when filling in the form it says if you are getting UC you can't claim for council tax support? Strange thing is when I first got UC (which we don't actually get as they take it off us as my wife has state and a work pension). We got a reduction from the council and I thought great I could pay that but a week later that got cancelled with no reason?

Which council are you under ?

It appears there is an underlying entitlement to UC in this case, which can affect the situation.

tomtom256

Each council can make there own rules up for council tax reduction scheme nee council tax benefit. So if your council has deemed people iro UC can't claim it, that could be why.

However I have never heard of a council refusing CTRS based on somebody being iro of a means tested benefit alone.

KatrinaWaves

Something doesn’t add up. it’s not factored into UC, it’s very obviously not. The only think I can think of is that councils get info from UC so if you’re on UC they may say you don’t need to claim as they get that info automatically, rather than ‘you cannot claim’

as your UC is nothing due to your other income you may indeed not get any council tax reduction. 

What council, then we can have a look... 

garyandlynn

Blackpool Council Lancs. This is what we get (and don't get).
You can see they give us £594.04 and take off us £ 516.88 (works pension) and then the state pension which doesn't look like the full amount. The actual total of both payments my wife gets per month is £1,134.46
£283.61 a week to live on that is without paying ANY bills of which there are a lot.
I don't work and she doesnt work I did put an application in for JSA but not holding my breath as UC never said to me to claim it.
I am still puzzled why we got a discount then it was taken off us?

CIS

garyandlynn said:

Blackpool Council Lancs. This is what we get (and don't get).
You can see they give us £594.04 and take off us £ 516.88 (works pension) and then the state pension which doesn't look like the full amount. The actual total of both payments my wife gets per month is £1,134.46
£283.61 a week to live on that is without paying ANY bills of which there are a lot.
I don't work and she doesnt work I did put an application in for JSA but not holding my breath as UC never said to me to claim it.
I am still puzzled why we got a discount then it was taken off us?

So you're not ineligible, you income just wipes out any payment as it exceeds the threshold. If a payment was originally made then it is likely they just hadn't correctly accounted for all your income.

garyandlynn

Can you explain please as I need to write and make a claim. They say though that claims can only be made on the council website. So when it asks me if I get UC do I say no? As in reality I am not?

garyandlynn

When we both first went to the job centre we told them exactly what pensions my wifes gets and they told us verbally we would be entitled to around that £594 figure?