Council tax single occupancy discount

Aderin300

Hi 
I am new to the forum and this is my first post .  I have never put I am a single occupant ( even though I am) on my council tax. What do you think my chances of claiming the rebate back and how would  I go about claiming if I could. 
Thanks Aderin 

lincroft1710

Can you prove you have always been a single occupant? How long have you lived on your own?

Aderin300

How would I go about proving this ? 10yrs plus 

fwor

I doubt that retrospectively proving a negative (i.e. that there was not someone else living there as well) would be possible, so I think all you can do is phone the council and ask what their policy is on the matter. From personal experience, council policy varies slightly from area to area when it comes to the detail, so I doubt you will get a "universal" answer.

KatrinaWaves

Normally fairly easy to sort this. As long as there is no direct evidence to the contrary (people on electoral role, people applying for benefits at the address) then it should be easy enough for them to backdate this.

Normally you can apply online for the SPD, so get on with it, or if not, call them up.

lincroft1710

KatrinaWaves said:

As long as there is no direct evidence to the contrary (people on electoral role, people applying for benefits at the address) then it should be easy enough for them to backdate this.
.

Some councils can be obstructive. Electoral roll only shows people who are entitled to vote and have obeyed the law and registered. Only one person registered at an address does not prove there is no-one else living there.

ARH_2

Proving a negative with absolute certainty is a near impossibility. Fortunately the standard of proof here is 'on the balance of probabilities'. 

If there's no one else on the electoral roll, no one else making contact with the council etc. then that should be sufficient, as in such a case it would be more likely than not that that the OP was living alone. The OP could further strengthen their case by providing a signed statement that they were a single occupier. 

KatrinaWaves

ARH_2 said:

Proving a negative with absolute certainty is a near impossibility. Fortunately the standard of proof here is 'on the balance of probabilities'. 

If there's no one else on the electoral roll, no one else making contact with the council etc. then that should be sufficient, as in such a case it would be more likely than not that that the OP was living alone. The OP could further strengthen their case by providing a signed statement that they were a single occupier. 

Yup theyll def need to sign in case evidence to the contrary comes out and then can ping them for fraud, but this is usually very much done on an honesty basis.

CIS

Aderin300 said:

Hi 
I am new to the forum and this is my first post .  I have never put I am a single occupant ( even though I am) on my council tax. What do you think my chances of claiming the rebate back and how would  I go about claiming if I could. 
Thanks Aderin 

It's certainly possible to backdate the discount but whether or not there'll be a fight is another matter. I've dealt with numerous backdating cases and some you win, some you lose (I've had one's granted back 20 years whilst others have refused 6 months!). If there's a refusal then it's often down to exactly what grounds they refuse on as to whether or not it can be challenged with the council or tribunal. Going back 6 years can be relatively easy to do (although it sometimes requires a fight on a particular point of case law) but going back further can be more problematic.