Council tax reduction when in receipt of Pip and U advice

JamesG

Hi there, my friend has just moved in to a new Dudley Council property. She lives on her own and is in receipt of solo UC and Pip claims. 

She was previously at a Birmingham City Council address and received 100% exception for council tax, however since recently getting the Dudley council address she has now recieved a letter stating she will be getting a 25% exception only.

This appears to be only the solo occupancy discount and by doing initial research all we keep finding is a disability band reduction (which doesnt appear to have been awarded thus far). 

Can anyone confirm this is correct and that pip and uc claimants don't receive that which they do in Birmingham ie the 100% council tax exemption?

Any other help and advice would be greatly appreciated. 

We look forward to hearing off you wonderful people 

poppy123456

All local Authorities have their own rules for council tax reduction so I wouldn’t be able to advise on that. However, if she’s not working then I would expect her to be entitled to some council tax reduction. 

There’s some information here on the disabled band reduction. https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/disability-related-reduction-in-council-tax

Rosie_Scope

Hello @JamesG

As Poppy mentioned, I believe these kind of things are different in each specific local authority, so unfortunately it could just be that Dudley don't offer the full reductions. However I'm no expert on this, so perhaps one of our members will be along shortly to offer some more local knowledge

I know it can be a bit of an undertaking, but if your friend feels as if this isn't right, it might be worth getting in touch with the council to clear things up and see if she's entitled to any further reductions based on her circumstances. 

I hope she's able to get some answers soon!

Kimi87

Has she actually applied for Council Tax Reduction? 

What you have described sounds like CT discounts. CTR is seperate. 

When I moved last year my single persons discount and CTR award were applied for seperately.
The first through the CT department and the second through the benefits section of the local authority. 

Information and an application link for Dudley can be found here:

https://www.dudley.gov.uk/residents/benefits/important-changes-to-council-tax-and-housing-benefit/council-tax-reduction-scheme/