Council tax

apples

Hi

if this is not the right forum or site feel free to move or delete this post

i moved into my current studio (private rented) in November 2021, due to my mental health I forgot about Council tax until I received a bill in march, I went online and told them I was single on uc to receive the discounts, they amended my bill from £1200 odd to £325. I contacted cab who wrote a letter telling them about my mental health and they reduced it to £275. Again I went back to cab as I still can’t afford to pay they gave me a debt and mental health form which my gp completed this was submitted to the council and they came back with a form that if I am severely mentally impaired I may be exempt from Council tax. I don’t class myself as being severely mentally impaired so cab completed an expenditure detailing I have no funds after everything is paid out when I receive my benefits (the letter wasn’t very professional in my opinion) and the council replied quite abruptly saying they are not writing the debt off and I am liable for the £275 bill

Is there any help I could receive to help me with this ?

thanks

Alex_Alumni

Hello @apples I'm sorry to hear what's happened with your local council, have you looked into raising an official complaint at all? 

It might help to search for some professional advice using Advice Local too, under the category "Council Tax".

poppy123456

I'm not aware of any extra help outside of council tax reduction. Discretionary housing payments unfortunately, don't cover council tax. One of the bills you should always make sure you pay is Council tax. Part of that bill maybe from last year when you didn't inform them that you lived there.

Have you asked if you can pay that in installements? Usually they let you do that?

If you're in council tax band A-D then you should receive £150 council tax rebate as part of the cost of living payments. Have you received that? Maybe you can use that to pay some of the bill?

apples

Thanks for the replies

The bill is from last year when I moved into this property but the council will only back date to march, I received the £150 rebate and used that to buy food and toiletries 

they said I can pay in instalments but I’ve already missed the first instalment so now they require the first 2 months payments

apples

I may look into appealing their decision not to back date to November and or not to write the debt off due to hardship

poppy123456

There’s some information here on the stepchange website that may help. https://www.stepchange.org/debt-info/council-tax-arrears.aspx

racyguy

apples said:

I may look into appealing their decision not to back date to November and or not to write the debt off due to hardship

I am in this situation too. Have to pay over £2200 a year out of limited income. The Council put me on a payment plan of £120 a month - take it or leave it I was told. Fail to pay could result in all of our worldly goods being seized and/ me in prison.

apples

racyguy said:

apples said:

I may look into appealing their decision not to back date to November and or not to write the debt off due to hardship

I am in this situation too. Have to pay over £2200 a year out of limited income. The Council put me on a payment plan of £120 a month - take it or leave it I was told. Fail to pay could result in all of our worldly goods being seized and/ me in prison.

Have you applied for the deductions for being on low income ? If you’re single have you applied for this discount as well ?

I think it’s appalling what with the col at the mo and energy bills

my bill was £1300 for the year but after I applied the discounts got it down to £275 but in my case they won’t backdate to when I moved into my property as I never applied then

poppy123456

racyguy said:

apples said:

I may look into appealing their decision not to back date to November and or not to write the debt off due to hardship

I am in this situation too. Have to pay over £2200 a year out of limited income. The Council put me on a payment plan of £120 a month - take it or leave it I was told. Fail to pay could result in all of our worldly goods being seized and/ me in prison.

Your CT is high because you won't apply for CTR.

racyguy

apples said:

racyguy said:

apples said:

I may look into appealing their decision not to back date to November and or not to write the debt off due to hardship

I am in this situation too. Have to pay over £2200 a year out of limited income. The Council put me on a payment plan of £120 a month - take it or leave it I was told. Fail to pay could result in all of our worldly goods being seized and/ me in prison.

Have you applied for the deductions for being on low income ? If you’re single have you applied for this discount as well ?

I think it’s appalling what with the col at the mo and energy bills

my bill was £1300 for the year but after I applied the discounts got it down to £275 but in my case they won’t backdate to when I moved into my property as I never applied then

I used to get 100% reduction of the Council Tax but since Feb this year I closed down the Pension Credit/Council tax Reduction claims as I was finding that trying to maintain the awards on a month to month basis was far too much for me to cope with. Not single. 
I have to admit that the Council were less than helpful when I went to see them - they even wanted to use my pip and my wife's Attendance Allowance awards as a means of paying the Council Tax.

racyguy

poppy123456 said:

Your CT is high because you won't apply for CTR.

You state the obvious of course.
Claiming both Pension Credit/Council Tax Support is not the issue. As you well know that for me and many others with multiple sources of taxable income the problem lies with the continual maintenance of the award. All changes in income on a weekly/monthly basis even if it is for 1p, this must be notified to the relevant authorities with the requisite evidence being submitted.

apples

Ok could I have some advice please. The CAB rang me this morning and said if the council aren’t writing the debt off I have to pay it, so I just rang the council and said I don’t know how I’m going to pay this bill as I’m in hardship

he said according to his system I am not receiving full discount (which I knew as the council won’t backdate it)

anyway he’s told me to write to the council asking for a discretionary relief ?

I’ve had a look online but can’t seem to find any info, if the council after asking for a section 13a refused to write the council tax off will this be worth doing ?

thanks

poppy123456

Did you read the link i posted above? There's some useful information in there. Link here. https://www.stepchange.org/debt-info/council-tax-arrears.aspx

Can council tax arrears be written off?

Councils have the power to write off council tax bills and arrears through Section 13A (1)(c) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

This "discretionary relief" through Section 13A is meant to be used if your home is uninhabitable due to fire or flood damage, but it can also be used if you’re in severe hardship, or if you're suffering from severe physical or mental health conditions.

Being in severe hardship means you don’t have any money left over to pay your council tax after paying your usual household bills. Each local authority has their own policy for using Section 13A.

Councils can reduce the balance of council tax arrears, including writing them off entirely, and allow people to have reductions and discounts on their council tax bills.

To apply for your council tax to be written off through Section 13A, you should:

• Write to the council in order to apply for discretionary relief, quoting s13A Local Government Finance Act 1992
• Provide evidence that you can't afford to pay, we can help you do that. Work out your budget with our free online debt advice tool

Councils must consider all applications for discretionary relief, and can't dismiss them out of hand.

If the council refuses to consider your application, you should make a complaint. This can be escalated to the Valuation Tribunal.

apples

Hi poppy I did read your link when you first replied but it’s hard for me to absorb lots of info

so if I’ve already submitted a section 13a then there’s no point in doing a discretionary relief as it’s the same thing 

poppy123456

Yes section 13a is the discretionary relief you were advised about. Each local Authority have their own rules for this. The link above suggests that being in severe hardship means you don’t have any money left over to pay your council tax after paying your usual household bills. If this applies to you then all you can do is ring them and ask again. If they refuse then you will need to pay what you owe.

apples

Thanks poppy your help is appreciated I tried ringing the council back but couldn’t get through so will ring tomorrow. 

I rang cab and have an appt with a debt advisor on Monday a day before payment is due

Alex_Alumni

Let us know how you get on today @apples

apples

Hi Alex I hope you are well

I rang the council this morning and they said “you have had a considerable reduction to your council tax it started off at £1500 and all you have to pay is £275 !

I said I understand that but I’m still struggling to pay that amount, after umming and arring she said you can appeal the section 13a decision and if you are still not happy with the decision I can apply to the financial tribunal but try to pay something if I can

im on the phone to cab as I type this as I can’t write letters so hoping they will help me appeal, even if the council were to reduce the bill that would help

Alex_Alumni

That's good @apples I hope CAB can assist you further, and I am well thank you for asking. 

racyguy

poppy123456 said:

Yes section 13a is the discretionary relief you were advised about. Each local Authority have their own rules for this. The link above suggests that being in severe hardship means you don’t have any money left over to pay your council tax after paying your usual household bills. If this applies to you then all you can do is ring them and ask again. If they refuse then you will need to pay what you owe.

As far as councils are concerned and mine in particular they approach it from a different angle. They certainly don't look at it from - income received - all household bills etc = nothing left.
As you have said CT is a priority bill and must be paid before all other bills are paid including gas, electricity, house insurance, food, clothing etc. My council stated to me when we discussed a Section 13a application that I could not ring fence any and all of my care and mobility needs (different if I had a Motability car though) out of both my PIP and my wife's AA.
Thus to them it was acceptable for us to be in debt with fuel and water bills, cancel the house insurance, and obtain food from a food bank - they had first call on everything.
I really do wish Apples the best of luck in getting the Council to agree that normal living expenses come before paying the CT.

apples

Cheers racyguy although I tend to agree with you and they will want their money and leave me hungry or in more debt, I am going to put up a fight before I end up going hungry though