Council tax benefit

Kerry2024 · June 12

Hi all

Hope everyone is well 🙂

Just looking for some advice regarding council tax benefit.

I currently live in North Devon and receive lcwra and pip, I live with my 20 year old daughter who receives universal credit, enhanced rate of pip and works 4 hours per week.

We receive 100% council tax reduction.

However my family and I are hoping to move to the Worcestershire area in the foreseeable future, would anyone know please if I'd still be eligible for full council tax reduction in this area?

I'm a little confused as a friend of mine ( who lives in the west midlands) who's a unemployed single parent and she's paying £165 per month council tax as well as £205 per month rent which seems a lot for someone in her position.

She also has a adult son living with her but due to his mental health issues he forgets to attend his job centre appointments leading to regular sanctioning so my friend gets no financial support from him so just trying to get some advice for myself but also my friends situation too.

Thanks all in advance

Have a good weekend 🙂

Rosie_Scope · June 12

Hi @Kerry2024, hope you're having a good weekend so far ☺️

That's a big move! Have you got friends or family in Worcestershire or are you just needing a change?

Council tax reductions can vary quite a lot between councils, so if your friend lives under a different council to you that would explain the difference in support.

For Worcestershire, their council website says there's reductions for disabled people where the following criteria are met:

the home is the disabled persons main residence
there is a room, other than a bathroom, kitchen or toilet which the disabled person uses and needs.

or

there is an extra bathroom or kitchen needed for the disabled person

or

there is sufficient floor space indoors to allow for a wheelchair to be used, e.g. doors have been widened.

It doesn't give many details from the website on how much this reduction would be, but I hope if one of our members lives in the same council, they might be able to share whether they receive a full or partial reduction.

Once you know what sort of area you'd be moving into, it may be worth speaking to their council tax department to see what you might be eligible for as they'll have all the right information.