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PIP, Low Income related to Council Tax Support

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6 years 6 months ago #197686 by JM1970
I have lived alone in my property for 11 years(ignoring my non resident overnight carer), have savings below £6000 - that is my savings and income do not effect or reduce my means tested benefits. I have been on the highest rate of DLA for both components between 2002 and 2017 and have now transferred to the equivalent rates for PIP. Prior to April 2013 I received Council Tax Benefit which paid my entire Council Tax bill - I paid no Council Tax at all due to my low income and being disabled.
On April 1st 2013 Council Tax Benefit was replaced by Council Tax Support and since then I have had to contribute to my Council Tax Bill. I queried this with the council who confirmed this was the case following the change from Council Tax Benefit to Council Tax Support. I have just been reading the Benefits and Work guide "I have been awarded PIP, what else can I claim?". On page 5 the guide states "In most local authority areas, families with a disabled person in the household will continue to receive help with all of their Council Tax if their income is sufficiently low. An award of PIP is evidence of disability in some local authority areas". My question is - in that case should I be paying any Council Tax at all? Am I possibly due a rebate due to misdirection from my Council for the Council Tax I have paid since April 2013?

By the way I am not referring to "Disabled Person's Relief" where a qualifying adapted house is dropped to the Council Tax Band below in terms of liability.

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6 years 6 months ago #197708 by Gordon
JM

We can't comment on the level of discount you should be receiving on your Council Tax, but if you are receiving the same award for PIP as you did under DLA then I would not expect there to be any difference in that discount.

Try and get local face to face advice about the matter.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
The following user(s) said Thank You: JM1970

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6 years 6 months ago #197755 by JM1970
Thanks. The level of discount on my Council Tax is the same with PIP as DLA. What caught my attention in the guide was the inference that if there is a disabled person in the house as indicated by a PIP letter that I shouldn't be paying any Council Tax at all.

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6 years 6 months ago #197778 by Gordon

JM1970 wrote: Thanks. The level of discount on my Council Tax is the same with PIP as DLA. What caught my attention in the guide was the inference that if there is a disabled person in the house as indicated by a PIP letter that I shouldn't be paying any Council Tax at all.


I'm sorry but I cannot find the reference you are referring to, but that aside I'm not sure how you get from

"will continue to receive help with all of their Council Tax if their income is sufficiently low"

to not being required to pay it?

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

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6 years 6 months ago #197802 by JM1970
Context of how the section "Local Council Tax Relief Schemes" is written. The preceding paragraphs talk about people of working age (which includes some disabled people) who used to have "all" their Council Tax paid now only getting help with a "proportion" of their Council Tax. The use of the word "all" in the following third paragraph implies the disabled person (or a household with a disabled person) will have "all" of their Council Tax paid in the context of the proceeding paragraphs who only get a "proportion" paid. If this is not the case and disabled people receive help with a proportion of their Council Tax the same as people of working age (which many disabled people are) then this third paragraph is redundant. This obviously assumes income, savings and capital dont effect the award in all examples.

In my award letter Council Tax Support is calculated based on me being of working age and in the income related support group of ESA. They don't mention, so haven't taken into consideration, DLA in the past or PIP currently. I get help with a "proportion" of my Council Tax but not "all".

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6 years 6 months ago #197804 by JM1970
On a similar topic another aspect that would be worth adding to this guide would be the ability to claim extra Housing Benefit or LHA for an extra room if you are in receipt of the enhanced rate of PIP daily living (or DLA high care) and have an "overnight non residential carer".

I live alone and privately rent a 2 bedroom house. Ordinarily my HB would only take into account one bedroom and disregard the other - so I would be paid maximum HB but only at a one bedroom rate. However I have an overnight carer who stays in the second bedroom. As such I qualify for an extra room under the non residential overnight carer scheme. I am therefore paid maximum HB at a 2 bedroom rate instead of just 1. In order to qualify for this I was initially on the highest rate of care for DLA (I am now on the highest rate for daily living for PIP which equally qualifies), needed a letter from my overnight carer to state that my home wasn't their main residence and some evidence of my care needs (at the time I just sent my Council the medical evidence I sent in with my DLA claim, the same would work for PIP).
Initially the Council were unsure about this scheme until I pushed and spoke to a supervisor who backdated my claim for 2 bedrooms as I had been misdirected by the council's HB call centre. Being paid HB at a 2 bedroom rate as opposed to one bedroom rate because I receive enhanced daily living for PIP (formerly the same for DLA) has made a huge difference to my income and ability to cope. Without knowing about this scheme I wouldn't be able to afford to rent a 2 bedroom property and therefore would not be able to receive the overnight care I need.

I am now wondering whether something similar applies for Council Tax Support. One things for certain is my local council call centre or CAB won't know! Neither had any idea about my entitlement to extra HB for an extra room for an overnight carer so I doubt they will know if I'm entitled to extra Council Tax Support . I'll do some research on this and write to my local council asking them to check their legislation. I am aware there are some variations in the 300 authorities across the UK.If I get some success and it is directly related to me claiming PIP I'll report back to the forum as I'm sure other members would find the extra Council Tax Support useful.

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