to think not everyone realises that Council Tax Benefit will disappear from April?

[aufaniae]

How this might affect you depends on your postcode as it will be up to councils how they manage the collection of council tax.

For those currently on low incomes - we may well lose Council Tax Benefit all together

Those of you with second homes / empty properties - your local council may decide to do away with discounts. Some are proposing charging double for second homes.

Article here: "The peer who designed the "poll tax" has warned that Council Tax Benefit cuts risk creating a "poll tax Mark 2"."

Each council could do it differently. Do you know what your council is proposing?

Councils will still be obliged to ensure that the new policies they devise will support the idea of Universal Credit, which is that people in work will be better of than those not in work.

I think it is scaremongering to assume that people will be pushed further into poverty, and you need to remember that councils have to keep their income somehow. They fund essential services like schools and the associated services they need, libraries, waste collection and sorting, Social services such as care for the elderly, disabled and vulnerable children, Police and the fire brigade. The money has to come from somewhere if we want to continue to receive these services.

LRDtheFeministDude my understanding of current council tax rules is if you're sharing with a non-student, then yes, the total bill is issued as a single-person bill if there's only one non-paying student in the house.

However you are equally responsible for actually paying that bill with the other person, even though you are a student. Your household has had a reduction overall, but you have lost your exemption. It may be for reasons of fairness, you see the bill as only your partners, but that is a private arrangement between the two of you, not the rule.

If you share with two or more non-students, the bill is the full whack, and you're all responsible for paying it. (Have been living in a 4-bed shared house with other students for the last 2 years and this is what the local council advised us).

I don't think it's necessarily fair those who work part time receive so much help- it is unfair for those of us who don't actually earn a lot but don't receive any help because we are full time. A lot of benefits penalise full time workers on low incomes, so if these new rules change that, I will be pleased.

Yup, I don't count as a person for CT so we get the single person discount, ironically when DH was unemployed he/we couldn't get any CT benefit because of my 'earnings', which I suppose is fair enough but was a struggle.

I'm mostly worried because I go into writing up status later this year, so will have to find an extra £40 a month just as my funding ends. The council where my university is give a 3 month grace period, but we don't live there anymore and the person I spoke to at our council hadn't a clue what I was talking about! 3 months would be great, taking my till I (hopefully) have a job in Sept. I doubt either will give a grace period by then, especially when the council where uni is based are struggling with massive cuts from the government (possibly not helped by having a large student population as well as some extremely deprived areas).

I think there will be uproar if the benefit is taken away from students, the bill would come to about a third of what my student loan was a few years ago... Although I suppose it'd be shared between a few people. On the other hand why should students be protected when others on a low income aren't...

Yes, that's right ... sorry, I misunderstood what you were saying, and just wanted to be clear that you currently still get the reduction when you live with a student/are a student living with one other non-student.

I agree that we are both equally responsible for the bill.

It's just, it meant a lot to us (not so bad now, but when we were both living off my student grant) that we had the reduction. It's one of the many things that made it possible and sensible for me to carry on studying, which should ultimately help me get a job and contribute more, so you'd think they'd want to encourage it.

At the moment discount on second homes is optional for councils and it varies hugely. Some give 50% and some only 10%. I thought students got it even if they lived in a house with a person who wasn't a student. Thus one student and one working person living together in a house. Working person will get single person's discount.

What I don't think is absolutely fair is that PHD students on a grant which is already tax free are exempt from council tax. And they could be getting £1200 a month. Which is more than some low waged people.

Yes LRD I guess that's the main reason we still had to pay as it's the household liable not the individual. A good reason for students not to want any non-students in a shared house!

Same situation here. It will make a big difference to us if we lose our exemption / discount,

"it's one of the many things that made it possible and sensible for me to carry on studying, which should ultimately help me get a job and contribute more, so you'd think they'd want to encourage it."

Well yes, that would be logical! But no, this government don't seem to want the general people to get a decent education.

The effect of the £9k fees has been to lower the number of people at uni while actually cutting the income for universities and the money that the Student Loans Company will get back from graduates.

They're comfortable with the idea that uni is for the elite IMO.

I see your point about PHD students Vivienne, and I partly agree, but I wouldn't want to see a policy that put people off getting PhDs. We need highly trained and qualified people in this country and I don't think it would be a good idea to do anything that is likely to damage that.

"We need highly trained and qualified people in this country and I don't think it would be a good idea to do anything that is likely to damage that."

I'm curious, Outraged, what do you think of the £9K fees then?

I think they are bollocks.

seems sensible to get 2nd home owners and ones of empty homes to pay full wack. anything that encourages good use of the housing stock is positive - and if you live in an area with a lot of 2nd homes it must mean you pay more in tax to subsidise the 2nd owners currently.

wouldn't be happy about students having to pay full wack. the students i know are generally poorer than the OAP's - even my IL's who are on pension credits.

fortyplus - personally i still think that the mothers i know who refuse to work more than 16 hours are bordering on the scrounging. they are milking the tax payers for all they can - will be good when the rules are changed

I used to work in Council Tax and know that my council is asking everyone to pay 10% of their total bill for the year (not sure what will happen with pensioners etc as I understand there are exceptions).

Lots will manage to pay as they pay their electric / gas bill. they might find it difficult to come up with the extra money but they will find a way to manage and pay up. Other people who have never had to pay it in their lives an don't manage their money will struggle. Even with the odd couple of pounds a month. They will struggle to find the money, to manage the admin, to pay on time.

Every three months or so, they will be summonsed. Another £70 of costs on top of that. Then they can set up an agreement of a few pounds per week on top of the few pounds they already pay per month. Repayments won't be kept to, which will result in more summons', in bailiffs being involved, in attachments to earnings and benefits. Possibly in prison. The whole thing sounds like a nightmare to me. I understand that we should all contribute something and 10% does seem fair (albeit a lot of money to those who didn't previously have to pay). But a lot of people I used to deal with are going to end up in a huge mess.

I see your point Vivienne, I do get a bit less than that a month, CT after discount is £90 a month. But I was supporting both me and my husband off that and rent/bills come to over £1000 a month. It meant DH couldn't even claim JSA as he had just under 2 years NI under his belt. If I'd been employed with that income I could have claimed WTC. It was slightly grating that other PhD students who were much better off paid none at all, whilst me in a much harder position had to pay but without a blanket exemption I'd probably have had even more to pay. It's tricky to take into account individual circumstances.

As it happens I don't mind paying CT (especially now DH has some work) and I do think 2nd homes etc. should be targeted before those on low incomes. I'm lucky in that I should end up with a decent income, not everyone has that opportunity.

Apologies for the awful typing, I'm on my mobile.

Those who currently receive no ct benefit will not have to pay more unless the ct goes up.they will not be paying more because of the changes in benefit rules

We have a really high percentage of second homes in our area. so full rate would be good.

There was a programme on telly recently, think it was BBC but not sure, and it talked about the problems councils have reclaiming money they haven't been paid. There doesn't seem to be that much that the law will allow them to do to ensure payment, and I think this drastically needs to change.

People shouldn't be allowed to get away with not paying what they legitimately owe in council tax. Council services are just too important for people not to pay their fair share.

I wonder whether it will actually cost councils more to chase unpaid CT after these changes than they'd actually bring in from it.

That's true MathCat. My team were pretty big on full recovery anyway though, I've seen people receive court costs for a summons on £7 before.

outraged - that sounds a good idea. perhaps all the non-essential stuff could be blocked for people who don't pay? eg libraries, planning applications.......

Except that some of the people who struggle to pay are likely to be ones that need the services, like home carers and respite, or they might have children at schools that require behaviour (not only negative behaviour) support, educational psychologists and such like.

I just think that once a fair system had been decided upon, then people have to be forced to pay their fair share, and legislation has to come from government to support that.

Pensioners are not exempt from ct. My parents pay more in ct than they paid in mortgage payments.

I can see why students aren't paying because they will pay back whatever they are awarded in their loan. And also very few of them are likely to be earning anything approaching a wage. And I do realise the need for highly trained people. But I still don't think in fairness PHD students should be exempt from Council tax. A lot of them are sponsored by large companies or academic institutions. And really when all is said and done there is no reason why they shouldn't pay as they are already not paying tax or NI. I am talking about single students and not ones with families.

Could the council do an attachment to earnings/benefits to reclaim the money? I wonder how likely or successful that would be.