Council Tax

[Applejack87]

Hi , I’m not sure if anyone can advice & I will be making phone calls tomorrow
Sadly my elderly mum passed away recently So my dad is on his own he has copd so has a disability allowance that’s all he gets apart from his state pension . However since my mum passed away his council tax has increased with no discount can this be right ?it is the lowest band but still a lot

Does he claim as a single person?

He should get the single persons discount. Does he have an extra room (not a bathroom) that he needs because of his disability or did your mum have dementia?

The only thing I can think of is that they were getting a discount because of your mum - is that possible? Now your dad is paying the full council tax because she has died. Apply for a single person discount if he is the only adult living there. That will reduce it by 25% I think.

Yeah, it's possible that they have a spare room (ie both had to sleep separately) because of his COPD or if you mum had dementia that changes things. Oh and if he was counted as your mums carer (and potentially vice versa) this would cause a discount.

Those discounts may have added up to more than the single persons discount. If you can get someone from CAB or similar theyll be able to do a benefits check and help with this.

He maybe needs to make another claim for council tax support now it is a single claim. Also ask age Uk or similar to check for pension credit entitlement especially if he is on a disability benefit.

There was something to do with 'severe mental impairment' that excluded people from council tax liability, but I don't know what it means.

Sounds like your dad has been put back on full council tax with no allowance for single occupancy or low income. He should get 25% off for living alone and maybe be entitled to extra help if he qualifies due to disability or low income.

Maybe he should go through a new benefits check due to change in circumstances to make sure he's getting everything he's entitled to.

People with severe dementia are 'disregarded' for council tax so two person households in which one partner has severe dementia qualify for the single occupier discount:

www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-support/legal-financial/discounts-disregards-exemptions-council-tax

I agree with previous posters that it looks as if the council have mistakenly charged your dad the full rate. I think a couple of posts have got council tax and the bedroom tax confused. Entitledto is a good resource for checking benefits:

www.entitledto.co.uk/

It's been a while since I worked with CT but as I recall changes in the household would have caused a new account to be set up - you don't just simply remove liable people from CT accounts.

Firstly, He should as a minimum be getting the 25% discount but you have to apply to the council for it, it isn't applied automatically. This will be backdated for whenever it applied from. Shoul be a simple phone call or you might be able to do it online.

And then secondly, claim CT reduction which is like the old CT benefit but each council has its own scheme these days. This claim might not be backdated as it is a benefit, so claim ASAP. Depending on the rules your council has set it would potentially reduce the liability even further.