Council Tax Energy Rebate
Following the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak’s announcement of a Council Tax rebate on 03 February 2022 the guidelines have now been published and we will be working as quickly as possible to provide details on how you will receive your rebate.
Payments will commence week commencing 23 May 2022. We cannot make payment earlier for fraud prevention reasons as per government recommendations.
We ask that you refrain from contacting the Council Tax Department about the rebate and we will update this information as soon as possible.
Eligibility
Only occupied dwellings banded A – D will be eligible for the rebate. The dwelling must be a sole or main residence on the qualifying date of 1 April 2022. Empty and second homes will not be eligible. Other qualifying criteria will apply.
Payments
- There will only be one payment per household regardless of the number of occupants
- Payments cannot be made until April 2022 and due to the verification process needed to make the payments it is likely that payments will not be made until May / June 2022.
Residents who paid by Direct Debit in April 2022, we will still need to verify your bank details and therefore your April Direct Debit payment must have been collected and cleared to be paid automatically. Payments for April DD payers will commence following checks week commencing 23 May 2022.
If you do not receive an automatic payment despite the April Direct Debit clearing this may be for a number of reasons such as;
- you have since changed your bank details
- you have multiple council tax liabilities
- the bank details related to a business account
- we were unable to further verify your details
In these circumstances you will receive a letter inviting you to make an application and verify your details.
Residents who did not pay their April 2022 Council Tax instalment by Direct Debit.
- Whilst you can still set up a Direct Debit to pay future Council Tax instalments, you will not automatically be paid your rebate. You will need to make an application for your rebate as we will need to confirm your bank details and we will need to verify them before making payments.
- Over the coming weeks you will receive a letter detailing a unique code that you must use to make an application through our online portal. You will be unable to make an application until you receive this letter.
- Please note you can only receive one payment per household.
- Any rebate correctly claimed will not need to be repaid.
Further information
- The latest government press release provides some useful information on what to expect from the scheme and how to check your Council Tax band.
- Government issued scheme guidance
- A CT Energy Rebate Leaflet will be included with your annual Council Tax Bill.
- Appealing your Council Tax Band – if you believe that your band is incorrect you can contact the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). We cannot alter your band for you.
Discretionary Rebate
There will be a discretionary scheme for some households in Bands E – H, however we are currently working on this scheme and we are unable to confirm any eligibility criteria at this stage.The
Council Tax Discounts
There are a number of Council Tax discounts that may be available for Council Tax.
If you are eligible and receive a discount and your circumstances change, you must notify the Council Tax department within 21 days of the change. If you fail to tell us about the change, you may be liable for a penalty.
There are various discounts that can reduce the Council Tax you have to pay and are separate from Council Tax Benefit/Support.
The Council Tax charge is based on two or more adults living in the property. If only one adult lives in a property as their main home, there is a reduction of one quarter (25%). For substantially unfurnished second or long term empty homes and properties that are furnished second homes there is no discount.
If you don’t live alone you could still claim a discount if the other adults are not counted for council tax when we calculate the bill, we would call this a “disregard discount”. Further information on disregard discount categories can be found below.
If you think you should be entitled to a discount you can complete our online single person discount form .
If your bill indicates that a discount has been allowed, you must tell the Council of any change in circumstances which affects your entitlement.
A student is a person (of any age) enrolled in a full-time course of further education at a prescribed educational establishment or a person under the age of 20 enrolled in certain qualifying courses defined in Council Tax regulations. A full-time course must last for at least a year and require minimum periods of study.
A student nurse is a person following a course leading to registration under the Nurses, Midwives, and Health Visitors Act 1979.
An apprentice is someone, regardless of age, employed for the purpose of learning a trade or profession, who is paid less than £195 per week and is undertaking a training programme leading to an accredited qualification.
A YT trainee is a person aged under 25 who is undertaking an approved training scheme recognised by the Department of Work & Pensions (DWS) .
Providing care through a connection with a local authority or a charity for at least 24 hours per week for pay of £44 a week or less and living at or near where the care is provided.