Council tax discount for dementia

[MTO]

I’ve tried to read old posts on this subject but they have been closed, sorry if I’m asking questions that have already been answered.
I was told that we could get a discount on council tax because my husband has a dementia diagnosis. I’ve got the necessary form from fareham council, but it says we can only get the discount if he is already getting another of a long list of benefits. We have never claimed any other benefits, except we are both getting state pension. Do councils differ in their rules? Anyone else tried to get this discount from FBC?

 

[canary]

If you are not getting Attendence Allowence then you should be. It is not means tested. Get Age UK or CAB to help you with the form.

 

[Beate]

Its not a discount, it's an exemption. The SMI disregard needs a dementia diagnosis and being in receipt of Attendance Allowance or equivalent. It will then exempt this person from any council tax liability which usually means that a two person household is now counted as a single person household, triggering a 25% reduction in council tax.

 

[Grannie G]

I’ve tried to read old posts on this subject but they have been closed,

You were right to start a new Thread @MTO when old Threads on the same topic are closed.

Old Threads are closed to prevent distress being caused to those whose situations may have changed over the years.

 

[Shedrech]

hi @MTO
I too understand that any Local Authority requires a diagnosis and for the person to be receiving one of a set of benefits
here's a link to the Gov site re Attendance Allowance
https://www.gov.uk/attendance-allowance/how-to-claim
don't be daunted, fill it in describing your husband's worst day, give details and don't worry if you seem to be writing very similar answers to different qiestions - I think there is space to add extra info and I did a timeline of a typical day for my dad - it was tough seeing it all written out, but confirmed to me, as I suspect it does for many, that I could have applied successfully months before I did
also I wrote as though I were dad, which was odd, but was what the form required - if your husband isn't able or wanting to sign, thete's a section for you to explain why you are applying on his behalf
with AA in place you can then consider the CT

 

[Grahamstown]

My husband applied for and has got the Attendance Allowance six months following the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Then I applied for Council Tax discount and with the AA letter and a form signed by the doctor he has been granted a 25% discount on his half of the tax. This has been applied to this year’s notification for 2019/20 and was back dated to the date of the AA. He did not get any money in hand, it was factored into the Council Tax notification. Hope this helps.

 

[nitram]

he has been granted a 25% discount on his half of the tax

It should be 25% of the whole of tax.
He is disregarded reducing the occupancy for ctax purposes by one.
If there is only one other resident eligible for ctax the sole occupancy discount of 25% applies.

 

[Grahamstown]

It should be 25% of the whole of tax.
He is disregarded reducing the occupancy for ctax purposes by one.
If there is only one other resident eligible for ctax the sole occupancy discount of 25% applies.

I think you are right, when I wrote it, it sounded wrong. He does get 25% discount on the council tax.

 

[northumbrian_k]

I can confirm that the process of getting a 25% council tax disregard is easy so long as Attendance Allowance (AA) is in place and you can get a GP to sign the 'Severe Mental Impairment' (SMI) form. My council was happy to accept proof of AA and SMI in electronic format, making the whole process very quick. The 25% disregard was applied retrospectively as far back as the start of AA in July 2017, with a further reduction for the current year, all credited against my 2019/20 bill. This has reduced my monthly payments for this year by about 60% in all.