A person who owns or rents their home will usually be liable to pay council tax to their local council.
Some people in a household will be ‘disregarded’ for council tax purposes. When a member of a household is disregarded, a discount to the council tax bill may be applied.
For example, a person will get 25% off their council tax bill if they live on their own or everyone else in the home is disregarded.
Some households will not be required to pay any council tax and may be able to apply for an exemption. For example, if all the members of a household are full-time students, then an exemption may be available. A list of people who are disregarded and how this may affect the amount that needs to be paid, as well as information about when an exemption will apply, is available on gov.uk.
Council tax discounts and exemptions are not ‘public funds’ for immigration purposes, and therefore can be accessed by a person with no recourse to public funds if they meet the qualifying criteria.
Households that are liable to pay council tax for a property in bands A-D will receive a payment (rebate) of £150 as part of the Government’s Energy Rebate Scheme 2022. A person who is paying their council tax by direct debit will have the payment made directly into their bank account from April 2022. Councils will contact residents who qualify for the rebate but are not paying their council tax by direct debit to advise how they can claim the rebate.
Households living in a property valued in bands E to H, and other residents who are suffering financial hardship as a result of the rising cost of living, may be able to receive a payment from their local council’s discretionary fund. Each council will set its own qualifying criteria for this funding. Some councils that have published their policies have limited eligibility to people who are in receipt of Council Tax Support, which is a 'public fund' for immigration purposes. In such cases, a person with no recourse to public funds may not be able to access a discretionary payment.
The council tax rebate and discretionary fund are not ‘public funds’ for immigration purposes and therefore can be accessed by a person with no recourse to public funds if they meet the qualifying criteria.
A person will need to contact their local council to find out more about the rebate and whether they can apply for a discretionary payment.
Council tax support (also known as 'council tax reduction') is a 'public fund' for immigration purposes. Therefore a person with no recourse to public funds cannot claim this.
