The Disabled Band Reduction Scheme is meant to help disabled people who may be in larger properties because of their needs
Thousands of UK households could benefit from a scheme that offers council tax discounts. The Disabled Band Reduction Scheme is a council tax discount designed to assist disabled households with the additional housing costs they face due to their disability. This could include the need for a property with wider hallways to accommodate a wheelchair or specially adapted extra rooms, triggering higher council tax bills. The scheme reduces the council tax bill by a full band rate. For instance, if your property is in Band E in the City of London, you would normally pay £1,557.20 for council tax this tax year. However, under the reduction scheme, this would drop down to a Band D cost of £1,274.07.
This results in savings of approximately £283.13. If you are already in Band A, the lowest council tax band, then your bill will be reduced by 17%. To qualify, at least one person living in the home must be disabled. This can be either a child or an adult and it doesn’t have to be the person responsible for paying the council tax.
Furthermore, according to Disability Rights UK, one of the following must also apply to your property:
- Have a room (other than a bathroom, kitchen or toilet) which is used to meet your needs e.g. for the purposes of dialysis, treatment or for the storage of equipment
- Have a second bathroom or kitchen used to meet your needs
- Have enough space in your home to use a wheelchair indoors
You can check your eligibility for the scheme and apply for it online on the Gov.uk website. According to gov.uk, as of September 2024, 138,000 dwellings in England ‘moved down one band as a result of disabled relief’.
If there’s a disabled person in your household but your property doesn’t qualify for the scheme, other discounts are available. This includes the severely mentally impaired discount which can reduce your council tax bill by 100%. Given the substantial under-claiming for other UK benefits such as Pension Credit and other kinds of council tax support, thousands more could be missing out.
Qualifying for full discount
To have the full bill disregarded, you must prove that you’re severely mentally impaired and living alone, with other severely mentally impaired individuals or with full-time students. If everyone else in your home is disregarded for other reasons, you can receive a 50% discount.
However, if you’re severely mentally impaired and living with another adult without a disability who isn’t disregarded, the maximum discount you can receive is 25%.
Earlier this year, a consultation in England was considering revamping this specific discount. The proposed policy change states: “The government believes the current name and definition of this disregard is outdated and alienating to those who suffer with these conditions and may create a barrier for them from claiming the support they are entitled to.”
Among the proposed changes is a new title and definition for the council tax exemption, aligning with the Welsh Government, which renamed it ‘significant cognitive impairment’. The application process will also be revamped as the government recognises the current process is a barrier for some.
The current application process varies between councils and places the burden on households to obtain the correct council forms and medical certificates.
The proposal states: “The government believes it is right that there is a straightforward and simple pathway for those who are eligible to claim this support. However, it also recognises that those eligible (and/or their families) should make an active decision in seeking the disregard and councils should choose the best approach to serve their local areas.”
Should these modifications be implemented in England, they wouldn’t impact individuals already entitled to the reduction. Those currently receiving the discount shouldn’t need to go through a fresh assessment either. The consultation ended in September and responses are presently being examined, with results expected to be published shortly.
