The savings expert shared a host of tips about council tax and how to potentially cut your bill. One scheme he was keen to raise awarness of is council tax support. He said that up to 2.25 million people on lower incomes are could be missing out on the money off their bills, which is worth up to £1,500 in savings.
Mr Lewis explained how it works: “This is separate from discounts. Every council runs its own council tax reduction scheme. What you get depends on where you live, there is no standardised definition.”
Big mistake
He said some councils will cut your bill by 100 per cent through their particular scheme. The consumer advocate warned that the “biggest mistake” people make about the scheme is they think that if they are eligible for Universal Credit, they will automatically get the support, but this isn’t the case.
Mr Lewis said: “They are totally separate systems. You have to apply for council tax support separately. The people who are likely to get it are those people who are on Universal Credit or Pension Credit, but you won’t get it automatically.
“That is why so many people miss out.” He pointed listeners to the gov.uk website where you can find out the contact details for your local council, to find out if they have a scheme in place.
When you come to apply, you may need to provide evidence that you have a low household income or to provide details of your rent or mortgage payments.
He said: “If you’re generally somebody someone who is on Universal Credit or who is on a lower income, you should check out your council’s criteria for council tax support.” The expert added that it’s worth checking as it can be “big money”.
More questions
One listener said they had asked their local council what help they could get, as they were on a low income, but they had not heard back. Mr Lewis urged them to “get in touch with them [the council] and persevere”.
Another question came in from a benefit claimant who was getting the support from their local council, yet their council tax bill increased 25 per cent when they moved over to Universal Credit. Mr Lewis said this was likely due to them being on a legacy benefit, one of the older benefits that was replaced by Universal Credit, and when they moved over to Universal Credit, their entitlement went down.
Many people in this situation get a transitional protection payment, topping up their benefits to their previous entitlement. But as this top up can be categorised differently from your benefit payment, this can affect how much of a discount you get through the support scheme.
Again you should check with your local authority to find out what their particular rules are. Mr Lewis said: “It’s crackers, but that’s just how it works.” He said there is unfortunately a “postcode lottery” with how the support works as different areas have different rules.
