If you or a member of your household is a person with a severe mental impairment, you may be eligible for a discount on your Council Tax.
We define this as: 'A severe impairment of intelligence and social functioning, however caused, which appears to be permanent, for the purposes of the Local Government Act 1992'.
This includes people who have:
- Alzheimer's
- Parkinson's
- suffered a stroke
- severe learning difficulties
- suffered an impairment due to the injury
Find out if you're eligible
To receive the discount, someone must be medically certified as having a severe mental impairment and receiving, at least one of the following benefits:
- Attendance Allowance
- Employment and Support Allowance (which must include the Support component)
- Care component of a Disability Living Allowance payable at either the middle or highest rate (the lowest rate will not qualify)
- the standard or enhanced rate of the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment
- Universal Credit (where it includes an element for limited capability for work or limited capability for work and work-related activity).
- Severe Disablement Allowance
- Incapacity Benefit
- an increase in the rate of Disablement Pension (where constant attendance needed)
- Disabled Person’s Tax Credit
- an unemployability supplement or allowance
- an unemployability allowance
- Constant Attendance Allowance
- Income Support which includes a disability premium
- a premium added to their partner’s Jobseeker’s Allowance
If all adult residents are severely mentally impaired and would otherwise be liable to pay Council Tax, a 100% exemption will apply.
If all but one of the adult residents is a disregarded person because of a severe mental impairment or, a 25% discount will apply.
Where a landlord is liable for Council Tax and all residents have a severe mental impairment, they will all be disregarded, and the landlord will receive a 50% discount.
Council Tax is normally reduced from the date we receive the application. In some cases it may be backdated to when the eligibility criteria is met. The reduction is subject to periodic reviews to confirm that circumstances have not changed and is awarded for an indefinite period.
Further reductions are available if the property has been adapted.
If someone other than a spouse is caring for the person with severe mental impairment, they too may be disregarded.
Someone who is treated as severely mentally impaired for Council Tax purposes, cannot, in most cases, be held liable either on their own or jointly with others for payment of Council Tax. Liability would fall on anyone else living in the home, like their spouse or partner.
Properties occupied only by people with a severe mental impairment
If a property is occupied only by severely mentally impaired people, it’s exempt from Council Tax. This does not apply if someone else is liable to pay the Council Tax. For example, for a house in multiple occupation or a care home.
How to apply
To apply for an exemption, please complete our form. You’ll need to know your Council Tax account number.
For Bournemouth residents:
Along with your application, we need your doctor to complete the doctor’s supporting letter for a person with a mental impairment.
You can upload this with your application or ask your doctor to return it to us by email to counciltax.bournemouth@bcpcouncil.gov.uk.
For Christchurch residents:
For Poole residents:
If you need any help with completing the form, please contact us.