Discretionary Council Tax Hardship Scheme

If you’re experiencing severe financial or personal hardship caused by events outside your control, you may be able to reduce your Council Tax bill under the Discretionary Council Tax Hardship Scheme. 

You’ll need to check if you’re eligible before you apply. 

Read the full details of our scheme

 You must be able to show that:  

• the amount of money you have coming in is a lot less than your outgoings
• you have no savings
• you have applied for all other help, such as benefits and reductions 

What you’ll need to apply

 To apply, you’ll need to give:  

• a summary of your reason for applying
• any evidence to support your reason
• a statement of how this reduction will help you and what will happen next  

Providing evidence 

Examples of evidence you can provide to prove financial or personal hardship include:   

• a completed income and expenditure form
• bank statement
• utility bills
• evidence of rent and mortgage
• employment details with salary
• evidence of the benefits you get 

After we receive your application, we’ll make a decision within one month. We’ll send you a letter confirming our decision.

We may ask you to provide further evidence. If so, we will make a decision one month after we receive your evidence.

Appealing a decision

If you disagree with our decision, you can ask for a review. We’ll carry out a review within two months from the date of the original decision letter.

You’ll need to provide any new evidence.

We’ll make a decision within two months of receiving your appeal. We’ll send you a letter confirming our decision.