Council tax exceptional hardship relief scheme

If you experience exceptional circumstances of financial hardship, then you may be able to claim some discretionary assistance with your council tax. This is not a cash payment, but an account balancing payment to help manage a debt.
Our budget for this is limited so the help available will be for a set period and amount.
As a condition of any award you may be signposted to our third party partners who can offer support, advice and guidance to help you manage to pay your share of this local tax on an ongoing basis.
- current accounts
- savings accounts
- Post Office accounts
- ISAs
- any other financial accounts held by the adult(s) in the household
- all income
- rent arrears (if applicable)
- any loans or finance repayments
- credit card debts
- court fines
- maintenance payments
- any work related travel costs
- any deductions made from any benefits you receive, for example deductions for repayment of a Social Fund loan
- debts for utilities such as gas, electric and water
A decision on your claim will be made within one month of receipt of the application, but this may be extended if you are asked to provide further evidence. Then a decision will be made within one calendar month of receiving all the evidence.
- not be backdated
- only be provided for a limited time
To appeal against a decision
Enquiry form
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