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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Housing costs  →  Thread

reporting to CTB and HB?

johnny
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money advice, midland heart HA, birmingham

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Joined: 8 July 2010

i have a client who moved her partner into property last year. she notified council tax of the change by phone and her bill was amended to cancel the 25% single adult discount shortly afterwards

she maintains that she also notified HB office at the same time by writing of the change in circs, but HB claim not to have received any letter and have now issued an overpayment. as her council tax liability changed, she presumed that the council benefit offices were in full awareness and everything had been taken care of HB wise as well

my question is;  when a change is reported to HB they notify CTB, does the reverse occur? is a report in change of circs to CTB also a report to HB at the same time, or does it have to be 2 seperate actions?

many thanks

Ruth_T
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Volunteer adviser - Corby Borough Welfare Rights & CAB

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The 25% single adult discount and other Council Tax disregards are not ‘benefits’.  They are administered by the local authority’s Council Tax/Revenues section which has nothing to do with their Benefits Section.  Practice may vary from one authority to another but they would not necessarily share information.

Stainsby
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Welfare rights adviser - Plumstead Community Law Centre

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The LA will not get off the hook that easily because an official error is defined as a mistake by the relevant authority.  The same authority will adminster council tax HB and CTB.

If the Council Tax section fail to pass on infomation to the HB/CTB section, that may well amount to an official error

“Relevant authority” in Reg 100 is a much wider concept than “designated office” in Reg 88, and if a claimant does not notify the designated office in a manner fully compliant with Reg 88, that of itself may not be the substantial cause of an overpayment if there was also an official error by the relevant authority

Mr Deputy Commissioner Whybrow QC gives a useful explanation of the law in CH/3586/2007

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J Membery
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Revenues and Benefits Manager, Aylesbury Vale DC

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The problem you may find is found in para 26 of CH/3586/2007. It could even be argued that as your client is insisting that she did notify the Benefits section in writing then she cannot have been expecting that the Council Tax section would do this on her behalf.

Kevin D
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Independent HB/CTB administrator, consultant & trainer (Essex)

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CH/2735/2009 & CH/2567/2007 may also be of interest - they broadly follow R(H) 10/08 (this being CH/3856).

However, on the flip side, a claimant who notifies a change but hears nothing in response may well find it argued by a LA that it was not reasonable to rely on silence as meaning all was well.