Exemption from Council Tax & Use of Bins

[Consumer50]

My father has moved into a care home leaving his house empty & so I am planning to apply for a Council tax exemption on his behalf.

 

I regularly visit the house to keep it and the garden maintained. Once I have applied for an exemption will I be permitted to continue using the bin service? I cannot find anything on the Council's website and their outsourced call centre is extremely hard to contact.

[dx100uk]

yes.

you only get exemption for 6mts is it? 

then it goes to 25% off i can't remember at present

 

dx

 

[Consumer50]

My reading is that it's indefinite so long as he is permanently in a nursing home (different to deceased when I think the exemption is for a limited time as you describe).

 

Anyhow, you are confident that it's OK to use the bins?

 

Cheers

[Ethel Street]

By 'bin servcie' do you mean the free bin collection that every house is entitled to or is it one of the servcies that council's charge extra for, like garden waste.  Some councils collect garden waste for free as part of regular watse collection (mine does) but others charge for it and you have to put a sticker on your bin each year to show you've paid for it.

 

If it's the regular free bin collections you are talking about then I can't think why CT exemption makes any difference to them collecting.

[Consumer50]

I guess I am thinking of both as I need to keep the garden under control as well as de-clutter the house.

 

It looks as if my father was paying an annual fee by DD for the garden bin - so do you reckon I will just need to continue with that? Should be easy enough as I can just leave the DD intact - unless the exemption causes it to be automatically cancelled.

[dx100uk]

same as most councils

for brown bin/garden you have to pay

 

dx

 

[Ethel Street]

I can't guarantee that CT exemption won't make any difference to bin collection. Councils have quite a lot of local discretion, especilly with paid for additional waste services. Only the council can give you the definitive answer for what they do.

[stu007]

Hi

 

Sorry to hear about your Father now in a Care Home as my own Father was in a Care Home until he recently passed away.

 

I assume when you say your Father House he actually owns the Property just want to clarify?

 

You will have to go through the Local Councils Means Test as I had to for my own Father when he went into a Care Home which is carried out by there Financial Department to work out your Father Care Home Bill and in the paperwork you would have to declare the property.

 

We can't actually say whether you Father would be exempt from paying anything whether it for his Care Home Bill which he may end up having to pay something or the entire Bill or whether they would be exempt from council tax for there empty property as this should all be worked out when you have to fill in the Financial Means Test form for your Father being in a Care Home with the Council.

 

Please bear in mind each Local Council in the UK can apply there discretion differently that is why it is difficult to really answer your question you would really need to direct this specifically to your Local Council.

 

Also just so you are aware the Financial Means Test with the Council to see what your Father has to pay for his Care Home is carried out Annually.

 

Now as for the Bins to the Property and it in now vacant since your Father is in a Care Home that is also a question you really need to direct to the Local Council as each Council is different in how the operate this at there discretion  

 

 

[Consumer50]

OK thanks.

 

It seems that the consensus is that I really need to persevere with the call centre (council tax has been outsourced to Capita & I tend to give up after listening to music for 30 minutes). I might try one of my father's local councillors - they may have contacts that the public do not.