Overview

• To qualify, individuals must be certified by a medical professional as severely mentally impaired and claim or be eligible for specified benefits.
• Qualifying conditions include dementia (including Alzheimer’s), Parkinson’s disease, severe learning difficulties, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, severe stroke and schizophrenia.
• Households receive a 100% discount if the affected individual lives alone, 50% if residing with disregarded persons, or 25% when sharing with one other non-exempt adult.
• Local councils have discretion to backdate severe mental impairment discounts by up to six years, but not all authorities offer retroactive payments.
• Average band D council tax bills have reached £2,280 a year following a 5.1% rise over the past two years.