The Council is aware of its duties and powers in accordance with section 13A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 as amended by section 76 of the Local Government Act 2003. This policy sets out how the Council will use its powers and the criteria that must be satisfied.

Section 13A(1)(c) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 empowers a billing local authority as follows:

1. Where a person is liable to pay Council Tax in respect of any chargeable dwelling and any day, the billing authority for the area in which the dwelling is situated may reduce the amount which he is liable to pay as respects the dwelling and the day to such extent as it thinks fit.
2. The power under subsection 1) above includes power to reduce an amount to nil.
3. The power under subsection 1) may be exercised in relation to particular cases or by determining a class of case in which liability is to be reduced to an extent provided by the determination.

Warwick District Council operates a hardship scheme and a resettlement scheme.

Discretionary relief scheme - hardship

When determining an application, consideration will be made to:

• Any application should be one of last resort and any entitlement to council tax support, discounts or exemptions must have been explored prior to an application being made
• Whether advice about a debt relief order or involuntary arrangement has been sought
• There must be evidence of hardship or personal circumstance that justifies a reduction in Council Tax Liability
• Applications will only be granted in exceptional or unforeseen circumstances that threaten a taxpayer’s ability to discharge their liability for council tax and may threaten their ability to stay in their home. For example, but not limited to; a flood or fire which means you are unable to live in the property or where a council taxpayer faces sudden financial hardship they could not have expected.
• The Council Taxpayer must not have access to assets, any equity on owned property, excess income or savings that could be realised and used to pay Council Tax
• If the Council Tax account is in arrears, the Council must be satisfied that non-payment was not due to wilful refusal or culpable neglect to pay the Tax.
• The payment record history of the Council Taxpayer
• Relief will only be applicable to the council taxpayer’s primary home, The Council will consider applications on both occupied and unoccupied properties as long as the property that is applying for the relief is the rate payers main home, main residence. For example, a ratepayers main home has been subject to fire or flood, and they have had to move to a temporary residence. We will not accept applications for relief on second homes or properties that are let out to tenants.
• There is a financial implication to awarding discounts under S13A, as the Council has to fund the cost of all awards from its own resources. Therefore, awards must meet the underlying principle of offering value for money to council taxpayers within the District.
• In the case of  a fire and flood we will initially consider an application under our major works or structural repairs policy.
• In the case of an empty property premium charge you must also be able to demonstrate you have exhausted all reasonable steps to either re-occupy the property or market the property for sale or rent.

Awarding a section 13a relief

In deciding whether to make a Section 13A award, we will have regard to the applicant’s circumstances. In order to do this, each applicant may be asked to supply reasonable supporting evidence. This may include, but is not limited to:

• Income & expenditure statements, including details of any savings or capital
• Bank statements
• Utility and household bills
• Medical evidence
• Sources of credit such as credit cards, loan arrangements and overdraft facilities.
• In addition to the above in the case of an empty property premium charge - evidence that shows you are actively marketing the property for sale or rent and/or evidence as to why the property can not be re-occupied

Amount of relief

The amount of relief to be awarded will be at the Council’s discretion, and will take into consideration the amount of debt and the extent to which the guidelines are met.

In the case of an empty property premium charge the amount of relief will be capped at the amount of the premium charge applicable. This would in effect remove the premium charge for a set amount of time leaving 100% charge payable and will be reviewed on an ongoing basis. 

Award period

The relief will only be granted to a maximum of the end of the tax period to which it is claimed, and will not automatically continue to reduce a futures year’s liability. The relief is intended as short-term assistance only and should not be considered a way of reducing the council tax long term.

All awards will be made by crediting the award value to the council tax account to which it applies. If this credit results in a refund being due, the Council will consider these in the usual manner.

How to claim a discretionary relief

Application forms will be provided to customers, upon request (Appendix 1). The form will also be available online via Warwick District Council’s website. It will be the sole responsibility of the customer to complete and return the application form along with all supporting evidence.

Where information or evidence requested has not been received within one calendar month, the Council will determine the application on the basis of the evidence and information on its possession. The Council may refuse to award discount where lack of this information and evidence does not enable the Council to reach an informed decision regarding the applicant’s circumstances.

Resettlement scheme

This provision will ensure that Local Council Tax Reduction will not be adversely affected for those eligible sponsors hosting a guest in their household under the Government’s Homes For Ukraine scheme.

Any person liable for Council Tax in the Warwick District Council area who is resident under any of the Government sponsored resettlement schemes or the Homes For Ukraine scheme, who is in receipt of the maximum Local Council Tax Reduction under the working age scheme (85%) will not be required to pay the remaining 15% Council Tax charge. These cases will be reviewed annually.

Premium charges for long term empty properties

At a meeting of the Council on 21 February 2024, Warwick District Council formally agreed to adopt changes to the Empty Homes Premium as set by the Government. This will see empty and unoccupied properties attract a 100% Council Tax premium after 1 year with effect from 1 April 2024. Previously this premium did not take effect until after 2 years. 
• properties empty for a period in excess of 1 year will be charged council tax at 200% of the full charge (100% council tax charge plus 100% levy).
• properties empty for a period in excess of 5 years will be charged council tax at 300% of the full charge (100% council tax charge plus 200% levy).
• properties empty for a period in excess of 10 years will be charged council tax at 400% of the full charge (100% council tax charge plus 300% levy).
As the premium charge is applied to empty properties, which are not a person’s primary home, these will not usually be considered under the 13a scheme. The council will however consider applications from customers in relation to the empty premium charge in the following circumstances:

• where the liable party will suffer from financial hardship resulting from the premium charge
• where the liable party has exhausted all reasonable steps in order to re-occupy the property or market the property for sale or rent

A full application under the 13a scheme will need to be submitted with the applicable evidence provided.

Notice of decision

Applications will be reviewed, and decisions on awards will be made by the Revenues & Recovery Manager in the Revenues team. The Council will notify a customer of its decision in writing within 14 days of receiving sufficient information to make a decision, or as reasonably practicable. Where the request for a Section 13A Discount award is unsuccessful or not met in full, the Council will explain the reasons why the decision was made, and explain the applicant’s right of appeal.

Review process

Section 13A awards are administered under the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and are subject to a statutory appeals process. However, in the first instance, the Council will accept a taxpayer’s request for a reconsideration of a decision where the Council has not awarded a discretionary relief or where the taxpayer feels the award should be increased.

Requests for reconsideration should be:

• Made in writing to the Warwick District Council’s Council Tax department or via email to ctax-recovery@warwickdc.gov.uk
• Received within 21 days of receipt of the initial decision for the discretionary relief
• Signed (or digitally signed on an email) by the applicant or their authorised representative
• Include full reasons for the reconsideration request.

Upon receipt of a request for reconsideration, the Council’s Exchequer Manager will consider whether the customer has provided any additional information against the criteria to justify a change in decision.

The Council will notify a customer of its decision within 21 days of receiving a request for reconsideration. If after receiving a reconsideration decision, a customer still disputes the decision, they can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal. The Tribunal will consider these appeals on their merits and is not restricted to inquiring whether the billing authority has exercised its discretion lawfully and reasonably. The Tribunal may substitute its view for that of the authority.

Overpayments

If the Council becomes aware that the information contained in an application for a S13A discount award was incorrect or that relevant information was not declared, either intentionally or otherwise, the Council may seek to recover the value of any award made as a result of that application. Where this is the case,

the award will be removed from the relevant council tax account and any resulting balance will be subject to the normal methods of collection and recovery applicable to such amounts.

Fraud

The Council is committed to the fight against fraud in all its forms. Any applicant who tries to fraudulently claim a S13A discount might have committed an offence under the Fraud Act 2006.

If the Council suspects that fraud may have occurred, the matter will be investigated as appropriate and this could result in criminal proceedings.

Equalities statement

Warwick District Council is committed to equality and fairness. Equality is about ensuring that people are treated fairly, given fair chances and to ensure equality of opportunity for all within the district; especially equality of access to the services we provide across different members of our communities. It is also about ensuring that people receive fair outcomes in the standard of service they receive from the Council. This incorporates everyone, regardless of their race, gender, age religion or belief, sexual orientation, marital or civil partnership status and/or disability in line with the principles set out in the Equalities Act 2010.

Policy review

The policy will be reviewed annually, or sooner if appropriate, to take account of operational adjustments and or changes to legislation.