Explained: What’s happening with the Council Tax energy rebate in Mansfield, when and how will you get it?

Who will get it?

Households are eligible for the mandatory £150 rebate where, on April 1, they are liable for Council Tax on a property which is in Council Tax bands A-D and which they live in as their main home (second homes and unoccupied homes are excluded).

This includes those who receive Local Council Tax Support, even if their Council Tax bill for the year is less than £150 or £0.

Where the occupants of a property in bands A - D are exempt from Council Tax on April 1, they will also be eligible if the property falls in one of the following classes of exemption:

Class N (students – other than HMOs for Council Tax purposes), Class S (under 18s), Class U (people with a severe mental impairment) or Class W (annexes occupied by a dependent relative).

Only one £150 payment will be made per household, regardless of the number of occupants or liable Council Tax payers.

Where the council’s records relating to the liable taxpayer(s) or residents’ circumstances in respect of April 1, are retrospectively updated, the council will take reasonable steps to pay or clawback payments.

Where the property band recorded on a valuation list is amended retrospectively to April 1, for example as a result of a successful appeal made to the Valuation Office Agency (‘VOA’) that concluded after April 1, the council will not be required to pay or clawback payments.

The exception is where a property is a new build and awaiting an official banding from the VOA. In these cases, eligibility will be determined based on the official band subsequently allocated by the VOA, where it has an effective date before or on April 1.

How will it be paid?

Where the council holds active Direct Debit information for the Council Tax payer, it will in most cases make an automatic payment into the bank account.

Due to the volume of payments being made through the systems, they will be issued in batches.

There may be times where the council are unable to pay automatically due to the validation checks required by the Government. This may be for example, because the name on the bank account does not match the name of the person on the Council Tax bill, or the direct debit has recently been set up and had not had any payments collected from it when the council extracted the information from its system to make the energy rebate payments.

In such cases you will be able to apply online once the online form is available.

Where the council does not hold live Direct Debit instructions for an eligible household, the council will need to gather the information needed to make the payments and an online application form is currently being devised. The council will update its website as soon as it has a process in place.

The council will offer payment into bank accounts or as a £150 credit to an eligible household’s Council Tax account as a payment option where it is unable to pay by alternative methods.

No payments will be made under the mandatory scheme after September 30.