The Council Tax Reduction (Scotland) Regulations 2012

Date on which an application is madeS

This section has no associated Policy Notes

85.—(1) Subject to paragraph (3) and regulation 5(9) (occupation of a dwelling as a home) the date on which an application is made is—

(a)where an award of income support, universal credit, an income-based jobseeker's allowance or an income-related employment and support allowance has been made to the applicant or the applicant's partner and the application for council tax reduction is made within one month of the date on which the claim for that income support, universal credit jobseeker's allowance or employment and support allowance was received at the appropriate DWP office, the first day of entitlement to that income support, universal credit, jobseeker's allowance or employment and support allowance arising from that claim;

(b)where an applicant or the applicant's partner is a person on income support, universal credit, an income-based jobseeker's allowance or an income-related employment and support allowance and the applicant becomes liable for the first time to pay council tax in respect of the dwelling which the applicant occupies as a home, where the application is received by the relevant authority within one month of the date on which the applicant first became liable to pay council tax, the date on which the applicant first became so liable;

(c)where the applicant is the former partner of a person who was, at the date of that partner's death or the partners' separation, entitled to council tax reduction and where the applicant makes an application for council tax reduction within one month of the date of the death or the separation, that date;

(d)except where sub-paragraph (a), (b) or (c) is satisfied, in a case where a properly completed application is received within one month, or any longer period the relevant authority considers reasonable, of the date on which—

(i)an application form was issued to the applicant following the applicant first notifying, by whatever means, the relevant authority of an intention to make an application; or

(ii)the applicant notifies, by whatever means, the relevant authority of an intention to make an application by telephone in accordance with regulation 84 (telephone applications),

the date of first notification; and

(e)in any other case, the date on which the application is received by the relevant authority.

(2) For the purpose of paragraph (1)(a), a person who has been awarded an income-based jobseeker's allowance or an income-related employment and support allowance is to be treated as entitled to that allowance for any days which immediately precede the first day of that award and on which the person would, but for regulations made under—

(a)in the case of income-based jobseeker's allowance, paragraph 4 of Schedule 1 to the Jobseekers Act (waiting days); or

(b)in the case of income-related employment and support allowance, paragraph 2 of Schedule 2 to the Welfare Reform Act (waiting days),

have been entitled to that allowance.

(3) Except in the case of an application made by a person living abroad, where a person has not become liable for council tax to a relevant authority but it is anticipated that the person will become liable within the period of 8 weeks, the person may apply for council tax reduction at any time in that period and, provided that liability arises within that 8 week period, the relevant authority is to treat the application as having been made on the day on which the liability for council tax arises.

(4) Where a relevant authority has not set or imposed its council tax by the beginning of the financial year, if an application for council tax reduction is properly made or treated as made and—

(a)the date on which the application is made or treated as made is in the period from 1st April of the current year and ending one month after the date on which the authority sets or imposes the tax; and

(b)if the tax had been determined, the applicant would have been entitled to council tax reduction either from—

(i)the reduction week in which 1st April of the current year fell; or

(ii)a reduction week falling after the date specified in head (i) but before the application was made,

the relevant authority must treat the application as made in the reduction week immediately preceding the reduction week in which such entitlement would have commenced.

(5) Except in the case of an application made by a person living abroad, where the applicant is not entitled to council tax reduction in the reduction week immediately following the date of the application but the relevant authority is of the opinion that unless there is a change of circumstances the applicant will be entitled to council tax reduction for a period beginning not later than the thirteenth reduction week following the date on which the application is made, the relevant authority may treat the application as made on a date in the reduction week immediately preceding the first reduction week of that period of entitlement and grant entitlement to council tax reduction accordingly.

(6) In the case of a person who has attained, or whose partner has attained, the age which is 17 weeks younger than the qualifying age for state pension credit, paragraph (5) applies as if for the reference to the thirteenth reduction week, there was substituted a reference to the seventeenth reduction week.

(7) Where an applicant (“C”)—

(a)makes an application which includes (or which C subsequently requests should include) a period before the application is made; and

(b)from a day in that period, up to the date when C made the application (or subsequently requested that the application should include a past period), C had continuous good cause for failing to make an application (or request that the application should include that period),

the application is to be treated as made on the date determined in accordance with paragraph (8).

(8) The date referred to in paragraph (7) is the latest of—

(a)the first day from which C had continuous good cause;

(b)the day [F16 months] before the date the application was made; or

(c)the day [F26 months] before the date when C requested that the application should include a past period.

(9) In this regulation “appropriate DWP office” means an office of the Department for Work and Pensions dealing with state pension credit or claim office which is normally open to the public for the receipt of claims for income support, a jobseeker's allowance or an employment and support allowance.

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