The Council Tax Reduction (Scotland) Regulations 2021

CHAPTER 3 Effective Date

Date on which entitlement is to begin

33.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), where a person—

(a) makes, or is treated as making, an application, and

(b) fulfils the conditions of entitlement to council tax reduction in regulation 13 or 14,

that person is entitled to council tax reduction from the first Monday after the date on which the application is made or treated as made.

(2) Where, a person—

(a) becomes liable for the first time for council tax in respect of a dwelling in which the person resides,

(b) makes, or is treated as making, an application in the reduction week in which the person first becomes liable for council tax in respect of that dwelling, and

(c) fulfils the conditions of entitlement to council tax reduction in regulation 13 or 14,

that person is entitled to council tax reduction from the day on which the person first becomes liable for council tax.

Date on which a change of circumstances is to take effect

34.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this regulation, for the purpose of calculating entitlement to council tax reduction a change of circumstances which affects entitlement to council tax reduction is to take effect from the first day of the reduction week starting immediately after the date on which the change actually occurs, and where that change is cessation of entitlement to any benefit under the benefit Acts, the date on which the change actually occurs is the day immediately following the last day of entitlement to that benefit.

(2) Where the change of circumstances is a change in the amount—

(a) of any benefit a person receives under the benefit Acts and the rate of that benefit is altered with effect from a date on or after 1 April in a year, but not later than 15 April in a year, the relevant authority may treat the person as possessing that benefit at the altered rate from 1 April or from the first Monday in April in that year,

(b) of universal credit a person receives, it takes effect—

(i) where the change is a cessation of entitlement to universal credit, from the first day immediately following the day in which entitlement ceased, and

(ii) in any other case, from the first Monday of the assessment period in which the change actually occurred.

(3) Subject to paragraph (4), where the change of circumstances is a change in the amount of council tax payable, it takes effect from the day on which it actually occurs.

(4) Where the change of circumstances is a change in the amount a person is liable to pay in respect of council tax in consequence of Regulations under section 80 of the Act (reduced amounts of council tax)(1) or changes in the discount to which a dwelling may be subject under section 79 of that Act(2), it takes effect from the day on which the change in amount has effect.

(5) Where the change of circumstances is an amendment to these Regulations, it takes effect from the date on which the amendment to these Regulations comes into force.

(6) Where the change of circumstances is the applicant’s acquisition of a partner, it takes effect on the day on which the acquisition takes place.

(7) Where the change of circumstances is the applicant’s separation from a partner, it takes effect on the day on which the separation takes place.

(8) Where the change of circumstances is the death of an applicant’s partner and at the date of that death neither the applicant nor the applicant’s partner had any award of universal credit, or either had an award of universal credit but it was not to the partners jointly, the change of circumstances takes effect on the date of that death.

(9) Where the change of circumstances is the death of an applicant’s partner and at the date of that death the partners jointly had an award of universal credit, it takes effect on the last day on which the applicant’s partner is treated as if they had not died for the purpose of entitlement to universal credit in accordance with regulation 37(a) of the 2013 Regulations (run-on after a death),

(10) If two or more changes of circumstances occurring in the same reduction week would, but for this paragraph, take effect in different reduction weeks in accordance with paragraphs (1) to (9) they take effect from the day to which the appropriate paragraph from (2) to (9) refers, or, where more than one day is concerned, from the earlier day.

(11) Where the change of circumstances is that income, or an increase in the amount of income, other than a benefit or an increase in the amount of a benefit under the 1992 Act, Part 4 of the 2012 Act or article 24A of the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation Scheme) Order 2011(3), is paid in respect of a past period and there was no entitlement to income of that amount during that period, it takes effect from the first day on which the income, had it been paid in that period at intervals appropriate to that income, would have been taken into account for the purposes of these Regulations.

(12) Without prejudice to paragraph (8), where the change of circumstances is the payment of income or arrears of income in respect of a past period, it takes effect from the first day on which the income, had it been timeously paid in that period at intervals appropriate to that income, would have been taken into account for the purposes of these Regulations.

(13) Where the change of circumstances is that—

(a) a conversion decision within the meaning of regulation 5(2)(a) of the Employment and Support Allowance (Existing Awards) Regulations has been made in relation to the applicant or the applicant’s partner, or

(b) the applicant or the applicant’s partner is appealing a conversion decision within the meaning of regulation 5(2)(b) of the Employment and Support Allowance (Existing Awards) Regulations and is treated as having limited capability for work by virtue of regulation 30 of the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations(4) as modified by the Employment and Support Allowance (Existing Awards) Regulations,

it takes effect, where the conversion decision takes effect on or after 1 April in any year but before 16 April of that year, from 1 April and in any other case from the day the conversion decision takes effect.

(1)

Section 80 was amended by paragraph 176 of schedule 13 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 (c.39) and S.I. 2013/388.

(2)

Section 79 was amended by S.I. 2005/51.

(3)

S.I. 2011/517. Article 24A was added by S.I. 2013/436 and amended by S.I. 2017/247 and S.I. 2019/440.

(4)

Regulation 30 was amended by S.I. 2013/2536 and S.I. 2015/437.