Council Tax Support Exceptional Hardship Fund
If you still have to pay some council tax after your Council Tax Support has been awarded our Council Tax Support Exceptional Hardship Fund can help cover the shortfall. It's a cash limited fund and the awards aren't a payment of the main Council Tax Support scheme.
How to apply
You'll need to:
- why you need the extra help
- provide details about money you have coming in and money you spend
- tell us about your family circumstances
- provide an email address or contact telephone number
- upload copies of any documents or other information you think may help us to decide
Apply for Exceptional Hardship
If you are unable to complete the form using the link above you can ring 01752 668000.
Council Tax Support Exceptional Hardship Policy April 2020 [PDF, 177KB]
Council Tax Support Exceptional Hardship Policy Pre April 2020 [PDF, 130KB]
Providing additional evidence
If you need to provide additional evicence for your claim you can upload it using the link below
How we make our decision
To decide how much CTS Exceptional Hardship you can get we consider the following:
- household income
- any savings
- if anyone else is able to help you financially
- if you could re-arrange your finances to ease the situation
- if you have any debts
- if you or your family have any special circumstances, like ill health or disability
- any other relevant information
We will write to you with our decision and the reasons for it. Any Exceptional Hardship help you receive will depend on your circumstances and will generally be for a short time only.
If your circumstances change after you have been awarded Exceptional Hardship you must notify us within 21 days so we can look at our decision and see whether your payment needs to be changed. You can report a change here.
How much you can claim
The amount of Exceptional Hardship award is based on your financial and family circumstances and how urgent your claim is compared to others we receive. Each application is dealt with individually and we may only give you help for a short time to cover any temporary difficulties you've got paying your council tax.
How to appeal
Exceptional hardship fund awards aren't part of Council Tax Support and don't follow the same appeal process. But we'll look at the decision again if you feel a mistake has been made or some information hasn't been taken into account. You will need to submit a general enquiry or write to us at Revenues and Benefits, Plymouth City Council, PO Box 293, Plymouth PL5 9BZ.