Severe Mentally Impairment

If you are eligible for Housing Benefit and have a severe mental impairment, you may qualify for a 25% reduction in your council tax. The person deemed to have the impairment must obtain medical certification from a suitably qualified medical professional and must qualify for at least one other benefit, such as one of those listed below: -

• Incapacity benefit;
• Attendance allowance;
• Severe disablement allowance;
• Disability Living Allowance;
• Increase in disablement pension;
• Unemployability supplement;
• Constant attendance allowance;
• Income support;
• Personal Independence Payment;
• Armed Forces Independence Payment;
• Universal Credit; or
• Disability Working Allowance.

 

How do I claim it?

You will need a medical certificate and a claim form from your local council (which you can find through GOV.uk). You may also need proof of your eligibility for benefits. Sometimes the council will ask for proof of receiving the benefit.

 

Can I claim back the money that I am owed?

Your council may or may not allow you to make a retrospective claim. If it does, you must write to your local council explaining your request and prove that you met the criteria for the period.

 

Can I appeal a decision?

Yes. If your council rules against your claim, you can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal Service within two months of this response. You can appeal to them through this online form. In Wales, you should contact the Valuation Tribunal for Wales. In Scotland, you must appeal to your local Valuation Appeal Community through your local council.

 

How we can help

Lestons can arrange for a medical to confirm that the person meets the requirement of being Severely Mentally Impaired, we use a network of specialists who can assess you in your own home. Please note we make no commission from these referrals but do need clients to open a case so that we can prepare a brief for them. To gain our assistance you need to open a case, this is done by simply clicking on the link at the top of the page, you will then need to deposit a sum equal to one hour’s usage, upon receipt of these funds you will be assigned your personal caseworker who will telephone you to discuss the matter and make suggestions on how to proceed.

 

Please note your caseworker can only give generic advice, their role is to prepare your details for handling by our appointed medical expert and to act as your point of contact, they will also issue you with your Password and PIN, these will be needed to log onto your client dashboard. From your dashboard you will be able to manage and view every aspect of your case, upload documents, images, files etc.