Section 13A Council Tax Hardship Relief in Wales

Council tax is a priority debt, which means a Welsh council has stronger powers to make you pay than an ordinary creditor does. If you cannot afford the bill, the route most people miss is discretionary relief: writing to the council and asking it to reduce what you owe under Section 13A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992¹. Council tax has existed since 1993, when local councils took on the job of collecting it under that Act².

The bill itself comes from three things: the valuation band for your home, how much your local council charges for that band, and whether a discount, reduction or exemption applies³. In Wales the bands rest on property values from April 2003, not the 1991 values used in England and Scotland⁴. If the bill is still unaffordable after any reduction, you can ask to spread payments over 12 months instead of the usual 10, which lowers each instalment⁵.

Missing a payment is where the trouble starts. If you do not pay within 7 days of a reminder notice, you have to pay the whole year's council tax instead of instalments⁵. A missed payment after 31 December also brings a final notice demanding the full remaining balance⁵. The sections below set out how the bill is built, what relief exists in Wales, how to ask for it, and what happens if arrears reach enforcement.

How your council tax bill is worked out

Three pieces of information produce the figure on the bill: the valuation band for the property, the amount your local council charges for that band, and whether a discount, reduction or exemption applies³. The band is set by the Valuation Office, which became part of HMRC on 1 April 2026⁴. The charge for the band is set by the council, and in Wales the Senedd sets the framework within which councils decide premiums and discounts.

Wales has its own reduction scheme, funded separately from the rest of local government. The Welsh Government has provided £244m in the Local Government Settlement for the Council Tax Reduction Scheme in 2013 to 2014 and each year since⁸. The same £244m annual figure is confirmed in the scheme's own annual report⁶. That money funds means-tested reductions for households on low incomes, and it is separate from the discretionary relief a council can grant under Section 13A.

The legal basis matters because it tells you which power to ask the council to use. The Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements and Default Scheme) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Wales) Regulations 2026 were made under powers in section 13A and Schedule 1B to the 1992 Act⁹. A later set of regulations, the Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Wales) Regulations 2026, was made under section 13A(4) and (5) and paragraphs 2 to 6 of Schedule 1B¹⁰. In practice, a council has two distinct routes: a statutory reduction scheme with published criteria, and a discretionary power to reduce a bill case by case.

For anyone receiving certain benefits, the reduction is automatic at the maximum level. If an applicant receives Income Support, Income-Based Jobseeker's Allowance, Income-Based Employment and Support Allowance, Pension Credit, or Pension Credit Guarantee, they are entitled to the maximum, full, reduction in their council tax liability⁹. That is the passporting route, and it does not require a discretionary application.

Discounts, disregards and exemptions in Wales

Wales has been reviewing its discount and exemption framework. The Welsh Government concluded a review of the 53 categories of council tax discounts and exemptions, with improvements planned by regulation by April 2026¹¹. The Council Tax (Discounts, Disregards and Exemptions) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 were laid on 25 September 2026 to make a small number of amendments to improve the 2026 framework and ensure it operates as intended¹².

Two changes are worth knowing about because they affect named groups of people.

The first is the Class Y exemption for refuges, introduced from April 2026. Properties operating as a refuge qualify where they are provided by, or commissioned by, a local authority in Wales and offer emergency and temporary accommodation to survivors of abuse, domestic abuse, gender-based violence or sexual violence⁷. Around 127 refuges across Wales are expected to qualify⁷. The costing used 3,598 properties currently exempt as a baseline⁷.

The second is the renaming of the severe mental impairment disregard. From April 2026 the council tax disregard and Class U exemption terminology changed to significant cognitive impairment, with eligibility criteria unchanged⁷. A 25% discount applies where a person medically certified as having a significant cognitive impairment lives with one adult who is eligible to pay council tax¹³. England is updating the term to significant cognitive impairment in April 2027, a change already made in Wales¹⁴.

Separately, the disabled band reduction scheme reduces council tax by a band where the person liable, or someone they live with, is permanently disabled¹⁵. That is a different mechanism from the 25% discount and can apply alongside other reductions.

Spreading payments: 10 or 12 instalments

Most people pay council tax over 10 months, which leaves February and March free of instalments. You can choose to spread your payments over 12 months instead of the usual 10 to reduce the amount you are asked to pay each time⁵. Councils may also agree to spread payments over 12 months as an arrangement where someone cannot pay the standard 10 instalments, so the amount of each bill is reduced¹⁶. If you pay over 10 months, you may be able to pay over 12 months instead¹⁷.

The practical difference is the size of each instalment, not the annual total. Spreading the same annual bill over 12 payments rather than 10 lowers each one, which can be the difference between an affordable month and a missed payment. The request is usually made before the instalments are set for the year, but a council can agree a change mid-year where circumstances have shifted.

If the bill is still unaffordable after spreading, the next step is to ask for a reduction rather than a longer payment plan. That is where Section 13A discretionary relief comes in.

Asking your council for discretionary relief under Section 13A

Discretionary relief is not a published scheme with a fixed table of entitlements. It is a power a council holds to reduce a bill where the standard reductions do not cover the circumstances. The way to ask is straightforward: write to the council and ask for "discretionary relief", quote Section 13A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, and share your budget¹. The budget matters because the council is deciding whether the bill is genuinely unaffordable, and a written statement of income, essential outgoings and what is left is the evidence for that.

There are some exceptions to the duty to pay council tax, so it is worth checking whether one applies before assuming the full bill stands². Where a discretionary reduction is granted, it reduces the amount owed rather than deferring it, which is the key difference from an instalment arrangement.

Welsh local authorities can also provide support to households struggling with the rising costs of living, and this discretion may help with heating costs¹⁸. Separately, the Discretionary Assistance Fund in Wales may help if you are in financial difficulty because of an emergency or disaster¹⁹. The Fund has two grant types: the Emergency Assistance Payment, for urgent essential costs, and the Individual Assistance Payment, to help you or someone you care for remain independent²⁰. These are separate from council tax relief and are administered on their own criteria.

Council tax is a priority debt

Council tax is a priority debt because the council has strong powers to make you pay²¹. It is a priority bill²², and it stays a priority whether it is your current bill or any arrears²³. Council tax arrears are a priority debt, and the council will want the ongoing council tax paid plus an extra amount to clear what is owed²⁴.

That classification changes how arrears should be handled relative to other debts. Priority debts carry consequences that ordinary unsecured debts do not: enforcement action against goods, and in some circumstances the involvement of the courts. Non-priority debts such as credit cards and personal loans typically lead to default markers and county court judgments, but not to bailiffs attending the home over the original debt without a further court step.

Where a council tax debt is included in a formal insolvency solution, the treatment differs from an ordinary debt. Council tax is one of the most important household bills and is included in your monthly individual voluntary arrangement payment²³. That means the ongoing bill is budgeted for within the IVA rather than paid separately. Debt Relief Orders apply in England and Wales²⁵, and are a separate solution for people with low income, low assets and debts below the threshold.

What happens if you fall behind: reminders, court orders and bailiffs

The enforcement sequence is staged, and each stage gives an opportunity to stop it. A council will usually send a first reminder letter, then a second reminder letter if the first is ignored, then a final reminder letter, and only after non-payment at that point will it apply for a liability order²⁶. Enforcement agents, commonly called bailiffs, can visit your home if you still do not pay after the order has been issued²².

The reminder notice itself carries a hard deadline. If you do not pay within 7 days, you have to pay the whole year's council tax instead of instalments⁵. If you miss a payment after 31 December you will also get a final notice and must pay the full remaining balance⁵. That is why contacting the council before the 7 days expire matters: once the instalment right is lost, the council can move to the liability order stage.

A liability order is a court order confirming the debt is owed. It does not by itself remove goods, but it opens the way to enforcement agents, and it can lead to deductions from benefits or earnings. The register of judgments, orders and fines records magistrates' court fine defaults and Child Support Agency liability orders in its England and Wales sections, so a liability order can affect how a person is assessed for credit²⁷.

Where a council tax debt is not paid before death, it is treated as a priority debt of the estate, and the executor deals with it alongside other priority liabilities¹¹. Water arrears follow a similar recovery pattern of reminder notice, final notice, calls, debt collection agency, county court judgment and bailiffs, which shows how the utility and council tax enforcement routes parallel each other²⁸.

Where to get free help

Free, impartial debt advice is available from charities that do not charge and do not pass information to lenders unless a solution requires it. StepChange, National Debtline and Business Debtline all publish guidance on council tax arrears and the options available¹. National Debtline also lists other organisations that can help with the cost of living¹⁸ and charitable organisations that give grants¹⁹.

For one-off emergencies, the Discretionary Assistance Fund in Wales provides the Emergency Assistance Payment for urgent essential costs and the Individual Assistance Payment to help someone remain independent²⁰. Carers UK lists grants and schemes for people who are disabled, ill or injured²⁹. The Welsh Government's cost of living pages set out the support available in Wales³⁰.

Where a council's own decision is the problem, there is a route to challenge it. A late appeal against a Housing Benefit decision may be accepted where the deadline was missed for reasons out of your control, such as illness or bereavement, and the Tribunal Service or Appeals Service in Northern Ireland decides whether a late appeal is accepted³¹. Rent arrears cases in Wales follow a similar pattern of discretionary grounds, where the court should not make an order unless it considers it reasonable to do so³².

If a council tax bill relates to a property you rent, the tenancy rules matter. Council tax can be included in the rent where agreed in the tenancy agreement, but a tenant cannot be required to pay a separate additional payment for council tax to the landlord directly³³. Your landlord cannot require you to make a separate payment to them for council tax³⁴. If you are asked for one, that is not something the rules allow.