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Help and complaints

Council tax and benefits

Council tax bills, discounts and reductions, Housing Benefit and hardship support. This guide explains your rights, where to get urgent help and how to complain.

We cannot make a complaint for you

SocialCareScore cannot make complaints for you or take up individual cases. Rating a council is not the same as making a complaint. To have something put right, contact the organisation that runs the service.

Councils in Wales send out council tax bills and collect the money, run the Council Tax Reduction Scheme, pay Housing Benefit for people who cannot get help with rent through Universal Credit, and decide Discretionary Housing Payments. The band your home is in is set by the Valuation Office Agency, not by the council.

Getting urgent help

Tell the council early if you cannot pay
Welsh Government guidance says councils should support residents to pay on time and get help, but the council cannot look at your circumstances or agree a payment plan unless you respond to it. Contact the council as soon as you can. Source
More information
Advicelink Cymru
Free, confidential advice on benefits, debt and money, run by Citizens Advice in Wales. Help is available in Welsh. Source
Telephone: 0800 702 2020 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 7pm; Saturday, 9am to 1pm)
More information
Breathing Space
If you live in Wales you can get temporary protection from creditors for up to 60 days while you get debt advice. Interest, charges, contact and enforcement action stop. A debt adviser applies for you. Source
More information

Your rights

Your band is set by the Valuation Office Agency

For properties in Wales you send a challenge about your band to the Valuation Office, not to the council. The council still has to collect the tax while the band is looked at. Source

You can tell the council its bill is wrong

Write to the council saying why you think your bill is wrong, for example about who is liable, a discount or an exemption. The council has 2 months to reply. Keep paying the amounts on your original bill until a new bill arrives. Source

You can appeal to an independent tribunal

If the council writes back and refuses to change your bill, you can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal for Wales within 2 months of its letter. If the council does not reply within 2 months, you can appeal, but before 4 months have passed since you first wrote. The tribunal is free. Source

Help if you are on a low income

You may be able to get help with some or all of your council tax through the Council Tax Reduction Scheme. There are also discounts, for example 25% if you are the only adult counted, and a reduction to the next lowest band if your home has been adapted for a disabled person. Ask the council’s council tax department. Source

You can challenge a Housing Benefit decision

If you disagree with a Housing Benefit decision, you may be able to ask the council to review it, or appeal against it at an independent tribunal. Source

Extra help with housing costs

A Discretionary Housing Payment is extra help towards housing costs. You have to be getting Housing Benefit, or Universal Credit with housing costs towards rent. The council decides. There is no right of appeal to a social security tribunal, but you can ask the council to look at its decision again. Source

How to complain

  1. Ask for the decision in writing

    Ask the council to explain the bill or decision and how it worked the amount out. Keep copies of everything you send. Source

  2. Use the appeal route for the decision itself

    A complaint is about how you were treated. If you want the bill or the amount changed, write to the council and then appeal to the Valuation Tribunal for Wales. Do not let the appeal deadline pass while you wait for a complaint reply. Source

    Time limit: 2 months from the council’s decision, or 4 months from writing if it does not reply

  3. Make a formal complaint to the council

    Use the council’s concerns and complaints policy for things like delays, poor information or the way you were treated. The council should acknowledge within 5 working days and deal with most complaints within 20 working days. Source

    Time limit: Normally within 6 months of the problem

  4. Take it to the Ombudsman

    If the council has not put things right, you may be able to complain to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales. It expects the council to have had a reasonable time to reply, which it puts at about 12 weeks. Source

    Time limit: Normally within 12 months of knowing about the problem

If you are still unhappy

Valuation Tribunal for Wales
Independent tribunal that hears council tax and non-domestic rating appeals in Wales. It is a free service. Source
When: After you have written to the council about your bill and it has refused, or has not replied.
Time limit: 2 months from the council’s letter, or before 4 months have passed since you wrote
Telephone: 01633 255003
Valuation Office Agency
Sets council tax bands in Wales. Challenges about which band your home is in go here, not to the council. Source
When: If you think your home is in the wrong band.
Independent tribunal for Housing Benefit
Hears appeals against Housing Benefit decisions once the council has looked at the decision again. Source
When: If you still disagree with a Housing Benefit decision.
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales
Independent. Looks at complaints about how a council handled your case, such as delays, mistakes and poor communication. It cannot change a decision that has its own appeal route. Source
When: After the council’s complaints process.
Time limit: Normally within 12 months of knowing about the problem
Telephone: 0300 790 0203

Free, independent advice

Advicelink Cymru (Citizens Advice)
Free advice on council tax, benefits, debt and money, in Welsh or English. Source
Telephone: 0800 702 2020
StepChange Debt Charity
Free, impartial debt advice, including council tax arrears. Source
Telephone: 0800 138 1111
National Debtline
Free, independent debt advice charity, regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Source
Telephone: 0808 808 4000

Share your experience

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Last reviewed: 15/09/2026