Disabled claimants who have been hit with a big increase in their council tax liability after migrating from employment and support allowance (ESA) to universal credit (UC) may be able to get their money back, following a court victory this month.
Readers hit
For months, Benefits and Work has been hearing from readers who, contrary to everything they were promised by the DWP, have found themselves much worse off after migrating to UC because their council tax bill has shot up:
“… my council says they don't give 100% council tax benefit to people on universal credit like they do people on ESA so I have to pay 55% of my council tax, about £80 a month. So I am far worse off.” Tina B
“. . . when I was on ESA, my council tax was £11 per month. It’s now £200.” Scarlett
“I've now received a Council Tax Bill stating my CT payment to rise by £64 a month from January. I've no idea why?” Ivan
“I used to get full council tax benefit, now I'm told I'm not eligible for any.” Jane
High Court victory
But two claimants in this position brought a claim in the High Court against Three Rivers District Council.
The claimants income didn’t change when they switched to UC, but the council treated the transitional protection element of their UC as surplus income. This meant that the claimants went from being exempt from council tax to being liable to pay more than £1,500 per year.
The High Court ruled that this was discriminatory, because the transitional protection element was linked to their disabilities and their income had not increased as a result of migration, but their liability to pay council tax had.
The Court ordered the council to pay the claimants £5,000 in damages for discrimination, refund their council tax and pay their legal costs. The local authority will now have disregard transitional protection payments for all of its residents.
Challenging an increase
If you have found yourself in this position, you may be able to challenge the increase in your council tax. You will need to show that:
1 You were receiving the severe disability premium prior to migration.
2 Your council tax liability has increased significantly following migration to UC.
3 Your local authority do not expressly disregard (or provide a discretion to disregard) transitional payments.
Every council has a duty to publish its council tax reduction scheme, so you should be able to find it on their website.
In the case of Three Rivers District Council, the scheme listed the UC elements that could be disregarded, including disabled child element and carer element, but did not list the transitional protection element.
Many such schemes will not be so detailed, however.
For example, East Devon District Council’s council tax reduction scheme states:
“Those migrating to Universal Credit (UC) may have a change in banding even though the amount of income received may not change. This is because UC is not a passported benefit for CTR and we look at the amount and type of income you receive.”
If you live in East Devon, were receiving a severe disability premium and your council tax went up as a result of migrating to UC, then it would be worth getting legal advice on whether this can be challenged.
Every council has its own council tax reduction scheme and the fact that your council tax went up after migrating to UC does not mean that you are certain to be able to successfully challenge the increase. But it is definitely worth looking into.
Where to get help
The claimants in the Three Rivers case were represented by Emma Pein at Bindmans solicitors, who instructed barrister Tom Rosyston of Garden Court North Chambers. Readers may remember Tom providing legal advice to Benefits and Work at a much discounted rate during the successful fight against the proposed PIP four-point rule.
If you think you meet the three conditions above, Emma Pein can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. – we would suggest putting “Council Tax” plus the name of your local authority as the subject line. Alternatively, you may have a local solicitor who deals with welfare benefits.
But be aware, to get free legal advice from a solicitor, you will need to be eligible for legal aid. Alternatively, you may be able to get help from an advice agency or law centre, if you have one in your area.
If you are not able to get advice, you can try contacting your local authority and sending them a link to the order in the case above: 2026.02.02-R-Bleakley-v-TRDC-Final-Approved-Order.pdf along with a link to Council tax information letter 2/2026. This letter from the Ministry of Housing tells councils, under the heading “Migration from legacy benefits to Universal Credit” to “reflect carefully on the way they treat benefit income and the potential impacts for low-income households. Billing authorities are also encouraged to explain their approach to affected taxpayers.”
We’d be pleased to hear from anyone who attempts to challenge a rise in their council tax following migration to UC.
