Guide

Who could get Pension Credits

If you or someone you know is over the State Pension age, you may be entitled to Pension Credit.

Thousands of pensioners in Renfrewshire are missing out by not claiming Pension Credit, which can boost income on average up to £3,900 per year.

Pension Credit can be backdated by up to 3 months.

Other advantages of claiming Pension Credits

Pension Credits gives you access to:

• help with rent and Council Tax
• a free TV Licence for those aged 75 or over
• help with the cost of NHS services, such as NHS dental treatment, glasses and transport costs for hospital appointments.

Other benefits you may be entitled to

Other benefits you might be entitled to receive include:

• Housing Benefit
• Council Tax Reduction
• Attendance Allowance
• Funeral Support Payment
• Discretionary Housing Payment.

Both The Council's Advice Works and Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau can also help people of any age get advice on money, the cost of living, energy bills and much more.

See where to get money and benefits advice.

Where to get advice about Pension Credits and other benefits

You can make an appointment online or by phone with impartial advisors from the Council's Advice Works team or Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB).

The appointments usually last an hour and take place over the phone.

What a social tariff is 

Social tariffs are cheaper broadband and phone packages for people claiming Universal Credit, Pension Credit and some other benefits. Some providers call them 'essential' or 'basic' broadband. 

These tariffs are delivered in the same way as normal packages, just at a lower price. 

Who can get a social tariff 

You may be able to get a social tariff if you're on: 

• Universal Credit
• Pension Credit
• Employment and Support Allowance
• Jobseeker's Allowance
• Income Support. 

Some providers might include benefits such as Personal Independence Payment and Attendance Allowance. 

The person receiving the benefit needs to be the main person on the contract. 

How to switch to a social tariff 

If your provider offers a social tariff, you can switch to it at any time, free of charge. 

Find more information about eligibility and how to switch to a social tariff at how to switch to a broadband social tariff (Which?). 

Learn about discounted 'social tariffs' for those on certain benefits (Money Saving Expert).

If you're not eligible

If you do not meet the criteria for a discounted deal but still want to save money on your broadband, read tips for cutting your phone, broadband and TV costs (Ofcom). 

For further money-saving tips such as evaluating what speed of broadband you actually need, visit Broadband Savvy. 

Where to start

Find out where you can:

• access free public Wi-Fi
• use a computer and internet for free at any Renfrewshire library
• get help with your digital skills at the library. 

Advice about your energy bills

If you need advice about managing your energy bills, you can contact our energy advice team. Our advisers will find out about your situation and offer free advice.

You can also get advice about what to do if you're struggling to pay your energy bills from the Citizen's Advice Scotland website.

Money to help pay energy bills

Find out if you can get money to help pay energy bills on the MyGov.scot website.

You may be able to apply for help with energy bills and heating  including the:

• Alternative fuel payment
• Winter Fuel Payment
• Warm Home Discount
• Winter Heating Payment
• Child Winter Heating Assistance
• Home Heating Support Fund
• Energy Bills Discount

Energy Bill Support Scheme

Find out if you can get the £400 Energy Bill Support Scheme discount if you're on a traditional pre-payment meter on the Energy Saving Trust website.

Funding for energy saving improvements

The Warmer Homes Scotland programme offers funding for energy saving improvements to your home.

Make your home more energy efficient

Find out about making your home more energy efficient, reducing your carbon emissions and lowering your energy bills on the Energy Saving Trust website.

Switch your energy supplier

Find out about switching your energy supplier on the Energy Saving Trust website.

We use council tax to fund important services, such as schools, social care, and libraries.

If you do not pay your council tax on time, it's harder for us to deliver council services.

Get help with paying your council tax

If you think you could fall behind on your council tax payments, it's better to let us know ahead of time instead of just missing a payment. Phone us on 0300 300 0300 and ask for advice. There may be support available to help you avoid missing your payments.

Your first missed payment

If you miss one of your scheduled council tax payments for the first time, we'll send you a 'first reminder notice' by post. This tells you that you must pay your late amount within 7 days.

If you pay this late amount within 7 days, then you can continue paying your council tax on your regular schedule of instalments for the rest of the year.

What happens if you do not pay your late amount within 7 days

If you do not pay your late amount within 7 days of receiving your 'first reminder notice':

• you'll lose the right to pay your remaining council tax balance for the year in instalments
• you must pay your full balance for the entire year within 7 days (so, within 14 days of receiving your 'first reminder notice').

If you pay your full remaining balance within the next 7 days, then you will not have any more council tax payments for the rest of the year. You can return to paying your council tax bills in instalments the next year.

If you do not pay your full remaining balance within 7 days, we'll apply for a summary warrant from the sheriff court. This is a type of court order which will legally require you to pay your full remaining balance for the year plus an additional 10% fee.

Your second missed payment

If you paid a previous late bill within 7 days after receiving a 'first reminder notice', we'll send you a 'second and final reminder notice' if you miss another one of your scheduled council tax payments. This notifies you that you must pay your late amount within 7 days.

If you do not pay your late amount within 7 days of receiving your 'second and final reminder notice':

• you'll lose the right to pay your remaining council tax balance for the year in instalments
• you must pay your full balance for the entire year within 7 days (so, within 14 days of receiving your 'second and final reminder notice').

If you pay your full remaining balance within 7 days, then you will not have any more council tax payments for the rest of the year. You can return to paying your council tax bills in instalments the next year.

If you do not pay your full remaining balance within 7 days, we'll apply for a summary warrant from the sheriff court. This is a debt collection document which will legally require you to pay your full remaining balance for the year plus an additional 10% fee.

What happens if you miss a third payment

If you miss a third payment, we will not send you more reminders. Instead, we'll apply for a summary warrant from the sheriff court. This is a debt collection document which will legally require you to pay your full remaining balance for the year plus an additional 10% fee.

How to make a payment

2026 to 2027 charges

These charges apply from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027.

2025 to 2026 charges

These charges apply from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026.

Search for your council tax band

You can find your council tax band by searching for your postcode on the Scottish Assessors Association website.

Find your council tax band (Scottish Assessors Association website).

Ask about your council tax band

If you want to ask us about your council tax band:

• email assessor@renfrewshire-vjb.gov.uk
• phone 0300 300 0150.

Water and sewerage charges

Your council tax bill may also include separate charges for water and sewerage. We collect these on behalf of Scottish Water, but we have no say over how much they should be.

Learn more about your water and sewerage charges (Scottish Water's website).

Discounts, exemptions and reductions

Every property in Renfrewshire is in a council tax band.

A property gets its council tax band based on what it was worth on 1 April 1991.

Properties built after this date have been assessed and assigned a council tax band based on each property's estimated 1991 value.

Pay by direct debit

Set up a direct debit, and we'll automatically take your council tax payment from your account on the same date each month.

Paying by direct debit can make your life easier, and it can help us save money.

You can choose for the money to come out on the 1st, 14th, or 27th day of the month.

To set up a direct debit, you'll need:

• your council tax reference number (find it at the top of your most recent bill)
• your bank account details.

Set up or change a direct debit online or phone us on 0300 300 0300.

Pay online

You can pay online with a debit or credit card.

To pay online, you'll need:

• your council tax reference number (find it at the top of your most recent bill)
• a debit or credit card
• the billing address for the payment card.

Pay your council tax online

Pay over the phone

You can pay over the phone with a debit or credit card.

To pay over the phone, phone us on 0300 300 0300. You'll need:

• your council tax reference number (find it at the top of your most recent bill)
• a debit or credit card
• the billing address for the payment card.

If phoning out of hours, select the option for 'automated payments'. Any payments you make using this option will apply to the current tax year only.

Pay using PayPoint

You can pay your council tax at places that display a PayPoint sign. This includes any UK post office or shops that display the PayPoint sign.

Find your nearest PayPoint (PayPoint website).

You'll need your barcoded bill or a payment card.

If paying at a post office, you cannot pay more than £999.99 at a time.

Pay by standing order

You can pay your council tax by setting up a standing order.

If you want to set up a standing order, or if you already pay by standing order and want to change it, fill in the form attached to your council tax bill and send it to your bank or billing society.

You can choose to pay across 10 or 12 monthly payments.

Pay by cheque or postal order

You can pay your council tax by sending us a cheque or postal order.

To pay by cheque or postal order, you'll need to:

• ensure the cheque is marked 'A/C payee only' (write it on the cheque if it's not printed on there already)
• tell us your council tax reference number (find it at the top of your most recent bill)
• tell us what financial year your payment is for (such as 2023-24).

Send your cheque or postal order to:

Check your council tax balance and see your payment history

You can use MyAccount to:

• check the balance on your council tax account
• see your payment history.

Before you start, you'll need to register for MyAccount through mygov.scot. If you've already registered, you do not need to do it again. 

Once you log in, select the Account tab.

Your council tax balance and payment history will be there if you've already linked your council tax account.

If you've not already linked your council tax account, select Link Account and follow the instructions. To do this, you:

• must be named on the council tax bill
• will need your 11-digit council tax reference number (you can find this on your council tax bill).

You can link more than one account if you're responsible for paying council tax on multiple properties, but you'll need to link each council tax property to your MyAccount.

Check your council tax balance and see your payment history.

Moving in or out

What you can take to a WEEE bank

Our WEEE banks accept electrical and electronic equipment with a plug, battery, or cable, but they must be smaller than the size of a toaster.

You can take small waste electricals to our WEEE banks, such as: 

• kettles
• hairdryers
• irons
• sandwich makers
• electric whisks
• small blenders
• curling tongs
• electric razors
• electrical toothbrushes
• small children's toys
• power cords and plugs
• small speakers.

They can be new, or they can be old, damaged, or faulty. 

Kitchen items, such as a sandwich maker or small blender, must be clean and free from food residue.

A smaller bin will be placed beside the WEEE banks for standard household batteries (AA and AAA). You should remove these before placing electricals in the WEEE bank.

For larger electrical and electronic equipment, you can order a bulky waste collection from your home or take them to our household waste recycling centres.

See what items you can and cannot bring to our household waste recycling centres.

What you cannot take to a WEEE bank

You cannot take these items to a WEEE bank:

• lightbulbs
• batteries
• rechargeable vapes
• power tools
• rechargeable items such as smart home devices
• laptops, tablets and phones
• items which have food waste on them.

We will not accept anything which has a lithium-ion battery due to health and safety concerns over these items.

You can take these and larger waste electrical and electronic equipment, such as fridges, freezers and washing machines, to our household waste recycling centres.

Where you can take your items

You can take your small waste electrical and electronic equipment to WEEE banks at all 12 libraries in Renfrewshire: 

• Bishopton Library
• Bridge of Weir Library
• Erskine Library
• Ferguslie Library
• Foxbar Library
• Glenburn Library
• Johnstone Library
• Linwood Library
• Lochwinnoch Library
• Paisley Central Library
• Ralston Library
• Renfrew Library.

What happens next 

Items taken to our WEEE banks will be collected twice monthly by electronics recycling company WEEE Scotland.

Small electrical and electronic equipment is anything that is powered by a battery or plug.

You can recycle any unwanted, damaged or broken electricals at our small Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) banks at Renfrewshire libraries.

The project to install WEEE banks in our libraries is funded by Material Focus's Electricals Recycling Fund.

Who can recycle food waste

You can recycle your food waste if your property is on a wheeled bin collection route, if you live in a flat with communal waste storage, or if you present an outdoor food waste caddy.

If your property is not on one of our food waste collection routes, then we cannot collect your food waste. Instead, consider composting your food waste at home (Recycle Now's website), or you can put your food waste in your grey bin with your general waste.

Check your bin collection calendar to find out if your property is eligible.

How to recycle your food waste

We provide a free food waste caddy and an annual supply of food waste liners so you can recycle your food waste.

To recycle your food waste, put one of the food waste liners in your indoor food waste caddy. Then, put your food waste into the caddy.

Once the caddy is almost full, tie the liner, remove it, and replace it with a new liner.

Put the full liner of food waste into your brown bin (or your outdoor food waste caddy, if you do not have a brown bin).

You can also put your food waste directly into the caddy and bin without using the liners, if you want.

We'll collect your food waste recycling at the same pickup point as your other bins. Check your paper bin collection calendar or check online to find your next collection date.

Check your bin collection calendar online.

Recycle your food waste instead of putting it in your general waste bin. This allows us to take it to a special processing plant and turn it into useful compost.

These items can go in your food waste caddy:

• cooked and uncooked food
• fruit and vegetable peelings
• tea bags and coffee grounds
• eggshells
• out-of-date food (packaging removed)
• solid dairy products
• meat, fish, and small bones
• pet food.

Do not put these items in your food waste caddy:

• plastic bags
• packaging
• liquids
• fats and cooking oils (set these aside and wait for them to solidify, and then they can go in your general waste bin)
• plastics, cans, and glass
• paper, card, and cardboard
• garden waste (this should go directly into your brown bin, but you'll need to buy a garden waste permit first).