Council Tax Discounts

The Council Tax charge is based on two or more adults living in a property. If only one adult lives in a property you can claim a 25% reduction on your Council Tax bill.  You can only claim this discount on your main place of residence. If you own a second property that is either empty or furnished but used as your second home, there is no discount available.

If you think that you should be entitled to single person discount you can complete our single person discount form 

If your bill shows that a discount has been awarded, you must tell the Council of any change in circumstances that affects your entitlement. Please contact us

If your property has been adapted to meet the needs of a disabled person that lives in it, you might be able to claim a Council Tax reduction. 

We would be looking at adaptations that meet at least one of the following criteria.

• A room which is not a bathroom, kitchen or toilet, which is used predominantly by the disabled resident and is required for meeting their needs (the room may be used for providing therapy or otherwise); or
• An additional bathroom or kitchen (i.e. one which is not the only bathroom or kitchen within the dwelling) which is required for meeting the needs of the disabled resident; or
• The disabled resident requires the use of a wheelchair indoors and there is sufficient space to allow this.

The room or the wheelchair must also be essential or of major importance to the disabled person’s well-being, due to the nature and extent of their disability. If you apply on the basis of having a specific room we make our decision by considering:

• If the qualifying individuals health would suffer if they did not have use of the room
• Whether the room has been predominantly taken out of normal family use
• Whether the use of the room would be the same if the person were not disabled
• Whether the room itself was essential or of major importance due to the nature and extent of the person’s disability
• Use of the room itself must be related to the disability
• Is there a causative link between the qualifying person’s disability and the requirement to use the room.

So, if the use of the room by the disabled person does not interfere with its normal use by other members of the household, then the reduction may not apply as the household has not lost the customary use of a room.

If you are applying on the basis of an additional bathroom, please be aware that a separate WC/toilet without a shower or bath, will not be considered.

If you think that you might qualify for this reduction please complete our council tax disabled band reduction form

Where child benefit remains payable for a time after a young person becomes 18 they will be disregarded for council tax purposes until entitlement to child benefit ends. If they leave education after 30 April aged 18 or 19, they will be disregarded until the 1st of November of the same year.

A student is a person (of any age) enrolled on a full-time course of further education at a prescribed educational establishment or a person under the age of 20 enrolled on certain qualifying courses defined in the Council Tax regulations. A full-time course must last for at least one academic year and require a minimum of 21 hours per week of study. 

If you are studying for a qualification up to A level and you are under 20, your course must last at least 3 months and involve at least 12 hours of study per week.

A student nurse is a person following a course leading to registration under the Nurses, Midwives, and Health Visitors Act 1979.

An apprentice is someone, regardless of age, employed for the purpose of learning a trade or profession, who is paid less than £195 per week and is undertaking a training programme leading to an accredited qualification.

A YT trainee is a person aged under 25 who is undertaking an approved training scheme recognised by the Department of Work & Pensions (DWS)

If you think that you would qualify please complete our  student discount form

Carers can be disregarded for council tax purposes if they fall into one of two categories.

The first group of carers must meet all the following criteria:

• care for at least 35 hours a week.
• live in the same property as the person they care for.
• not be the partner of the person they care for.
• not be the parent of the person they care for, if the person cared for is aged under 18.

The person being cared for must be entitled to one of the following benefits: disability living allowance (highest rate of the care component), personal independence payment (either rate of the daily living component), attendance allowance (higher rate) or constant attendance allowance.

The second group of carers must meet all the following criteria:

• provide care or support on behalf of a local authority, government department or charity.
• provide care through an introduction by a charity, where the person being cared for is the carer’s employer.
• employed to care for the person for at least 24 hours a week.
• paid no more than £44 per week.
• resident where the care is given.

Where caring responsibilities are shared, more than one person in the same dwelling can be counted as a carer.

If you think that you would qualify please complete our carers discount form

You may qualify for a Council Tax discount if someone in your household:

• is a member of a religious community whose main occupation is prayer, contemplation, education or the relief of suffering; and
• has no income or capital of their own and is dependent upon the community for their material needs (pensions from previous employment are allowed.)

You may qualify for a Council Tax discount if a spouse or dependant of a student lives in your home who is:  

• not a British citizen, and
• cannot work for money or claim benefits by the terms of their entry into this country.

The law says that a person is severely mentally impaired if they have a severe impairment of intelligence and social functioning (however caused), which appears to be permanent. This could include conditions like

• Alzheimer’s disease
• Parkinson’s disease
• severe learning difficulties
• a stroke
• forms of dementia

A severely mentally impaired person can be disregard for Council Tax purposes and a 25% discount will apply if everyone in your household is disregarded except for you. You can apply for the severe mental impairment discount

You may qualify for a Council Tax discount if someone in your household is:

• A member of a qualifying visiting force, or of that force’s civilian component
• A dependant of a member, as long as the dependant is not a British Citizen or normally lives in the UK.

A person is disregarded for Council Tax if they are a resident in a property which is providing residential accommodation, whether it is a hostel, night shelter or otherwise; and the accommodation is:

• Not in self-contained accommodation
• For people with no fixed address
• Under licences to occupy and not tenancies

If someone in your household has been detained and you are now the only adult living in the property, you could get a 25% discount. You can apply by completing our  single person discount form

If your property is unoccupied because you have been detained, you may be exempt from paying Council Tax.

The person must be detained:

• in prison or hospital by order of a court
• under the Mental Health Act 1983
• under the Deportation Provision of Immigration Act 1972
• imprisoned or in custody for more than 48 hours under the Army Act 1955, the Air Force Act 1955 or the Naval Discipline Act 1957

You cannot apply if the person has been detained for non-payment of Council Tax or a fine.