Discounts and reductions

If you live on your own or no one else in your home counts as an adult, you can get a 25% discount on your Council Tax. The property must be your main or sole residence.

This is known as a single person or single occupier discount.

Apply

You will need to log into My Account to apply for a Single Person Discount. If you don't have one you can register for My Account. It only takes a couple of minutes to set up. All you need to get started is an email address to use as a log in.

What happens after you apply

If your application is accepted, we will apply the discount from the date of the application.

It can take up to 10 days to process your application. You must continue to pay your current bill while you are waiting for a decision. It is quicker and easier to use My Account.

Backdating single person discount

We usually won't backdate a discount because it is almost impossible to verify. We might consider it if you provide strong evidence and our internal checks support the claim.

Change in circumstances

If you already receive the single person discount and someone else over 18 comes to live with you, you must tell us straightaway. You can do this using My Account.

You can get a discount or exemption on your Council Tax if you are a full-time student and you live in:

• a property that only students live in
• student halls provided by your university or college
• a household that has both students and non-students

Apply for a student discount

Use our online enquiry form to apply for a student discount. You will need to include the following information:

• the Council Tax account number on your bill
• the names of all adults over 18 living at the property
• a telephone contact number for the main applicant
• a student certificate from a university or college, for everyone who is applying for the discount confirming your name, address, where you are studying, the course name and its dates
• a copy of your up-to-date tenancy agreement, including details of your landlord and when you moved in.

Please note that we verify each request for any student exemption or discount, so it may take a bit longer before your reduction is applied. During this time, it is your responsibility to pay Council Tax.

Let us know of any changes such as you leaving the household, someone joining or your course ending.

Who qualifies as a student

To be considered for a discount or exemption:

• you must be over 20
• on a course at a registered educational establishment in the UK:
• A course that lasts an academic or calendar year (a minimum of 24 weeks a year)
• undertaking a minimum of 21 hours per week of study, tuition and or work experience
• where work experience does not exceed 50% of the total course time (except student teachers)

You may also be eligible if you are:

• a foreign language student registered with the British Council
• student nurse undertaking a course that leads to registration under the Nurses, Midwife and Health Visitors Act 1997
• studying online or by a correspondence course
• a PhD student who is no longer enrolled and 'writing up'

If you are under 20, then your courses must:

• last at least three months
• involve at least 12 hours study per week

You are not normally eligible if you are:

• a researcher that is not attending a course of education (unless you can provide a student certificate)
• studying English as a Foreign Language (EFL) on a course that lasts for less than an academic year.

Living with other people

If you are a student and live with one non-student, you will get a discount of 25%. The non-student will have to pay the remaining balance.

If you live in a shared property where there are two or more non-students, no discount is given. The non-students must pay the full Council Tax bill.

School and college leavers

If you are under 20 and you left education after 30 April of the current calendar year, you will not considered be an adult, for Council Tax purposes, until 1 November of the same year or until your 20th birthday, whichever is earlier.

If property is occupied by two adults where one is a school or college leaver, the 25% discount will apply.

If you are not receiving this discount then use our online enquiry form to contact us and share any evidence needed.

Apprentices

If you are on an apprentice scheme, you could be exempt from paying Council Tax. You will need a declaration from your employer stating that:

• you will not be paid more than £195 a week
• the training leads to a qualification accredited by a body recognised by the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) or the Scottish Vocational Education Council (SVEC)

If you are a live-in carer or look after someone who is not your partner, spouse, or a child under 18, you might be able to get discount or reduction on your Council Tax bill.

A paid carer must be:

• providing care for a minimum of 24 hours a week
• earning no more than £44 per week
• employed by a local authority or a charity
• living in a property provided by the relevant employer or by the person who is receiving the care

An unpaid carer must be:

• living in the same property as the person they are caring for
• providing care to a person that is not their partner or a child under 18, for a minimum of 35 hours a week.

In addition, the person receiving care must be in receipt of one of the following benefits:

• any rate of Attendance Allowance
• the middle or highest rate of the care component of a Disability Living Allowance
• any rate of the daily living care component of Personal Independence Payment
• an increase in the rate of disablement pension
• an increase in Constant Attendance Allowance

Please note that you do not have to be in receipt of a Carer’s Allowance to apply for this discount.

Apply for a carer's reduction

Contact us to apply for a carers reduction. When you complete the online enquiry form you must upload the necessary evidence of your caring role, too.

If you, or someone that lives with you (an adult or child), has a disability and your home has been adapted, you may qualify for a reduction in your Council Tax. You will need to show that home has either:

• a room, not a bathroom, kitchen or toilet, which is used mainly for meeting the needs of the person with a disability
• an extra bathroom, kitchen or other room that you need for the disabled person
• extra space inside the property that can be accessed by a wheelchair

The property must be the main home of at least one disabled person. This can be an adult or a child - it does not have to be the person responsible for paying the Council Tax.

If you qualify for a reduction, your bill will be reduced to the valuation band immediately below yours. If your home is already in band A you will be given a one-ninth reduction on that charge. The disabled person reduction will be shown on your bill.

Apply for a reduction

The person liable to pay the Council Tax should complete the form. If this is the severely mentally impaired person, their representative can complete the form.

Severely mentally impaired

People who are severely mentally impaired are not included when working out Council Tax.

A person is considered to be severely mentally impaired if they are medically certified as having a permanent condition that affects their intelligence and social functioning.

What happens next?

We will arrange to visit you to confirm that your home meets the requirements. We may also speak to your doctor or other qualified professional to verify medical details.

We aim to respond to you within 10 working days with our decision but if we need further information from you this may delay the application. If we do not give you the reduction and you disagree with our decision you can make an appeal.

You might be able to get discount on your Council Tax bill if someone in your household is temporarily away from home in hospital a care home, or in prison.

Patients in hospital or a care home

You can get a discount if someone in your household:

• is living in a hospital or registered care home
• does not intend to return to the household

You cannot get a discount if two or more other people also live in the household and they:

• count as an adult for Council Tax
• are not entitled to a discount

Prisoners and people in detention

You can get a discount if someone in your household is currently in prison.

You cannot apply for this discount if:

• the person went to prison because they did not pay their Council Tax
• two or more adults live in the household who are not entitled to a discount

Contact us using our online enquiry form if you think you might be eligible for a discount.

If you have been looked after by Brent Council and still live in the borough, then your Council Tax bill will be reduced to zero until you reach your 25th birthday.

If you are the only person living in the property or you are living with other care leavers’ then you will not have to pay Council Tax.

If you live with someone who is not a care leaver or not considered to be an adult for Council Tax purposes then the person you are living with will receive a 25% discount.

To apply for this discount, use the Council Tax contact us form.

Second homes

Most second homes do not have their Council Tax reduced but you may get a discount on your second home if:

• your employer requires you to live in the property as part of your job
• the property is a mooring occupied by a boat
• the property is a pitch occupied by a caravan

You will have to pay the premium charge if your second home is:

• a holiday home
• used for personal convenience
• a second home between tenancies

Annexes

A self-contained annexe (often known as a granny annexe) is a building or part of a building, which has been constructed or adapted for use as separate living accommodation.

To decide if an annexe is eligible for its own Council Tax band, a number of points are taken into account:

• The layout and structure of the annexe must be capable of use as separate living accommodation
• The annexe is self-contained unit and not be spread over different parts of main property.
• A self-contained unit would normally have clear areas for living and sleeping, food preparation and washing. It will also have its own WC

If the annex is classed as a separate dwelling, the Council Tax payer will receive a separate Council Tax bill for it.

You may be eligible for a reduced Council Tax bill if the person living in the annexe is a dependent relative of someone living in the main property.

A dependent relative means someone who is:

• 65 years plus
• severely mentally impaired
• substantially and permanently disabled

The relative may be a spouse, parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece. The relationship may be by blood, marriage or civil partnership.

The discount will apply where the annexe has been separately banded and is classed as a separate dwelling. Where a non-family member occupies an annexe, the discount will not apply.