People not included when counting the number of adults

For council tax discount purposes, some people are disregarded when we assess the number of adults living in a property. This means that the bill for a property where one of the two adult residents is disregarded will be the same as that for a property with one adult resident (bill reduced by 25% discount). If however there are three or more adult residents and only one is disregarded, there will be no entitlement to discount because there will still be two adults counted.

If a disregarded person lives alone, then only the property element of the bill is payable (50%). 

Before you start

The following categories of people are disregarded when we count the number of adults living in a property:

  • full-time students, student nurses, apprentices and people on youth training schemes
  • patients living in hospital long term
  • patients in nursing homes, mental nursing homes, residential care homes, hospices and hostels providing a high level of care
  • people who are severely mentally impaired and are entitled to certain state benefits
  • people in prison or on remand and people kept in hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983
  • people staying in certain hostels or night shelters (who would otherwise have no home at all)
  • school leavers under 20 years who have left school between 30 April and 1 November of the year in question
  • some husbands, wives or dependants of students who are not British citizens and who are not allowed by the Home Office to take a job or claim benefits
  • 18 to 19 year olds for whom child benefit is paid
  • care workers, working on low pay usually for a charity or local authority
  • people who care for someone with a disability who is not their partner or a child under 18 years, if the person receiving care is entitled to certain state benefits
  • a person who is a member of an organisation listed under the International Headquarters and Defence Organisations Act 1964, and his/her dependents
  • people who are members of visiting force as set out in the Visiting Forces Act 1952
  • members of religious communities who receive no income
  • people with diplomatic immunity

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