Apply for a single person discount
A full Council Tax bill is based on at least two adults living in a property. If you are the only adult in your household, you may qualify for a Council Tax discount of 25%.
You must apply to us for this discount - you will not receive it automatically.
Eligibility
If you are the only person over 18 living in your property, and it is your sole or main residence, you are usually eligible for the discount. You cannot claim the discount for empty properties or second homes.
There are some situations where we will we need to assess your eligibility, and where you will not be eligible:
If you spend time at more than one address
We count a person over the age of 18 as living at an address if it is your sole or main residence. If a person spends time at more than one address, we must decide which one is their main residence. To do this, we look into the circumstances, taking into account:
- Whether they physically reside at each address
- The reasons why they have two addresses
- Where their wife, husband or partner lives, if they have one
- Where their children live, if they have any
- Their legal tie to each address
- Where they keep most of their belongings
- Whether they intend to return to one address eventually
- Whether anything prevents them from returning whenever you want to
- Which address seems to be their most settled home
We also look at how much time they spend at each address, but this is not the most important factor.
Even if a property is not your main residence, you may still be responsible for paying the bill.
If you are the only person who ever lives at more than one address and are the liable person at each address, you will still only qualify for a single person discount at your main residence. We will count no residents at the other address, so you will be charged full Council Tax at that address as it will be considered an unoccupied but furnished property.
If your partner sometimes lives elsewhere
Your partner may live elsewhere from time to time because their job is too far away to commute.
In these circumstances, you cannot usually get a discount. That is because a couple are generally regarded as having their sole or main residence together.
If you still think you should receive a discount, contact us as we will need some further information about your circumstances.
If your child aged over 18 has gone travelling
You cannot usually get a discount. That's because your child's sole or main home would be considered to be with you, unless they have actually moved out and have no intention to return when their travels come to an end.
If you still think you should receive a discount, contact us as we will need some further information about your circumstances.
If you are unsure about your specific circumstances, you can contact us before claiming a discount.
Apply
You will need your Council Tax account number to complete the form.
You can also use this form to tell us about any changes that mean you are no longer eligible, for example if somebody moves into your home.
Your personal information provided on this form will be used in accordance with our privacy notice.
After you apply
We will either reduce the bill or let you know why we have not been able to do so. If we need more information, we will contact you.
If you get a discount
If you are given a discount, we will write to you in the future to complete a Single person discount review.
You must let us know within 21 days about any changes that might affect your eligibility.
If you disagree with our decision
If you think we have got your sole or main residence wrong, contact us and explain why. It will save time if you include as much detail as possible about your circumstances.