If you are the only adult (aged 18 years and above) living in a property as your sole or main residence then you qualify for a 25% discount on your council tax bill.

Sole or main residence means that you live there and do not have any other homes to return to. A ‘Residence’ is a home that you live in permanently (until you move out). Someone staying temporarily at an address does not automatically make them a ‘resident’ there. For example, someone staying with you for a holiday would not be classed as ‘living’ at your address. But if someone stayed with you temporarily because they had nowhere else to live, they would be treated as living with you. If your spouse, partner, adult child, or sub-tenant/lodger, works away for most of the year, we treat them as living at your address, so you will not get a discount. 

If you have more than one home we will contact you to ask some more questions to establish which property is your sole or main residence for council tax. 

Apply for single person discount

If you are the only adult occupier living in your property as your sole or main residence please complete this form Apply for or cancel single person discount

You must inform us if you stop being the only adult living at your property, this includes when any children living with you turn 18. If they are in fulltime education still you may be able to claim a disregard for them instead. Please see the below discounts available. 

Please note if you currently claim council tax or housing benefit you must also notify the benefits team of any changes by completing a change of circumstances form.

If you live in Warwick University accomodation please use this form to contact us instead as we have to do further checks before awarding any discounts. 

Cancel your single person discount

You can cancel your single person discount, for example when another adult moves in with you by using this form Apply for or cancel single person discount

People who are not counted

Some people are disregarded for council tax purposes. The Council Tax charge is based upon the number of people living in a dwelling. If you are "disregarded" as being one of the following categories, it means that we do not count you when we work out the number of people living there.

  • When counting the number of people living in a dwelling, if there is just one person living there, a 25% discount may be granted.
  • If all the residents at a dwelling are "disregarded" a 50% discount may be granted.
  • If there are two or more residents in a household who are not entitled to status discount, the discount will not apply and the full Council Tax charge will be payable.

You must inform us if your circumstances change are you are no longer entitled to any of the following discounts.

We may be able to give you a council tax discount if someone in your home is a(n):

Apprentice

  • They must be employed for the purpose of learning a trade or profession.
  • They must be undertaking a training programme leading to a qualification accredited by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. 
  • They must be earning or receiving an allowance of no more than £195 per week
  • If you are an apprentice with Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) in your first year, you may be considered a full-time student which would disregard you from the bill. Your letter from JLR must state that you are a full-time student

Apprentice discount form

Carer

The carer must live in the same dwelling as the person they are caring for. They must provide care for at least 35 hours per week. They cannot be the partner or child (if under the age of 18) of the carer. The person being cared for must be in receipt of one of the following benefits:

  • Attendance allowance
  • The highest or middle rate of the care component of a disability living allowance.
  • An increase in the rate of their disablement pension
  • An increase in the constant attendance allowance.
  • Personal Independence Payment daily living component at either the standard or enhanced rate

Carers discount form

Care worker

They must be employed by the crown, a charity, a local authority or by the person they are caring for.

  • They must be paid no more than £44 per week.
  • They must be living in premises provided by the agency they are employed by or by the person they are caring for. If the person they are caring for employs them, they must have been introduced to them by a charity.
  • The care worker must be providing care and support to one or more people for at least 24 hours per week.

Hospital patient

  • A person must have their 'sole or main residence' in a National Health Service hospital. That is, the stay in hospital must be considered permanent, as they are unable to return home.

Member of religious community

  • The person must be a member of a religious community whose principal occupations consist of prayer, contemplation, education or the relief of suffering.
  • They must be financially dependent on the community to provide for their material needs. (Any pension from a former employment would not disqualify a person from satisfying this)

Member and dependants of visiting forces

  • The person must have an association with an organisation designated under Part 1 of the Visiting Forces Act 1952

Patient in nursing or care homes

  • A person must have their 'sole or main residence' in a nursing or residential care home. That is, the stay in the home must be considered permanent, as they are unable to return to their own home.
  • The home must be a residential care home, nursing home, or mental nursing home that is registered under the Registered Homes Act 1984. Or a bail or probation hostel. The home must be providing care because of old age, disability, past or present alcohol or drug dependency, or past or present mental disorder.

Person who is severely mentally impaired

The regulations define a severely mentally impaired person as having a severe impairment of intelligence and social functioning (however caused), which appears to be permanent.

  • A Registered Medical Practitioner, for example a doctor or consultant, must sign a certificate confirming that the person is severely mentally impaired.
  • The person must be entitled to, one of the following benefits:
  1. Incapacity benefit
  2. Attendance allowance
  3. Severe disablement allowance
  4. The care component of a disability living allowance at the higher or middle rate
  5. An increase in the rate of a disablement pension where constant attendance is needed
  6. Disability working allowance 
  7. An unemployability supplement
  8. Income support which includes a disability premium
  9. Constant attendance allowance at one of the four rates payable with disablement benefit or war disability pension
  10. An unemployability supplement
  11. Employment support allowance (income related or contributory)
  12. The standard or enhanced rate of the daily living component of personal independence payment (PIP)
  13. Armed forces independance payment
  14. Universal credit (which much include an amount due to limited capability for work or limited capability for work and work related activity)

Severely mentally impaired discount form

Prisoner

Anyone in any of the situations listed below, for any offence except for non-payment of council tax, or non-payment of fines.

  • Detained in prison, hospital or other place by order of a court
  • Detained pending deportation under the Immigration Act 1971
  • Detained under relevant parts of the Mental Health Act 1983
  • Detained under the Army Act 1955, Air Force Act 1955 or Naval Discipline Act 1957

Residents of hostels for the homeless or night shelters

Anyone who is resident, for the time being, in accommodation for the homeless is disregarded providing the premises is only used essentially for persons of no fixed abode.

School or college leaver

  • They must remain under the age of 20.
  • They must have attended a full time or qualifying course of education until at least 30 April of that academic year
  • They will be disregarded until the 1 November of the calendar year they leave school or college.
  • They do not have to be continuing in further or higher education after leaving school or college to qualify for the discount.

Student (full time)

The qualifying criteria for a full time student are:

  • The course must cover at least one academic or calendar year
  • It must require at least 24 weeks in each academic or calendar year of study tuition.
  • The course requires period of study, tuition or work experience which together total an average of 21 hours per week in each academic or calendar year

You will need to provide a 'certificate proof of student status' for all students in the property.

Student discount application form

Foreign language assistants

Foreign language assistants are treated as students during any period that they are appointed as such at a school or other educational establishment anywhere in Great Britain. You must be registered as a foreign language assistant with the British Council and will be asked to provide evidence of registration.

Spouse of certain students

A person must be a non-British spouse or dependant of one of the following types of students:

  • Those undertaking full time courses of education
  • Those undertaking qualifying courses of education
  • Foreign language assistants
  • Student nurses
  • Apprentices
  • Youth training trainees

Any person satisfying the above criteria would be disqualified from the disregard, if under the terms of their leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom they are allowed to take paid employment and claim Government benefits. If a person is allowed to do only one of these things, then they will satisfy the criteria for the disregard.

Student nurse

  • They must be on a course which leads to a first registration on Parts 1 to 6 or 8, under Section 10 of the Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act 1979
  • They must be studying at either a college of nursing or midwifery or a college of health

Young persons in respect of whom child benefit is payable

The disregard will apply where a person has attained the age of 18 but entitlement to child benefit continues in respect of them, however this disregard needs to be considered in conjunction with school and college leavers

Youth training trainees

  • They must be under 25 years old
  • They must be undertaking an individual training plan, through an approved training scheme arranged under the Employment and Training Act 1973
  • The training plan must be funded by the Secretary of State under Section 14 Education Act 2002 or the Chief Executive of skills and funding.
  • They must provide evidence of the above criteria from the training provider/Employer

Youth training trainee application form

The application process

For valid applications, we will apply the discount to your account and send an amended bill. We usually apply the discount within a month, but this can vary depending on our volume of work. We will determine the start date of the discount on a case by case basis. If we need more information in order to award your discount, we will contact you.

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