Who qualifies for Council Tax discount?
In addition to disregarded persons and those with disabilities (see below), you may be entitled to Council Tax discounts under certain circumstances:
- If there are fewer than two adults resident then the bill is discounted. If only one adult is resident then bill is discounted by 25% (Single Person Discount).
- If no-one lives in the property as their sole or main residence, a discount may apply.
- Second Homes will qualify for a 10% reduction.
- Long Term Empty Properties will qualify for a 40% reduction - these properties must be unfurnished.
These second home and long term empty discounts were introduced from 1st April 2004 - previously, all empty properties qualified for a 50% reduction. Discounts are applied as follows:
Empty / Second Home Discounts
Class | Description | Reduction |
|---|---|---|
A | 2nd Home Furnished (Restricted) | 10% |
B | 2nd Home Furnished (No Restrictions | 10% |
C | Empty Un-Furnished | 10% |
To apply for any discounts, you should put a request in writing to Hounslow Revenue Services via the address shown at the bottom this page.
Disregarded Persons
When determining the number of residents in a dwelling, certain groups of persons are disregarded for the purpose of determining if the household is eligible for discount. This means that the bill for a dwelling where one of the two residents is entitled to be disregarded for discount purposes will be the same as that for a dwelling with one resident (25% discount).
If the disregarded person lives alone, then only the property element of the bill is payable (50%). If, however, there are three or more residents and only one is disregarded, there will be no entitlement to a discount.
Classes of Disregarded Persons
The persons considered as disregarded are shown below:
- Persons in Detention
- Severely Mentally Impaired
- Over 18 Child Benefit Payable
- Full Time Students
- Student Nurses
- Apprentices
- Foreign Language Assistants
- Non British Spouse of Student
- Sole or Main Residence in Hospital
- Resident in Care Home Nursing Home or Hostel
- Carer Employed by a Relevant Authority
- Carer for Person in Receipt of Relevant Allowance
- Persons staying in Short Stay hostels
- Religious Community
- Member of International HQ & Defence Organisations
- School Leavers Under 20 up to 1st Nov
- Members of Visiting Forces and their Dependants
- Occupied by Diplomat but who is not Liable for Council Tax
Further information on disregarded persons can be located here (
PDF Help, size 17kb).
PDF Help, size 17kb).Individuals with disabilities?
A liable person is entitled to a reduction by way of re-banding a dwelling to one shown in the Valuation list if there is a disabled person resident in the dwelling. Properties in Band A will pay 5/9ths of a Band D charge.
In order to qualify, or for a reduction to be applicable, the dwelling must contain certain facilities which are considered as essential or of major importance to the well-being of the disabled person because of the nature and extent of his/her disability.
The features are:
- A room other than a bathroom, kitchen or lavatory, which is used predominantly by the disabled person
- A second bathroom or kitchen
- Extra space inside the property to allow for wheelchair circulation
In order to allow the reduction, the billing authority must be satisfied that, without the feature, the disabled person would find it difficult to live in the dwelling and his/her health would suffer.
Click here find out more about discounts for disabled people.
Contact
Hounslow Revenue Services
P.O. Box 355
Hounslow
TW3 4PJ
P.O. Box 355
Hounslow
TW3 4PJ