Discounts
Single Person Discount
Adults living alone will be entitled to a discount of 25%
You can apply for Single Person Discount via your My Erewash account.
For this discount, certain adults are not counted (disregarded). If everyone living in a property is disregarded a 50% discount will apply.
The information you provide relating to your Single Person Discount application will be validated. Erewash Borough Council uses third party data to cross reference and validate household composition. If this data suggests that there is more than one adult over the age of 18 (and not a student) resident at the property, further information and evidence will be requested before any discount is granted.
For details of Erewash Borough Council's Fair Processing Notice please visit Revenues and Benefits Privacy Notice (erewash.gov.uk)
Single person discounts are routinely reviewed, for more information on reviews please visit Single Person Discount Review (erewash.gov.uk)
Disregarded persons
When counting the number of adult residents in a property, certain categories of people are not included. For this reason they are known as disregarded persons. A brief description of some of these categories are shown below:
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Students, Student Nurses and non-British spouses or dependants of full-time students
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Apprentices (salary no more than £195.00 per week) and Youth Training Scheme Trainees.
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People over 18 in respect of whom Child Benefit is still payable.
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People who are a resident in a nursing home and receiving care.
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School and further education college leavers under 20, from the date they leave school to 1 November that year.
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Persons in Prison or detained under the Mental Health Act/Immigration law.
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Members of international headquarters and their dependants.
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Members of religious communities with no income or capital of their own.
- Residents of hostels, night shelters.
In order to assess whether you qualify for discount, count up the number of adults in your household and then exclude anyone in the disregarded categories above.
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If the total is two or more, no discount is applicable.
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If the total is one, you will qualify for a 25% discount.
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If the total is zero, a discount of 50% of the charge will apply.
A property may have a resident count of zero because all the occupiers are disregarded, for example, a family consisting of a student and a person still on Child Benefit.
Council Tax Discount for Care Leavers
We have introduced a scheme to reduce council tax liability for care leavers between 18 and 25 years of age. Please be aware that this discount does not apply to any period prior to 1 April 2020 (the date from which it is introduced). Therefore, the earliest financial year in respect of which an award can be made to care leavers is 2020/21.
Our scheme for care leavers will only be applied after all other relevant discounts and exemptions have been applied. Where the qualifying criteria is met and all discounts and exemptions, including council tax support, do not cover the full council tax charge, then under this scheme the qualifying care leaver will receive further assistance to cover the remainder of their council tax.
Applications must be supported by a ‘certificate’ from Derbyshire County Council confirming the care status of the individual.
Need further help or information? Please contact us through your My Erewash account to apply for this reduction.
‘Severely mentally impaired’ people
To be disregarded on the grounds of being ‘severely mentally impaired’ the person will need to meet all of the following conditions:
- Have a certificate from a registered medical practitioner confirming this
- Be entitled to (but not necessarily claiming or in receipt of) one of a number of specified benefits which include: Disability Living Allowance (middle or higher rate care component), the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment (standard or enhanced rate), Attendance Allowance, Constant Attendance Allowance, increase in Disablement Pension (due to constant attendance being needed), Employment and Support Allowance (previously Incapacity Benefit), Universal Credit (limited capability for work), Severe Disablement Allowance, Unemployability Supplement or Allowance, Income Support (including a disability premium), Armed Forces Independence Payment.
If, after taking into account disregarded people, there is only one resident in the property who would ‘count’ for council tax a 25% discount is applied to the bill. If there are no residents who would ‘count’ for council tax, a 50% discount is applied to the bill. A property occupied by more than one person considered to be ‘severely mentally impaired’ may also be exempt.
If you know someone who has dementia please read the guidance from the Alzheimers Society about how you may be eligible to claim a discount if you have dementia or are a carer. More information on how to claim the severely mentally impaired council tax discount can also be found on Martin Lewis' Money Saving Expert website, Age UK and Carers UK.
Carers
To be disregarded as a carer, you must meet all the following criteria:
- You must provide care for at least 35 hours a week
- You must live in the same property as the person you care for
- You must not be the spouse or partner of the person you care for, or their parent if you care for a child under 18
The person you care for must be getting either the middle or higher rate of the care component of Disability Living Allowance, the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment at any rate, Attendance Allowance at any rate, Armed Forces Independence Payment or the highest rate of Constant Attendance Allowance. You do not have to claim Carer’s Allowance to qualify for this discount and your income and savings will not affect your eligibility. If there is more than one carer in the property, they can both be disregarded for council tax purposes as long as they all meet the conditions.
Other discount/disregards are listed below but these are not exhaustive, so if you require more information, please do not hesitate to contact either us or one of the charitable organisations.
Annexes
Since 1 April 2014, annexes which are used by the occupier of the main house as part of the main home, or annexes which are occupied by a relative of the person living in the main house will be entitled to a 50% reduction in the council tax payable on the annexe.
The 50% reduction is on top of any other discount you or your relative may be entitled to. For example, if your adult son is living in the annexe on his own. He will be liable for council tax and be entitled to a 25% single occupier discount and a 50% annexe discount.
To qualify for the annexe discount:
- The annexe must form part of a single property which includes at least one other dwelling. That is, the annexe must be within the grounds of the main house (not necessarily attached) and must be included in the title deeds of the main house and not registered separately.
And either:
- The annexe is being used by the resident of the main house, as part of their main home
or
- The annexe is lived in by a relative of the person who lives in the main house. For this purpose a relative is defined as: a partner, parent, child, step child, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew and niece (also includes great grandparents and great grandchild).
Other reductions available for annexes
If you have a close relative who lives in the annexe and they are over 65 years of age or they are either severely mentally impaired or substantially and permanently disabled we may be able to award an exemption from council tax for the annexe.
If the annexe is unoccupied and cannot be let separately because of a planning restriction then it could also be exempt.
Discretionary Council Tax Relief
Erewash Borough Council has the discretion to reduce Council Tax in individual cases or groups of cases. This is known as a discretionary reduction and the cost of discretionary reductions have to be met from our funds or through increasing Council Tax for other payers. We will consider all written applications with supporting evidence on an individual basis.
Disabled Relief
If you, or someone who lives with you, need a room, or an extra bathroom or kitchen, or extra space in your property to meet special needs arising from a disability, you may be entitled to a reduced Council Tax bill.
The bill may be reduced to that of a dwelling in the band immediately below the band shown on the valuation list (if the dwelling is in Band A, the reduced charge is calculated as five ninths of a Band D charge).
These reductions ensure that disabled people do not pay more Council Tax on account of space needed because of a disability.
If you need any further help or information with any reduction, please go online using your My Erewash account where there are forms that you may complete and provide supporting evidence.
