Brent Council Tax Reduction When Moving House

Your CTR Doesn't Follow You Automatically

If you're moving into Brent from another borough, your existing Council Tax Reduction award stops at your old address. Brent runs its own local scheme with its own rules — you need to make a new claim, through My Account or by indicating that you want Council Tax Support as part of a Universal Credit claim.

If you're moving within Brent, the same applies. A change of address means a new council tax account and a new CTR assessment. Your previous award doesn't transfer automatically to the new property.

The clock matters here. Your CTR entitlement at the new address can start from the exact date your council tax liability begins — but only if you make your claim within one calendar month of moving in. If you miss that window, working-age backdating rules allow up to one calendar month before Brent receives a formal written request, where you can show good cause for the delay.

What to Do Before You Move

Gather your evidence in advance. You'll need all of this ready to submit through Brent's "My Account" portal as soon as you move:

• Proof of the new address — tenancy agreement, mortgage statement, or Land Registry document
• Identity documents — passport or driving licence for you and any partner
• Income evidence — five weekly payslips, three fortnightly, or two monthly (most recent and consecutive)
• Universal Credit statement — if applicable, the full DWP digital breakdown
• Bank statements — two consecutive months, unredacted, for all accounts
• Non-dependant details — name, age, and employment status of any other adults moving with you

If you've already been on CTR at your previous Brent address, you'll have most of this. Check that your bank statements and payslips are current — the council wants recent documents, not ones from your last application.

The One-Month Application Window

This is the most important deadline. If you apply within one calendar month of your liability start date at the new address, your CTR is backdated to match your move-in date. There's no gap in coverage.

After one month, standard backdating rules apply — and for working-age claimants, Brent limits backdating to one calendar month maximum, and only where you can demonstrate "good cause" for the delay. Simply not knowing about CTR or being busy with the move doesn't qualify as good cause.

Practical advice: register for "My Account" at your new address and submit your CTR application in the same session. Don't wait for your first council tax bill to arrive — by then you may have already eaten into your one-month window.

Moving From Another Borough

If you're coming from outside Brent, be aware that the rules may be very different from your previous borough:

• The 35% minimum payment — Brent's working-age scheme caps reduction at 65%, meaning you'll always pay at least 35% of your bill. Some boroughs offer up to 100% reduction
• The £6,000 capital limit — if your previous borough had a higher threshold, check your savings against Brent's cutoff before applying
• Income bands — Brent uses a five-band grid. Your previous borough may have used traditional means testing or different band thresholds

Your previous CTR award isn't evidence of what you'll get in Brent. The assessment is entirely fresh based on Brent's local scheme rules.

Telling the Council About Your Old Address

Don't forget to close your council tax account at your previous address. If you're leaving Brent, notify Brent Council of your move-out date — otherwise you'll continue to be billed.

If you're leaving another borough, notify that council too. And if you were receiving CTR there, report the change of circumstances — failure to do so could result in an overpayment that gets clawed back.

Our Brent Council Tax Reduction guide walks through the full application process step by step, including the document checklist and how to time your submission to protect your claim start date when moving.

For free help navigating the transition, contact Citizens Advice Brent on 0808 278 7898 — they can check whether you're getting all the discounts and reductions available at your new address.

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