Brent Council Tax Single Person Discount and Other Reductions

The 25% Single Person Discount

If you're the only adult (aged 18 or over) living in your property, you're entitled to a 25% reduction on your council tax bill. This is a national statutory discount — it's not discretionary and Brent Council must apply it.

The discount applies before Council Tax Reduction is calculated. So if your annual council tax is £2,000, the Single Person Discount reduces it to £1,500, and then CTR is applied to that £1,500 figure. Getting both makes a meaningful difference to your final bill.

Certain people living in your home don't count as adults for discount purposes: full-time students, people with severe mental impairment, live-in carers providing 35+ hours of care a week, and anyone under 18. If you live with only these disregarded persons, you still qualify for the 25%.

Apply through Brent's My Account portal. You'll need to declare everyone living at the address.

Severe Mental Impairment exemption

A person certified by a registered medical practitioner as having a severe impairment of intelligence and social functioning — and receiving a qualifying benefit such as Attendance Allowance or the PIP care component — is disregarded for council tax purposes.

If a severely mentally impaired person lives alone, the property qualifies for a 100% Class U exemption. No council tax at all. If they live with one other non-disregarded adult, the 25% Single Person Discount applies instead (the SMI person is disregarded, leaving one counted adult).

This exemption is separate from Council Tax Reduction and should be claimed first.

Student exemption

Properties occupied entirely by full-time students are exempt from council tax. If you're a student living with a non-student partner or housemate, the property isn't fully exempt — but you're disregarded, which may trigger the Single Person Discount for your non-student housemate.

For students aged 20 or over, a qualifying course at a registered UK educational establishment lasts at least 24 weeks a year and involves at least 21 hours a week of study, tuition, or work experience; work experience cannot exceed half the course time, except for student teachers. For students under 20, the course must last at least three calendar months and involve 12 hours of study per week. You'll need a student certificate from your university or college.

Care leaver discount

Former care leavers aged 18 to 24 who were previously in the care of Brent Council can receive up to 100% council tax relief under the council's Section 13A discretionary policy. This runs until the care leaver's 25th birthday.

There's a catch: the care leaver must first apply for all standard discounts and Council Tax Reduction. The care leaver relief then wipes out whatever's left. And it only applies to people who were in Brent's care specifically — care leavers from other boroughs living in Brent need to contact their originating authority.

Empty property rules

Brent charges substantial premiums on empty and second-home properties:

• Long-term empty (1–5 years): 100% premium (you pay double)
• Long-term empty (5–10 years): 200% premium (triple)
• Long-term empty (over 10 years): 300% premium (quadruple)
• Second homes (furnished, not your main residence): 100% premium from April 2025

Statutory exceptions exist for properties actively marketed for sale or let (up to 12 months), job-related dwellings, annexes used as part of the main home, and properties where probate was recently granted.

These premiums are completely separate from Council Tax Reduction. CTR is for your main home where you live — it doesn't apply to second properties or investment holdings.

How discounts and CTR stack

The order matters. Statutory discounts (Single Person Discount, Disabled Band Reduction, student disregard) are applied first to establish your net council tax liability. Council Tax Reduction is then calculated as a percentage of that net figure. And if you still can't afford the remainder, the hardship fund is the final layer.

The Brent Council Tax Reduction guide walks through each discount and how they interact with CTR, so you can make sure you're claiming everything you're entitled to.

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