Greenwich Council Tax Non-Dependant Deduction: The £10 Weekly Charge Explained

What a Non-Dependant Deduction Is

A non-dependant is an adult living in your home who is not your partner and is not a rent-paying lodger. The most common example is an adult child who has finished education and is still living at home, but it also covers siblings, parents, friends, or anyone else sharing the property.

Greenwich applies a flat £10 per week deduction to your Council Tax Reduction award for each non-dependant in the household. Unlike many other councils that use graded deductions based on the non-dependant's income, Greenwich keeps it simple — £10 regardless of what the non-dependant earns.

This means if you have two adult children living with you, both working, your LCTS award is reduced by £20 per week — over £1,000 a year.

When the Deduction Does Not Apply

Greenwich waives the non-dependant deduction entirely in two situations:

You or your partner receives a qualifying disability benefit. If the LCTS claimant or their partner gets PIP daily living component, DLA care component, or Attendance Allowance, no non-dependant deduction is applied — even if the non-dependant earns a high salary. This protection recognises that disability benefits indicate additional needs that should not be undermined by household composition penalties.

The non-dependant is a full-time student. If the adult living with you is enrolled in full-time education, they are exempt from the deduction. You will need to provide a student verification letter from their college or university.

How It Affects Your Award

Take a worked example. You are a single parent on income-related ESA, living in a Band B property. Your weekly council tax after the 25% Single Person Discount is £22.50. The 80% cap gives you a maximum LCTS award of £18 per week.

Because you are on income-related ESA (a passported benefit), no earnings taper applies — you would normally get the full £18. But your 22-year-old employed child lives with you. Greenwich applies the £10 non-dependant deduction:

• Award before deduction: £18.00
• Non-dependant deduction: -£10.00
• Your actual award: £8.00 per week
• You pay: £22.50 - £8.00 = £14.50 per week

Without the non-dependant, you would pay £4.50 per week. The deduction adds £10 to your weekly bill.

Now change one fact: you receive PIP daily living component. The non-dependant deduction is waived entirely. Your award stays at £18 per week, and you pay £4.50. That PIP exemption saves you £520 a year in this scenario.

What Evidence Greenwich Needs

When you apply for LCTS, Greenwich asks for details of every adult in your household. For each non-dependant, you will need:

• Proof of their identity
• Evidence of their employment, benefits, or student status

If you believe a non-dependant deduction has been applied incorrectly — for example, because your disability benefit should have triggered the exemption — request a written explanation of the decision from [email protected]. If the error is confirmed, Greenwich will recalculate and credit the difference to your account.

For more detail on non-dependant deductions and how they interact with the rest of the LCTS calculation, see our Greenwich Council Tax Reduction guide.

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