We reduce Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support for each 'non-dependant' living in your home.

A non-dependant is someone who normally lives with you, and is:

  • an adult son or daughter
  • a relative
  • a friend

For non-dependant couples, we add the income of both members of the couple together to calculate the gross income figure.

Boarders, sub-tenants and joint tenants are not non-dependants.

How we calculate non-dependant benefit deductions

We make fixed deductions from your entitlement to Housing Benefit/Council Tax Support based on the following:

  • the non-dependant's age and weekly income, not what they pay for their keep (this is not considered as contributing to your income)
  • the rules and amounts for these deductions are set by the government and normally changed each April

Note: Even if the non-dependant doesn't pay for their keep, we still make the non-dependant deduction from your entitlement to Housing Benefit/Council Tax Support.

If a non-dependant moves out, you must provide us with a forwarding address.

Amount deducted from Housing Benefit if working 16 hours or more

For non-dependants aged 18 or over and working on average more than 16 hours per week, we deduct the following amounts (effective from April 2019):

Gross weekly income of non-dependant Weekly deduction from Housing Benefit
Less than £142.99 £15.60
£143.00 to £208.99 £35.85
£209.00 to £271.99 £49.20
£272.00 to £362.99 £80.55
£363.00 to £450.99 £91.70
£451.00 or more £100.65

Amount deducted from Council Tax Support if working 16 hours or more

For non-dependants aged 18 or over and working on average more than 16 hours per week, we deduct the following amounts (effective from April 2019):

Gross weekly income of non-dependant Deduction from Council Tax Support
Less than £207.69 (or not in remunerative work) £4.00
£207.70 to £360.09 £8.10
£360.10 to £447.39 £10.20
£447.40 or more £12.20

Amount deducted from Housing Benefit/Council Tax Support if working under 16 hours

For non-dependants not in work, or those working under 16 hours per week, we deduct the following amounts (effective from April 2019):

Other categories of non-dependant income Weekly deduction from Housing Benefit Weekly deduction from Council Tax Support
Aged 25 or over and receiving IS/JSA(IB)/ESA(IR) £15.60 Nil
Aged 25 or over receiving UC - no earned income £15.60 Nil
Aged 18 to 24 and receiving IS/JSA(IB)/ESA(IR) (assessment phase) Nil Nil
Aged 18 to 24 receiving ESA(IR) (main phase) £15.60 Nil
Aged 18 to 24 receiving UC - no earned income Nil Nil
Aged 18 or over, not receiving IS/JSA(IB)/ESA(IR) and not in remunerative work £15.60 Nil
In receipt of Pension Credit Nil Nil

Exceptions and special rules for non-dependant benefit deductions

We do not make deductions for non-dependants if you or your partner:

We do not make any deductions if the non-dependant:

  • is under 18
  • is a youth trainee
  • is in prison or similar forms of detention
  • has been in hospital for 52 weeks or more
  • usually lives elsewhere (but you will need to tell us their permanent address, otherwise we may still make the deduction)
  • is a full-time student or student nurse (although a Housing Benefit deduction applies if the non-dependant works for 16 hours per week or more during the summer vacation)

Special rules apply to delay deductions for those aged 65 or over if:

  • you or your partner are aged 65 or over, and
  • a non-dependant moves in (and a deduction would normally apply to them); or
  • a non-dependant has a change in circumstances that would mean that a higher deduction should be made

Deductions start 26 weeks after the non-dependant moved in, or 26 weeks from their change in circumstances.

Contact us straight away if you think we're deducting an incorrect amount from your Housing Benefit/Council Tax Support so that we can check this.

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