Disability Reduction

You may be moved to a lower Council tax band if a disabled person lives in your household.

This reduction ensures that disabled people do not pay more Council Tax on account of space needed because of a disability. For the purposes of this reduction, a disabled person means a person who is substantially and permanently disabled caused by illness, injury, congenital deformity or otherwise.

You may qualify for this reduction if your home has:

• a room, other than a bathroom, toilet or kitchen, which is predominantly used by and required to meet the needs of the disabled person
• an additional bathroom or kitchen required to meet the needs of the disabled person
• enough floor space for the use of a wheelchair required to meet the needs of the disabled person

Having a disability does not automatically entitle you to this reduction and not all adaptions or uses will qualify for the reduction. Eligibility is based on the usage and specific adaptions made to accommodate the disabled person - it is not an assessment of the level of disability of the disabled person.  Some examples of adaptions that will not qualify are given below:

• stairlifts
• additional rails inside or outside the property
• using a walking frame indoors
• possession of a disabled parking permit

Please note that we will be required to visit your property to assess your eligibility before any reduction is awarded.

If you qualify, we will reduce your Council Tax to the one below the one you are currently on. For example if your home is in band D, we will charge you the bill for a band C property. If your home is in the lowest band (Band A) we will reduce your bill by one sixth. You can find out more about valuation bands on our Council Tax banding page.

Apply for a council tax discount/exemption

Further information on qualification

Room predominantly used by the qualifying individual

The fact that a disabled person uses a room will not on its own lead to a reduction. Everyone needs somewhere to sleep, eat, live, etc but sometimes there must be a room specially adapted or provided to meet the specific needs of a disabled person. The room can either be an existing room or an additional room/extension, but there must be a causal link between the person’s disability and the use of the room. It is important to note that it is the room that must be of the importance to the disabled person, not necessarily what is in the room, unless the room has been physically adapted.

For the above reasons, the following common scenarios will not qualify for a reduction:

• a couple (one of whom is disabled) in a two bedroomed property decide to sleep in separate rooms because of the disabled person’s disability. Unless the bedroom has been specifically adapted to meet the needs of a disabled person, no reduction can be given because everyone needs somewhere to sleep. The room already exists and is not needed solely because of the person’s disability
• someone living in a purpose-built disabled property would not necessarily qualify for a reduction. Although the property may be adapted to meet the needs of a disabled person, it will not qualify unless it has been adapted to meet the specific needs of the individual living there.
• someone living in a two-story house who has moved their bed into the lounge would not get a reduction because the room would also be used as a lounge in the same way as a ‘non-disabled’ household.
• quiet rooms - unless a room has been converted or can be proven to be physically located in the most appropriate position in the house, it is unlikely that a reduction will be granted. It is often the case that it is the ‘quiet’ that is important rather than a particular room.
• a downstairs room that has been converted to a bedroom or bedsitting room for a person who cannot manage stairs will not qualify.
• an upstairs room that would normally be used as a bedroom, but which has been converted to a bedsitting room for a person who is mainly bedridden and only able to get about with great difficulty will not qualify.
• a room which has additional facilities such as extra heating or a hearing loop will not qualify
• the use of a commode by a person who finds it difficult to get to a lavatory will not qualify.

Rooms that would qualify are:

• specially built therapy/treatment room,
• a room adapted for dialysis
• a specially adapted bedroom

Second bathroom or kitchen

The fact that a property has a second bathroom or kitchen will not lead to a reduction unless it is of major importance to the disabled person – that is the second bathroom or kitchen is needed to meet their disability needs. A second lavatory is not treated a bathroom and will not qualify for this reduction. 

Need to use a wheelchair indoors

The disabled person must both need and be able to use a wheelchair indoors. A person who normally uses a wheelchair but cannot do so indoors because corridors or doorways are too narrow will not qualify. The storage of a wheelchair indoors is not sufficient to qualify.

Care homes

Care homes, may also qualify for a reduction. A resident will have to be nominated as the disabled person and it will have to be proved that a feature is present which meets the specific needs of that person’s disability, even if it is used by the other residents. For example, the resident may need a second bathroom on the ground floor where their room is situated because they cannot use the bathroom situated on another floor. The fact that a care home has disabled residents is not, on its own, sufficient grounds for a reduction. The need for a room, second kitchen or wheelchair space must be related to the nominated resident.