Non-Dependants Deduction

A non-dependant deduction means that your Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support can be reduced if someone aged 18 years or over normally lives with you on a non-commercial basis, such as an adult son, daughter, relative or friend.

It is expected that an adult who lives with you would pay a contribution towards the rent.

A non-dependant does not include:

  • dependant members of your family for whom you get benefit for example, a partner, young son or daughter
  • lodgers or boarders who live with you on a commercial basis
  • tenant or sub-tenants
  • people who own all or part of your home, e.g. a joint owner
  • professional carers

Deduction amounts

How much the deduction is depends on the circumstances of your non-dependants and the amount of income that they have.

Deductions are not made if you or your partner are:

  • registered blind
  • in receipt of Attendance Allowance or a core component of Disability Living Allowance

No deduction is made from Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support if the non-dependant adult living with you:

  • is aged under 25 years and gets Income Support of Jobseeker's Allowance (income based)
  • gets a youth training allowance
  • usually lives elsewhere
  • has been a hospital in-patient for more than 52 weeks
  • is a prisoner
  • is a student (but a deduction will be made during the summer vacation if they are in work)