4. Second adult rebate
All students who are liable for council tax can claim second adult rebate. The law refers to this as ‘alternative maximum council tax reduction’. It is intended for people whose bill is higher because they live with others who cannot get a status discount but who cannot make a full contribution towards a share of the bill. You can only get a second adult rebate if you live with others who are not students. If all of you are students, you cannot get this rebate.
Whether or not you get a rebate depends on the income of the people who share with you. Your own income or capital is ignored.
You can get a second adult rebate if:1Reg 78 and Sch 2 CTR(S) Regs •you are liable for council tax; and
•you have a ‘second adult’ (see below) living with you; and
•the second adult is on universal credit (UC), income support (IS), income-based jobseeker’s allowance (JSA), income-related employment and support allowance (ESA) or pension credit (PC), or has a low income; and
•you do not get rent from a tenant or sub-tenant (arguably, rent from students or others who have a status discount should not disbar you from getting second adult rebate);2Reg 14(6) & (7) CTR (S) Regs2 and •if you are in a couple, one or both of you are students or have a status discount for some other reason; and
•if you are jointly liable for the council tax, all of those jointly liable are (or all but one are) students or have a status discount for some other reason.
Second adult
A ‘second adult’ is someone aged 18 or over who is a non-dependant – ie, someone who lives with you on a non-commercial basis, is not a student, and does not have a status discount for any other reason.
If you are eligible for second adult rebate and for council tax reduction, the local authority decides which is worth the most to you. You cannot get both at the same time. If you get a second adult rebate, you get a reduction of 100 per cent if the second adult(s) gets IS, income-based JSA, income-related ESA or PC and everyone else is a full-time student,3Sch 2 para 1(c) CTR(S) Regs or 25 per cent, 15 per cent or 7.5 per cent depending on the income of the second adult(s). The maximum second adult rebate if the second adult is on UC is 15 per cent.4Sch 2 para 1 CTR(S) Regs, as amended in 2013 by SI No.287 Reg 11 Examples
Terry lives with his daughter, Minnie, aged 22. Terry is a full-time student. Minnie is claiming JSA. Terry rents the house from a housing association. Terry can claim second adult rebate of 100 per cent. Minnie is the second adult.
Dean is a student and he owns the flat he shares with his brother, Steve. Steve is aged 19 and on UC. Dean can claim second adult rebate of up to 15 per cent, depending on Steve’s income from UC. Steve is the second adult.