Adult non-dependants

An adult who normally lives in your home who is not your partner may be a non-dependant. Examples of non-dependants include grown-up children, relatives or family friends staying with you without a formal tenancy agreement. Where a non-dependant with earnings does not contribute towards household income, it may impact the client’s current position. For example, having a non-dependant in a household disqualifies the client from a single person’s council tax discount, resulting in a greater liability. It could be appropriate for an adult non-dependant with earnings to assume responsibility for these costs. If the adult non-dependant has no earnings, they may have the characteristics of a dependant on the client. If this impacts on the allowances used for calculating a contribution, an explanation of the circumstances should be provided.