Single Person Council Tax Discount When Moving House | SlothMove
Moving house alone? Here’s how to claim the 25% single-person council tax discount at your new address and what happens to the discount if your circumstances change.
Our complete guide to Council Tax Change of Address.
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Single-person council tax discount when moving house
If you live alone or are the only adult in a property, you are entitled to a 25% reduction on your council tax bill. When you move house, this discount does not transfer automatically. You need to apply for it at your new address. This guide explains how the single-person discount works, how to claim it after a move, and what happens in various situations where your circumstances change. SlothMove can notify your council about your move and help you get the right discount applied from the start.
What is the single-person council tax discount?
Council tax is calculated on the assumption that two or more adults live in a property. If only one adult occupies the property as their main residence, the council applies a 25% discount to the bill. The discount is not means-tested and is not based on income. It applies simply because there is only one liable adult in the household.
The discount applies to any property type and any council tax band. It reduces the full charge by a quarter, which on an average bill can save several hundred pounds a year.
It is worth noting that some NHS services, including individual dental practices and NHSBSA records for prescription prepayment certificates, hold their own separate records and may not update automatically. For those, a direct contact is still needed.
Who counts as an adult for council tax purposes?
Not everyone who lives in a property counts as an adult for council tax. Some people are disregarded, meaning they are invisible for the purposes of calculating how many adults occupy the property. The following groups are disregarded:
- Full-time students
- Student nurses
- Apprentices and youth trainees
- People aged 18 or 19 who are in full-time education or who have just left school
- People with severe mental impairment
- People in certain care situations
- Foreign language assistants
If all the adults in a property are disregarded, the property may receive a 50% discount rather than the standard 25%. If one adult is not disregarded and all others are, that person gets the single-person discount even though other people live there.
- Your GP record. Your GP practice holds its own clinical record and is linked to the PDS. When your GP updates your address, that change flows through to the national demographics service.
Individual hospital trust records. Each trust that has treated you keeps its own patient administration record. These do not always update automatically when the PDS changes, which is why a direct update is sometimes needed.
How to claim the single-person discount when you move
The discount does not transfer automatically when you move. You need to tell your new council that you are the sole adult occupying the property:
- When you notify your new council of your move-in date, tell them you are the only adult in the property.
- The council will ask you to confirm this, sometimes by completing a short declaration.
- Once the discount is applied, it will be reflected in your revised council tax bill.
If you are moving using SlothMove, you can include this information as part of your council tax notification so the council has everything it needs in one go.
To update your address via the NHS App: sign in using your NHS login, go to your profile, select personal details, and update your home address. GP practices can help patients use online services if you are unsure how to set up your NHS login.
What if you move in with other adults
If you move into a property where another adult is already living, the single-person discount will not apply at that address. The discount only applies when you are the sole adult liable for council tax at the property. If your housemate or partner is also a full adult who is not disregarded, the standard rate applies.
What if someone moves in with you after you have claimed the discount
You must tell your council as soon as another adult moves in with you. Continuing to claim the single-person discount when a second adult is living at the property is a form of council tax fraud. Councils carry out regular checks and can issue backdated bills and penalties if an undisclosed adult is found to have been living at the property.
Notify the council within a reasonable time of any change in your household. The council will cancel the discount from the date the second adult moved in.
What happens to the discount at your old address when you move out
When you tell your old council that you have moved out, they will close your account. The person who moves in after you will need to register and, if they qualify, apply for the single-person discount themselves. You do not need to do anything about the discount at the old address once you have notified the council of your move-out date.
Notify the council within a reasonable time of any change in your household. The council will cancel the discount from the date the second adult moved in.
Update your council tax and claim your discount in one go
SlothMove notifies your new council of your move-in date alongside all your other address changes. You can include the information that you are the sole adult at the property so that the single person discount is applied from the start, rather than having to make a separate application later.
Here’s why over 75,000 people have chosen SlothMove:
- Save 14+ hours of admin time: based on data from over 75,000 completed moves.
- One form updates everything: DVLA, NHS, HMRC, councils, utilities, and more.
- Cheaper than mail redirection: Just £30 versus up to £87 for mail forwarding.
- Secure and trusted: ICO-registered, GDPR compliant, with 256-bit SSL encryption, backed by Taylor Rose MW (one of the UK’s largest conveyancing firms).
SlothMove handles your Council Address update along with all your other essential updates. No chasing, no forgotten providers, no stress.
Related articles and Guides
For more on council tax when moving, see our main guide to council tax change of address. You may also find our guides to council tax empty property when moving and students and council tax when moving useful.
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Frequently asked questions
How do I claim the single-person council tax discount when I move?
Tell your new council when you register at your new address that you are the only adult in the property. The council will apply the 25% single-person discount to your bill. The discount does not transfer automatically from your old address.
Does the single-person council tax discount apply automatically?
No. You need to tell the council you are the sole adult at the property. It will not be applied automatically. Once applied, it remains in place until your circumstances change, at which point you must notify the council.
What happens if someone moves in with me after I have claimed the single-person discount?
You must notify the council as soon as another adult moves in. The discount will be cancelled from the date the second adult arrived. Failing to notify the council can result in a backdated bill and a penalty.
Can I claim the single person discount if I have a lodger?
It depends on the lodger’s status. If the lodger is a full-time student or otherwise disregarded for council tax purposes, you may still qualify. If the lodger is a non-student adult, the single-person discount would not apply. Contact your council to confirm your situation.
About SlothMove
SlothMove has helped over 75,000 UK residents update their address across government and private organisations since 2019. We are an ICO-registered data controller, GDPR compliant, and backed by Taylor Rose MW, one of the UK’s
leading conveyancing firms.