Does fostering affect eligibility for a single-person council tax discount?

Eligibility for a single-person council tax discount depends on the number of chargeable adults the council treats as living in your home. A foster placement does not normally count as an additional chargeable adult, so the placement itself should not end your discount. The position can be different if another adult moves into the property or your household circumstances change for a separate reason.

Why a foster placement is treated differently

Council tax rules disregard certain people when a council works out how many adults are resident. Foster children are generally included within these disregarded categories, provided the arrangement is a recognised foster placement. This means that the council does not usually count a foster child in the adult household calculation used for the single-person discount.

The rule is based on the child’s status, rather than on whether the placement is short-term or long-term. It can therefore apply while a child is placed with you under an approved fostering arrangement, although the council may ask for information confirming the placement.

When fostering may coincide with a change to your discount

Fostering does not disregard other adults in your home. Your discount may need to be reviewed if, for example:

• a partner or another chargeable adult moves in;
• an adult lodger or relative begins living at the property;
• your own circumstances change and you no longer meet the single-person discount conditions; or
• the person staying in the property is not a foster child under a recognised fostering arrangement.

An adult who is connected with fostering, such as a supervising social worker, family member or support worker, is not automatically disregarded merely because they visit the home or provide assistance. The important question is whether that person is resident and whether a specific council tax disregard applies to them.

What to tell the council

If you already receive the discount, contact the council tax department when your household circumstances change and explain that a foster child has been placed with you. Make clear that the child is fostered rather than a chargeable adult resident. You may be asked for documents such as confirmation from the fostering service, placement details or evidence of your approved foster carer status.

If the council removes the discount because it has counted a foster child, ask it to reconsider and provide the relevant fostering evidence. Request a written explanation of how the household has been assessed. Keep copies of the information you submit and note the dates of placements, changes and notifications.

Different rules may apply to other council tax help

A single-person discount is separate from Council Tax Reduction and other local council schemes. A fostering household may need to meet different conditions for those forms of help, and the treatment of fostering-related payments or household income can vary under the applicable scheme. Losing or retaining the single-person discount does not, by itself, decide entitlement to Council Tax Reduction.

Because councils administer council tax individually, confirm the position with the authority that sends your bill. Give full details of who lives at the property, the nature of the fostering arrangement and any other adults in the household. If your circumstances are unusual, ask the council to explain which residents it has counted and why.