The letter says the benefit has gone down because your son lives with you, and it makes no difference that he is between jobs and pays nothing. That is how non-dependant deductions work: a fixed sum per adult, set by their income, on the assumption that they contribute. Two rules soften it for households over State Pension age, and both are in the regulations rather than on the leaflet.
Who counts as a non-dependant
The pension-age Housing Benefit regulations define a non-dependant as any person who normally resides with a claimant or with whom a claimant normally resides. They then list who is excluded: your partner, a child you are responsible for, a joint tenant or joint owner, someone who pays you rent on a commercial basis, and a paid carer.
That is regulation 3 (Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations 2006, regulation 3, checked 12 September 2026).
An adult son or daughter at home is the usual case. So is a parent who has moved in with you, a sibling, or a friend. Whether they pay you anything, and how much, does not change whether they count.
The 2026/27 table
The deduction depends on whether the non-dependant is in paid work and, if so, their gross weekly income before tax. The bands and amounts below are the 2026/27 figures from the DWP’s rates publication, and the same figures appear in regulation 55 of the pension-age regulations (Benefit and pension rates 2026 to 2027, checked 1 November 2026).
| Non-dependant’s position | Weekly deduction |
|---|---|
| Aged 18 or over, not in paid work | £20.40 |
| In work, gross income under £192.00 | £20.40 |
| £192.00 to £278.99 | £46.85 |
| £279.00 to £364.99 | £64.35 |
| £365.00 to £484.99 | £105.20 |
| £485.00 to £604.99 | £119.85 |
| £605.00 or more | £131.45 |
Two non-dependants mean two deductions, and the council’s decision letter should show each.
No deduction at all, if you get a disability benefit
Regulation 55 says no deduction is made if the claimant or their partner is blind, or is receiving Attendance Allowance, the care component of Disability Living Allowance, or the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment (regulation 55, checked 1 November 2026).
The current text adds Pension Age Disability Payment and Adult Disability Payment in Scotland, and Armed Forces Independence Payment.
This is the rule to check first. A household paying £64.35 a week in deductions because a working son lives at home, where the mother needs help with washing and dressing, has a claim for Attendance Allowance that would remove the deduction entirely on top of the allowance itself. Our Attendance Allowance hub covers the claim, and the what unlocks what map shows the knock-on effects.
No deduction for some non-dependants
Regulation 55 also lists non-dependants for whom no deduction is made whoever the claimant is: someone under 25 on Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, or Universal Credit with no earned income; a full-time student; and someone on Pension Credit.
The list continues with a patient in hospital for more than 52 weeks, someone on a training allowance, and someone whose normal home is elsewhere (Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations 2006, regulation 55, checked 1 November 2026).
A grandchild at university who comes home for the holidays is a student and attracts no deduction. A daughter over 25 who has lost her job and is on Universal Credit attracts the £20.40 band, because the under-25 exemption is an age limit.
The 26-week delay at pension age
When a non-dependant moves in, or a change in their circumstances increases the deduction, the pension-age regulations do not apply the increase from the date it happened. Regulation 59 says the change takes effect from the date which falls 26 weeks after the date on which the change occurred.
Where more than one such change happens in that period, it is 26 weeks after the first (Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations 2006, regulation 59, checked 1 November 2026).
The delay is a rule about timing, not about reporting. GOV.UK lists people moving in or out among the changes you must report (GOV.UK, Housing Benefit: report a change of circumstances, checked 1 November 2026), and a council that learns of the move late will still apply the deduction from 26 weeks after it happened, with the difference recovered as an overpayment. Our overpayments page covers that.
If your child pays you rent
The deduction does not change, because it is fixed by the band whatever they give you. What their rent affects is their own position. The regulations bar Housing Benefit where the liability is to a person who also resides in the dwelling and who is a close relative, so a son paying his mother cannot claim on that rent.
That is regulation 9 (Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations 2006, regulation 9, checked 1 November 2026). The deduction is the scheme’s version of his contribution, and it is yours to ask him for.
What the council needs
The band turns on the non-dependant’s income, so the council will ask for their payslips or benefit letters. When their work changes, tell the council, because a drop in their income lowers the deduction without the 26-week delay, which applies only to increases.