Care experienced young person (care leaver)

Care leavers under 25 years old living in any of the North East councils listed below can receive full support with their Council Tax.

Eligibility criteria

To qualify, you must be:

• aged 18 to 24 years old
• named on the Council Tax bill of the property you are applying for
• a care leaver who gets support from your local authority as a 'former relevant child'. Your personal advisor (PA) can help you to understand what this means.
• leaving the care of one of the following 12 North East councils. (If you have been under the care of more than one council, we mean your most recent one.)
  • Darlington Borough Council
  • Durham County Council
  • Gateshead Borough Council
  • Hartlepool Borough Council
  • Middlesbrough Borough Council
  • Newcastle City Council
  • North Tyneside Council
  • Northumberland County Council
  • Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council
  • South Tyneside Council
  • Stockton on Tees Borough Council
  • Sunderland City Council

Before you begin, you will need your Council Tax number.

Apply for care leaver exemption

Applications can take up to 28 days to process.

We will contact you if we need more information.

After you've applied you must still pay the amount on your Council Tax bill until you hear from us.

Refunds

The new arrangements started on 1 April 2025. If you qualify and have paid Council Tax since that date, you should be able to get that money back.

If you pay by direct debit we would do an automatic refund as we hold your bank details.

If not, we would send a credit bill with a link to an online refund form.

Now living outside the North East

This agreement only covers the 12 North East councils. If you now live in another part of the country, you may still be able to get help as a care leaver. This depends on the council in your new area.

Your PA can help you check what support is available.