About 34,450 Tunbridge Wells homes are in bands A to D, the ones in line for the £100 payment from January. That is 65% of the borough, against 81% for England.

About 34,450 homes in Tunbridge Wells borough are in council tax bands A to D. Those are the homes in line for the £100 energy payment announced in Wednesday’s Budget.

That is 64.7% of the borough’s 53,260 homes. Across England the figure is 80.8%, so a larger share of households here will miss out than almost anywhere else in Kent. (Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties 2026)

The payments are due from January 2027. Tunbridge Wells Borough Council said on Thursday that it is still waiting for detailed guidance from the government on how the scheme will work. (Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, 29 October)

Who qualifies

The government calls it the Household Energy Payment. The council’s notice calls it the Energy Support Payment. It is the same £100.

You qualify if you live in England, the property is your main home, it is in band A, B, C or D, and you are the person liable for its council tax. The government says most households exempt from council tax will also be included, with full rules to follow. (GOV.UK, What the Autumn Budget 2026 means for your energy bills)

These are not eligible:

  • second homes
  • empty properties
  • households where the person living there is not responsible for the council tax

Up to 20 million households in England will be eligible, the government says.

How the money arrives

  • If you pay council tax by Direct Debit: you do not need to do anything. The £100 goes straight into your bank account.
  • If you pay another way: you will be invited to apply. The council says the process will be announced by the government and councils “in due course”.

The council says residents do not need to contact it at this stage.

The government’s notice carries a warning. Nobody other than your council should get in touch asking you to claim the payment. If a text, email or call says otherwise, check with the council before giving any details.

How Tunbridge Wells compares

The borough has more larger, higher-banded homes than most of Kent. Of the county’s 12 districts, only Sevenoaks (55.5%) and Tonbridge and Malling (63.8%) have a smaller share of homes in bands A to D. In Thanet it is 90.3%.

Horizontal bar chart of the share of homes in council tax bands A to D in each Kent district at 31 March 2026: Thanet 90.3%, Swale 84.5%, Dover 84.1%, Gravesham 82.0%, Folkestone and Hythe 81.1%, England 80.8%, Canterbury 79.7%, Dartford 76.0%, Ashford 71.1%, Maidstone 71.1%, Tunbridge Wells 64.7%, Tonbridge and Malling 63.8%, Sevenoaks 55.5%.
Share of homes in bands A to D, the bands that qualify for the £100 payment. Chart by T Wells Today.
Share this chartFacebookWhatsAppX
Homes by council tax band, Tunbridge Wells borough, 31 March 2026
BandHomes£100 payment?
A3,510Yes
B5,450Yes
C14,300Yes
D11,190Yes
E7,230No
F5,280No
G5,690No
H620No
All53,260 

The VOA rounds each count to the nearest 10. The counts are of properties, not households. Some band A to D homes will be second homes or empty, so the number of payments in the borough will be lower than 34,450.

That leaves 18,820 homes in bands E to H. Band G alone, with 5,690 homes, is bigger than band B.

If you are in band E or above

The government is giving councils an extra £100 million for “discretionary support” to households that are struggling but not in bands A to D. Each council will set its own rules for who gets it, and will publish them on its website once local arrangements are in place. (GOV.UK)

With more than a third of homes outside the main scheme, how Tunbridge Wells sets those rules will matter more here than in most places. The council has not yet said how its share will work.

If you receive means-tested benefits, you may also qualify for the separate £150 Warm Home Discount.

How it is paid for

The Budget says the payment, together with the extension of the VAT cut on electricity bills to 1 July 2027, is funded by raising the Bank Corporation Tax Surcharge from 3% to 6% for 15 months. (GOV.UK, Budget 2026: Breathing space for today, hope for the future)

What it means for you

  • Check your band on GOV.UK. Our Tunbridge Wells council tax bands page has what each band costs in every parish this year.
  • Paying by Direct Debit? Nothing to do. The money should arrive from January.
  • Paying by cash, card or standing order? Watch for the council’s application process.
  • In band E to H and struggling? Look out for the council’s discretionary scheme.
  • Be wary of anyone else asking you to “claim” the £100.

We will update this page when the council publishes its eligibility and application details.