Students

Are you a student for council tax purposes?

You are a student if you are:

• attending a university or college course which lasts at least one academic year, takes at least 24 weeks a year and involves at least 21 hours of study a week when in attendance
• under 20 years of age, studying for more than three months and at least 12 hours a week for a qualification up to A Level (if you leave after 1 May, we will not count you until the following 1 November)
• a student nurse on a university course
• a foreign language assistant registered with the Central Bureau for Educational Visits and Exchanges
• a non-British spouse or dependant of a student and you are prevented by the terms of  UK entry from taking paid employment or from claiming benefits

Correspondence courses, evening courses or classes do not count.

Some homes are exempt from council tax. This means council tax is not payable while the exemption lasts.

Your home will be exempt if you are a student and you:

• live alone or with other full-time students - your home must only be occupied by full-time students
• own your home and have left it to live elsewhere - you must be or become a student within six weeks of leaving your home. This must have been your only or main home and no-one else except yourself or full-time students were living there when you left it
• live in halls of residence - if you live in university accommodation you do not need to do anything. It is the responsibility of the university to inform us that only students live in this accommodation.

Leaving your course early

If you leave your course, you will be counted for council tax in the normal way. Be aware of this if you live in a property with other full-time students as you will be charged council tax. If in doubt please contact us.

Once you course has ended

If you are receiving an exemption or discount which is no longer applicable, please tell us straight away.

Student discounts

A full council tax bill assumes there are two or more adults (people aged 18 or over) living in a property as their main home.

You are considered a full time student for council tax purposes:

• If you live in your parent’s home - your parents will probably be liable for the council tax and you do not need to do anything. However if you live with only one parent (and no other adults live there, you should tell us and we will reduce the council tax by 25%.
• If you live with a non-student - if you are the only two adults there, we will reduce the bill by 25%. However, if you live with more than one non-student adult, we will not reduce the bill, but your name should not appear on the bill.

Applying for a student exemption or discount

Exemptions and discounts are not given automatically

If you receive a demand and think you qualify for an exemption or discount, please contact us. To confirm your student status we may ask you to provide a certificate from the student records office at your college or university.

What if I don’t agree with your decision?

If we don’t give you a student discount or exemption and you think we should have, you can appeal.