Students

For council tax purposes to qualify as a full time student, you must

• Attend a recognised higher education establishment for at least 24 weeks per academic year and

• Study for at least 21 hours per week 

Student Exemption If your property is only lived in by full time students, you will be exempt from council tax until the course of study ends for one or more of the students living there.

Student Discount  If some but not all the people living in the property are full time students, you may be able to claim a disregards discount.  

To claim the exemption/discount please click here.  A student certificate will be required for each person living in the property.  The certificate can usually be obtained from your university or college registrar. It should confirm your full name, the start and end dates of your course, and give details of your hours of study.  

Other people who may qualify for student discount or exemption:

• Foreign language students
• People under 20 years studying a full time course of further education eg A levels ONC or OND.  A letter from the school or college confirming the students date of birth, the type or course they are studying, and the start and end dates of the course.
• A non-British spouse or dependant living with a full time student.   A student certificate for the student and a copy of the dependants visa that shows they are unable to work in the UK or claim benefits.

You will not qualify as a student if you are taking evening classes, or related training home study courses, distance learning courses or Open University courses.

Please note that letters of acceptance onto a course will not be sufficient to claim the reduction.