You are a student for council tax purposes if you are:
- On a university or college course which lasts for at least one
academic year and it lasts at least 24 weeks a year and involves at
least 21 hours of study a week during term time: or
- Under 20 years of age, studying for more than 3 months and at
least 12 hours a week for a qualification up to A level, ONC or
OND. However if you leave after 1st May, we will not count you
until the following 1st November; or
- A student nurse on a university course or Project 2000 course;
or
- A foreign language assistant registered with the Central Bureau
for Educational Visits and Exchanges; or
- 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.
NB: Correspondence courses, evening courses or classes do not
count .
Below are the answers to some of the most frequently asked
questions. If you have questions not answered below please
email us or contact us with any questions. Find out:
Some homes are exempt from council tax. This means council tax
is not payable while the exemption lasts. Your home will be exempt
if:
- All occupants are students. You must claim this exemption
because it is not automatic. To apply for this exemption we need
certain information. For most students we will need to
see the Student Certificate* for every individual student resident
in the property, however Bath Spa University or University of
Bath students can just contact us and we can validate an
individual's status.
- Your home will also be exempt if you own your own home and have
left it empty to live elsewhere. – To get this exemption you must
be a student, or become a student within six weeks of leaving your
home. This must have been you only or main home and no-one else
except students were living there when you left it. You must claim
this exemption – it is not automatic. To get a form to claim this
exemption please use the link at the end of this e-mail.
- You live in university accommodation you need to do nothing –
it is the responsibility of the university to inform us that only
students live in this accommodation.
* The Student Certificate may be obtained from the student
administrator at the university or college and would confirm the
full-time status and duration of the course. Letters of acceptance
onto a course will not be sufficient to claim the exemption.
Exemption will only be allowed once we have seen the official
Student Certificate(s).
A full council tax bill assumes there are two or more adults,
that is people 18 or over, living in a property as their main
home.
- If you live in the parental home your parents should be liable
for council tax and you need do nothing. However if you live with
only one parent, and no other adults live there, you should inform
us and we will reduce your parent’s council tax liability by 25%.
To get a form to claim this exemption please use the link at the
end of this e-mail.
- If you live with a non student and you are the only two adults
in the property we will reduce the liability by 25%. However if you
live with more than one adult non-student we will not reduce the
liability.
You should note that responsibility for the council tax lies
with the liable person. If you are the named tenant on the lease,
then you are the liable person. This includes joint tenancies so
despite being a student you will be legally liable for the council
tax. When you move into a property check the situation with the
other tenants and clarify who is responsible for paying council
tax.
If you are late making your application for an exemption or
discount we will only consider backdating for more than a short
time if there is a very good reason why your application is late.
You will have to supply us with the relevant information to support
your backdating request.
If you leave your course you will be counted for council tax in
the normal way. You need to be aware of this if you live in a
property with other students as you will be charged council tax and
it will affect them too.
If you have a student exemption or discount you must tell us
within 21 days of any change in your circumstances that would
affect it, such as leaving your course. Failure to let us know may
lead to a penalty.
A spouse or dependent of a full-time student is not counted as a
resident for Council Tax purposes where the spouse or dependent is
not a British Citizen and is prevented by immigration regulations
from taking paid employment or from claiming benefit. The
non-British spouse, or dependent, would be classed for Council Tax
purposes as if they were also a full-time student. Consequently
where a property is only occupied by a full-time student and their
non-British spouse, or dependent, exemption would be granted
against the Council Tax liability.
To apply for this exemption we will need to see the Student
Certificate as explained. For the non-British Spouse or dependent
we will need to see verification of their immigration status.
Exemption will only be granted once we have seen both the
Student certificate and the proof of immigration status.
If you would like a Council Tax Student Exemption Form
please email us.
Who is liable for Council Tax on a student property between
tenancies?
If a furnished property is left empty between tenancies, then
the property owner (or landlord) is responsible for 90% of the
charge for that period. This charge is not levied if there is
continuity of tenants (i.e. the people living there go away for a
couple of months during the summer period and all
return).
