Student discount and exemptions

When considering the number of adults living in the property, we do not include full time students and student nurses, including non-British students and their spouses who are prevented from taking employment or have no recourse to public funds.

Your Council Tax bill will assume that there are two or more adults aged 18 or over living in your home, unless you tell us differently.

To apply for a student discount please upload a student certificate or written confirmation from the educational establishment. This should confirm the course being studied, the start and end date of the course, and the number of hours of study required per week.

If everyone who lives in a property is a full time student the property is exempt from Council Tax. 

If the property is occupied by both students and non-students, then a reduction of 25% may apply. 

You will usually be considered a full-time student if: 

• you are enrolled to undertake a full-time course of education at a college, university or other institutional establishment providing courses of further higher education for at least one academic or calendar year 
• your attendance is required for at least 24 weeks in the year 
• study for at least 21 hours per week during term time 

Or:

• if you are under 20 years of age under taking a qualifying course of education up to (but not above) A-level standard or equivalent 
• it must be more than three months and undertaken for at least 12 hours per week

If you no longer qualify for a student discount or exemption

You must tell us within 21 days if you believe that you are no longer entitled to the discount or exemption.

If we find out later that you were not entitled to all or part of the reduction that you were awarded, we will send you a revised backdated Council Tax bill.