Postgraduate students

In the past, some postgraduate research students had difficulty securing council tax exemption because local authorities considered that their periods of ’study, tuition or work experience’ did not meet the requirements of the regulations and that, in particular, research did not count as ’study’. This has been successfully challenged in an appeal in Kent1Kent Valuation Tribunal appeal 2220M23702/148C/1 and in a High Court case involving Cambridge City Council.2Feller v Cambridge City Council [2011] EWHC 1252 (Admin) The council tax regulations were amended in 2011 so that the requirement is to ’undertake’ the course for the prescribed periods as opposed to ’attend’ it, as was previously required. This should make it easier for postgraduate students to show they meet the requirements for exemption.

Other postgraduate students have had difficulty in securing exemption during the thesis ’writing-up’ period after the formal end of the course. While some local authorities are sympathetic and extend student status after the end of the course, others have regarded such students as liable as they are no longer ’within the period of their course’. A High Court ruling in 2008 in the case of Fayad v Lewisham has served to harden some local authorities’ views (although in that case, the student was trying to claim exemption for a writing-up period lasting more than two years).3Fayad v Lewisham [2008] EWHC 2531 (Admin) The case has been used by some local authorities to suggest that PhD students are ineligible for exemption even during the formal period of the course, but this should be challenged as the ruling related only to a writing-up period.

If this affects you, get advice from your students’ union or institution’s advice centre. In particular, check the dates of the course given by the institution and be prepared to challenge this if necessary.

Note: if you have completed an undergraduate course and intend to start a postgraduate course in the following academic year, you are not a student as you are not within the period of either course. Depending on your circumstances, however, you may be able to claim council tax reduction (see here) or a discount on the bill (see here).