Exempt dwellings
A dwelling is exempt from council tax if everyone who occupies it is:
1Reg 3 CT(ED)O•a student; or
•a student’s partner from abroad who entered the UK on a visa that prohibits her/him from working or claiming benefits. If the partner has the right to work but not to claim benefits (or vice versa), the High Court has ruled that s/he is covered by this exemption;
2Harrow LBC v Ayiku [2012] EWHC 1200 (Admin) or •under age 18; or
•under age 20 and left non-advanced education at school or college after 30 April – this only applies between 1 May and 31 October of the year they left school or college; or
•‘severely mentally impaired’.
An unoccupied dwelling is exempt for up to four months if it is the main residence of a student (and not of anyone else who is not a student) and it was last occupied by one or more students. This allows an exemption to continue, for example, on the student’s term-time accommodation through the summer vacation. Dwellings left unoccupied by a student owner are exempt indefinitely, provided the owner has been a student since s/he last occupied the dwelling or within six weeks of leaving it. Unoccupied dwellings that are substantially unfurnished are exempt for up to six months. If you are liable for council tax and anyone who is jointly liable with you is also a student, and the dwelling is no one’s main residence, the dwelling is exempt indefinitely.
If the dwelling is exempt, there is no council tax to pay.
There are a number of other exemptions that are not specifically for students. For details, see CPAG’s Council Tax Handbook.