COUNCIL TAXStudent Advice and Representation Centre

student advice &representation centre

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What you need to know...

This leaflet is intended to give a brief overview of how the Council Tax affects students, explaining the circumstances in which Council Tax is payable and how students can be liable. If you have any problems or require further information, please contact the Student Advice & Representation Centre.

Do students have to pay Council Tax?Council Tax is payable on every domestic dwelling unless it is exempt, and is payable to local councils. Some students will be liable to pay Council Tax (see below), but most students will not have to pay. The principle reason for this is that most students live in dwellings which are exempt from Council Tax.

Dwellings which are exempt from Council Tax include:

• University-owned halls of residence (however, please note self-contained flats for tutors, for example, are classed as separate dwellings).• Accommodation in which all the occupiers are full-time students or ‘relevant persons’ (see page 4); these dwellings will not be exempt if one (or more) of the occupiers ceases to be a full-time student or relevant person.

Who counts as a full-time student?Registered Undergraduate and Postgraduate students on courses classed as full-time by the University will count as students. Students studying for the full-time Diploma in Nursing or Midwifery also count as students.

If you are taking time out of a full-time course and intending to return, you should still be regarded as a student during the period you are intercalating. You should get a letter from your School confirming what course you are on, that you are taking time out of your course and that you intend to return to it.

If you are between courses e.g. an undergraduate degree and postgraduate course, you will not be classed as a student for the period in between courses.

If you are completing your PhD and are in your thesis-pending period, you should seek advice as you may be liable for Council Tax.

Academic visitors/scholars are not counted as students. �

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What if I live with a non-student?If a full-time student lives in the same dwelling as someone who is 18 or over and who is not a full-time student or relevant person it is almost certain the dwelling will attract the Council Tax. However, full-time students are not jointly and severally liable for the Council Tax if someone who is not a full-time student (including their spouse/partner) is attracting the Council Tax to the property, and they have equal status in the house with the full-time student (i.e. a joint tenant). If you share with non-students, seek advice about your position.

Who is liable to pay Council Tax?The liable person(s) will be either:• one or more of the occupiers of the dwelling; or• someone who lives elsewhere e.g. your landlord.

How does The Council find out that I am a student?Once the registration process has been completed at the end of October (and again in February), the University provides a list of all registered full-time students to six of the local councils in the Nottingham area (Nottingham City, Broxtowe Borough, Rushcliffe Borough, Gedling Borough, North West Leicestershire District, Erewash Borough). If you live in one of these areas, your name should automatically appear on the list and your council should accept this as confirmation that you are a student for Council Tax purposes. If your council asks for a council tax certificate, you should contact them and tell them you are a full-time student at the University and tell them your name should be on the list (Nottingham City Council: 0115 915 4851; Broxtowe: 0115 917 7777; Rushcliffe 0115 981 9911; Gedling 0115 901 3950; North West Leicestershire 01530 454499; Erewash 0115 907 2244).

If you do not live in one of the six areas above and your council require you to provide a certificate confirming your student status, you should contact Student Services, Portland Building, University Park, Nottingham (Email: ssc@nottingham.ac.uk or Tel: 0115 95 13710).

Who counts as a ‘relevant person’? A ‘student’ (see above) is a relevant person. In addition, a ‘relevant person’ is a student’s spouse or dependant who is not a British citizen and who is prevented, by the terms of his/her leave to enter or remain in the UK, from working or from claiming benefits. This means that dwellings occupied only by an international student and his/her spouse and family should be exempt.

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When is the landlord liable for Council Tax?Where a dwelling is in ‘multiple occupation’, the leaseholder or if there is no leaseholder of the whole building, the freeholder will be the liable person for council tax purposes. This would usually be the landlord. A dwelling is in multiple occupation if:-

• it was originally built, or subsequently adapted, for occupants who do not form a single household; or• each occupant has the right to occupy only part of the dwelling; or• no occupant is liable for paying rent on the whole dwelling.

Many of these dwellings will be exempt from Council Tax (where all the occupiers are students), but where one or more of the occupiers of a dwelling in multiple occupation is not a student, the dwelling is a chargeable dwelling, and it is usually the landlord who is liable for Council Tax.

Liability for the Council TaxThe liable person(s) is the resident(s) of the dwelling with the highest legal interest in the dwelling. This is the ‘hierarchy of liability’ and in practice it means that a resident owner would be the liable person. But if there was no resident owner, a resident with a superior lease or tenancy would be the liable person, and if there were no tenants, a resident licensee would be the liable person.

Rent increasesSome landlords charge higher rents to cover their liability for Council Tax. Whether or not they can do this will depend upon the status of the tenants and the terms of the tenancy agreement.

How much is the Council Tax?The amount of Council Tax charged by the local council depends upon the following:

• the value of the dwelling compared to other dwellings in the area; • whether a discount is available (see below); • whether the liable person can claim Council Tax Benefit; • whether any other reductions apply e.g. because the dwelling is occupied by a person who is ‘substantially or permanently disabled’.

When does a Council Tax discount apply?Discounts are one of the means by which a Council Tax bill can be reduced. A discount of 25% applies if there is only one person resident in a chargeable dwelling. When working out the number of residents in a dwelling certain people are disregarded including full-time students, and people under the age of 18. So, if a group of 5 students share a dwelling with a non-student, the 5 students are disregarded leaving only one ‘visible’ resident. A 25% discount on the Council Tax bill would apply, which would leave the liable person(s) (see opposite) to pay the remaining 75%.

For more advice and information about the Council Tax, please contact the Student Advice & Representation Centre. Tel: 0115 84 68730 Email: student-advice-centre@nottingham.ac.uk

Student Advice and Representation CentreB Floor, Portland Building, University Park Nottingham, NG7 2RD

Tel: 0115 846 8730 Internal: 68730

Email: student-advice-centre@nottingham.ac.ukwww.su.nottingham.ac.uk/advicesupport/

All SARC leaflets are available in alternative formats. Please ask a member of staff if you require this leaflet in an alternative format.

student advice &representation centre