Apply for a Council Tax exemption for a property left empty by students

A home is exempt from Council Tax when it is unoccupied and:

• the owners are students (or will be students within six weeks of leaving the home) and are living somewhere else because of their studies, and
• it was last lived in only by one or more students as their main home.

In this case, the ‘owner’ includes people who have a freehold or leasehold interest lasting at least six months.

About the exemption

To qualify for an exemption, students must be in one of the following groups:

Group 1

• students are under 20 years old, and
• doing a course of further education such as ‘A’ level, ONC or OND standard which is at least 3 months long, and
• involves at least 12 hours instruction, tuition, and/or supervised study per week
• is not a correspondence course
• is not taken as a consequence of their job
• is not an evening class

Group 2

• Students are attending a university, polytechnic or college doing a full-time course which is at least one academic year long (or calendar year if the establishment does not operate within the academic year).

Group 3

• students are registered with the Central Bureau for Education Visits and Exchanges, and
• working as a foreign language assistant at a school or other Educational Institution in Great Britain.

The property will be exempt as long as the circumstances remain the same.

You must tell us about any changes that may affect the exemption, for example if someone who is not a student moves into the property.

You will need

• Your Council Tax account number
• For students under 20 (Group 1) - a certificate from the student’s college confirming:
  • The student’s name
  • Date of birth
  • Course name
  • Course start and end dates
  • Name and address of school/college
• For full-time students (Group 3) – a certificate confirming the conditions
• For foreign language assistants (Group 3) - a headed letter from the school/college confirming:
  • The assistant’s name
  • Name and address of school/college
  • Appointment start and end dates

Before you start

This form is for new applications only.

Do not complete this form if you:

• Already receive this discount - please reapply when you receive a review letter
• Want to tell us about a change to your circumstances

Your personal information provided on this form will be used in accordance with the Council’s Personal Information Policy.

What happens next

We will either reduce the bill or let you know why we have not been able to do so.

If we need more information we will contact you.

Start my application

Medium - This form usually takes a few minutes to complete