Apply for a student household Council Tax exemption

A home is exempt from Council Tax when it is lived in only by students, certain partners or dependants, or school leavers. The home can either be their permanent home or their term-time home.

If you are a new student and are moving to Richmond for the first time, you should apply for an exemption by telling us you are moving into the borough.

If you are not a student and a full-time student lives in your home, you should apply for a full-time student discount. 

Eligibility

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

Group 1 - Students under 20

Students are under 20 years old, and doing a course of further education such as:

• A Levels
• Ordinary National Certificate (ONC) or Ordinary National Diploma (OND) qualifications awarded by BTEC

Courses must:

• Be at least 3 months long
• Involve at least 12 hours instruction, tuition or supervised study per week
• Not be a correspondence course
• Not be taken as a consequence of their job
• Not be an evening class

Group 2 - Full-time students

Students are attending a university, polytechnic or college doing a full-time course.

The course must be at least one academic year long, or a calendar year if the establishment does not operate within the academic year. Study hours must be a minimum of 21 hours a week for 24 weeks of the academic year.

Group 3 - Foreign language assistants

Students are foreign language assistants who are:

• Registered with The Central Bureau of Educational Visits & Exchange, and
• Working as a foreign language assistant at a school or other educational institution in Great Britain

Partners and dependants

Certain partners or dependants of students are disregarded if they are not British Citizens, and cannot work for money or claim benefits by the terms of their entry into this country.

School leavers

To qualify for an exemption, school leavers must be under the age of 20 and have finished a qualifying or full-time course of education between 30 April and 1 November.

We will count them as school leavers until 1 November following the end of their course. If they reach the age of 20 before 1 November, we will count them as school leavers up until their birthday.

Exemption during vacations

A home will also be exempt when it is left empty during vacations as long as it is intended that only students, or their non-British dependants, or school leavers, will live in it next term.

A property will remain exempt if left empty during vacations, as long as the occupants will be returning to the property and continuing on the same course of education on their return. If a student finished a course, and starts a new course the following term, they will not be exempt from Council Tax liability for the interim period.

You must tell us about any changes that may affect the exemption. This could include when someone who is not a student moves in, or when someone ceases to be a student. 

What you need to apply

You will need your Council Tax account number. In addition, different evidence is required depending on what group the student is in.

One person can apply for the whole household, but they will need to provide evidence for every student.

Group 1 - Students under 20

You will need 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 or college

Group 2 - Full-time students

You will need a Council Tax certificate from your college or university confirming the conditions of the course. A university's registrar department should be able to provide the certificate.

Group 3 - Foreign language assistants

You will need a headed letter from the school or college confirming:

• The assistant’s name
• Name and address of school or college
• Appointment start and end dates

Apply

This form is for new applications only.

Do not complete this form if you:

• Are a new student who is moving to Richmond for the first time - you should apply by telling us you are moving into the borough
• Already receive this exemption - please reapply when you receive a review letter
• Want to tell us about a change to your circumstances

Start my application

Your personal information provided on this form will be used in accordance with our Personal Information Policy.

After you apply

When we receive your application, we will either reduce the bill or let you know why we have not been able to. If we need more information, we will contact you.

If you are given an exemption, it will automatically end when the course you are studying finishes.