Student council tax discounts and exemptions

If you're a full-time student living in a property in York, you can apply online for student discount or exemption.

Student exemption start date

In most cases, we offer students a council tax exemption from their tenancy start date, which may differ from the actual 'move in' date or course start date.

To claim a student exemption from your tenancy start date, use your tenancy start date as your 'move in' date and your course start date.

Please note:

the property must only be occupied by qualifying students

Note: You can use your actual 'move in' date and course start dates if you don't wish to maximise your exemption. We'll issue you with a bill for this period before your course begins.

apply online for student discount or exemption

To complete this form you'll need the:

property address including postcode
landlord/letting agent name and phone number/email address
landlord/letting agent contact address
name, date of birth and phone/email address for all occupants of the property
name of educational establishment for each student occupant
course title, start date and end date for each student occupant
unique student ID provided by your college or university for each student occupant ('student matriculation number')
tenancy start date for each occupant
previous address for each occupant, if in the York area

Instead, you can download a student council tax exemption and discount application form and return it to our Council Tax Team.

Processing your student exemption application

We begin the student council tax discount and exemption process as soon as we receive your application.

Please note:

for a property to be fully exempt, each student in the house must be registered for council tax and apply for student exemption
we cannot take details of a 'move in' to your new property more than 14 days in advance
our online and paper forms allow space for all occupants at the property, so separate forms are not needed
we prefer one application per property - information arriving separately can complicate and slow down the process
you must inform us of a change of circumstances if you've applied for, or are receiving a student discount or exemption

Confirmation of student status

The way we confirm your student status depends on where you study.

Studying in York

The following institutions supply us with a list of enrolled students in November:

They provide details of students and their course start and end date. Applications for student discount are checked against these lists to confirm eligibility for council tax student discount.

We'll let you know if we need any further information.

For eligible properties, discount is applied until the course end date.

At the end of this period a new council tax bill will be issued.

If you are staying in the property beyond the course end date you will need to provide further details to extend the student discount beyond this date.

If you have received a bill following the end of your course we may be able to extend the exemption until your tenancy ends at the property if:

you were previously receiving a full student exemption
there is a short gap between your course end date and tenancy end date

To request this please contact us confirming:

your name
your address and payment reference number
your tenancy end date

Student not appearing on our student lists

If your name doesn't appear on our student lists, we'll issue an adjustment notice advising that a charge is due.

If you're not included on the student lists, you'll need to prove your student status by supplying a copy of your student exemption certificate.

Exemption certificates are available from your academic registrar, or via your e:Vision account if studying at University of York or York St John University:

Studying outside York

You can still apply online for student discount or exemption if you're a full-time student living in York, but studying at a college or university outside York.

You must also provide a student exemption certificate (available from your place of study) for us to process your application.

Return this to our Council Tax Team, ensuring you include your address or council tax payment reference number.

Properties occupied by both students and non-students

If a property is occupied only by full-time students, we can apply a full exemption.

Properties occupied by a mix of students and non-students may still be eligible for a discount, depending on circumstances.

Please note:

we're not able to apply any student discount until November (when we receive our student lists)
you must keep paying your Council Tax bill as normal until we apply any discount
failure to pay your Council Tax bill will result in recovery action
you can speed up the process by sending us a copy of your student exemption certificate after completing your online application