UK Landlord Forum / Life

My lodger is a full time student. I work full time and live in the property so applied for 25% council tax discount. This was accepted and has been applied throughout the academic year. The legislation is clear that the full time student is not liable for council tax during the holidays between academic terms. My local council is insisting that whilst they (the student) are not liable, I do become liable as the live in landlord for the holiday times as they are only willing to accept the specific course dates on the certificate of registration which runs from the autumn academic term to the end of the summer term and thus I must pay 100% council tax during the summer recess period between end of summer term and start of the autumn term. This period of 4 months a year I will not have the exemption applied.

They have no information on their website to this effect or the contrary but I have referred them to another councils webpage that presents this exact situation as a scenario that affords exemption. They have simply replied saying that is wrong, they are right and they are reliant on the legislation and as far as they see it I am liable 100% until the autumn term begins at end of September as the students registration certificate doesn't expressly say the course runs for 52 weeks. They didn't try to make me pay during the Christmas or Easter breaks so seems a bit rich to do so now it's summer time.

Has anyone come across this before and successfully challenged it?

It's 4 months a year they will charge me the 100% rate and I am keen to avoid paying them if they are trying to pull a fast one.

It seems absurd that when a student is quite rightly 100% exempt during the holidays, I become liable as they aren't registered on the next academic year's courses until they begin their final full year late September this year.

Your council is applying a local standard. For my council, no exemption would be possible in the scenario you describe at all.

All councils are different in the way they impose council tax. When I was first a landlord the council did not charge any tax for voids,  then changed it to exemption for unfurnished only. There has been no exemption for any voids for many years, but the next door council where I also have some rentals allowed it for much longer. 

Someone I know just bought a place that had been empty for 3 years. The council are trying to charge him  retrospectively for the additional penalty for longterm vacant houses. He is challenging because many thousands are involved, but he is not hopeful. The amount you are talking about may not be worth the effort to be honest. Council tax officials are really tough people, and they especially hate landlords it seems to me.

Not "seems"... it's factual. I've seen it as part of the requirements for roles advertised in these Council teams... "Must have antipathy towards the Landlord population"... I think it's boilerplate, though, as it seems to pervade across to the team who you contact to supply new wheelie bins for properties too. A lot of the roles are advertised "internal-only" - there's no guarantee someone fresh will have this attitude ready-to-go.

It is also acceptable for candidates to "bear a grudge" against one specific Landlord, thus encompassing all Landlords.

Anyway, I reckon the answer is that the end of year holiday could be end of studentdom, therefore it's actually quite a reasonable position to take - otherwise when would being a student end? I think it has to end at the end of a final term / semester / whatever in a year. There's no guarantee that the student will still be a student in the following year. The same can't easily be said of the holidays over the Christmas period.

This is governed by the Council Tax Discount Order 1992.

In particular Schedule I Part 9 covers it nicely. Imo your council is applying the regulations incorrectly. Quote them the regs and make a formal complaint. It'll get kicked up a notch to a decent decision maker.

9.  In this Schedule, the relevant period for a course or programme means the period beginning with the day on which a person begins that course or programme and ending with the day ("the last day") on which he completes it, abandons it or is dismissed from it (which period includes any periods of vacation between terms and before the last day).

Interestingly, I checked with my local council because their web site didn't mention this at all (and I was on the phone to them about something else) and they confirmed that a) I was wrong in my post above and the discount would be available, and b) they supported @Jon66's point that this was a full time, not term time regulation.

The person I was talking to pointed out that their computer system didn't work like that and the amount of admin needed to keep changing the records (which would send out a new statement) would be quite a lot.

Is there something odd about your student's course or circumstances? It does seem a bizarre thing for the council to do (now I understand how it works properly).

Quote from: jpkeates on June 06, 2024, 07:45:44 AMInterestingly, I checked with my local council because their web site didn't mention this at all (and I was on the phone to them about something else) and they confirmed that a) I was wrong in my post above and the discount would be available, and b) they supported @Jon66's point that this was a full time, not term time regulation.

The person I was talking to pointed out that their computer system didn't work like that and the amount of admin needed to keep changing the records (which would send out a new statement) would be quite a lot.

Is there something odd about your student's course or circumstances? It does seem a bizarre thing for the council to do (now I understand how it works properly).

Nothing unusual, three year undergraduate degree, finished the second year end of May, go back for final year commencing late September. Council remain adamant they aren't officially registered once the summer term ends until they start back and get a certificate off the uni's academic registrar office  confirming the final year registration. Thankyou for your advice I think I will initiate a formal complaint to get it resolved as I just keep getting the same unhelpful ' our position remains that you are liable' type emails from the council drones.

Quote from: Jon66 on June 05, 2024, 11:25:17 PMThis is governed by the Council Tax Discount Order 1992.

In particular Schedule I Part 9 covers it nicely. Imo your council is applying the regulations incorrectly. Quote them the regs and make a formal complaint. It'll get kicked up a notch to a decent decision maker.

9.  In this Schedule, the relevant period for a course or programme means the period beginning with the day on which a person begins that course or programme and ending with the day ("the last day") on which he completes it, abandons it or is dismissed from it (which period includes any periods of vacation between terms and before the last day).

Thankyou, will be quoting this to them on Monday.