A house in Chester lived in only by full-time students pays no council tax — but the exemption is not automatic, and it is not backdated indefinitely if you never claim it.
| All-student household | Fully exempt |
| How to claim | Apply for a student discount through the council's discounts and exemptions pages. Students in halls of residence do not need to claim at all. |
| Evidence they want | A student certificate. |
| University sends your data directly | No — you must claim it yourself |
Full-time means at least 21 hours a week over at least 24 weeks a year. Open University students, 12-month master's students, and foreign students on a full-time UK course but living and studying elsewhere in the EU all qualify. A non-British spouse or dependant whose visa bars paid employment or claiming benefits is also exempt. The council states plainly that halls are exempt and need no claim. Band D is null because the council's charges page returned 404 and its bands page publishes no readable figure.
Two residents with one student is a 25% reduction; three residents with one student is no discount at all; all residents full-time students is an exemption.
The councils nearest Cheshire West and Chester Council on the Band D charge — what the exemption is worth where you might have gone instead. The full table has every one.
| City | Council | Band D |
|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | Liverpool City Council | £2,674 |
| Oxford | Oxford City Council | £2,676 |
| Bristol | Bristol City Council | £2,714 |
| Nottingham | Nottingham City Council | £2,755 |
| Aberdeen | Aberdeen City Council | — |
| Belfast | Belfast City Council | — |
| Chester | Cheshire West and Chester Council | — |
| London (Greenwich) | Royal Borough of Greenwich | — |
| London (Hillingdon) | London Borough of Hillingdon | — |
| London (Islington) | Islington Council | — |
| London (Tower Hamlets) | Tower Hamlets Council | — |
No, not if every adult in the property is a full-time student — the household is exempt. The exemption has to be claimed; it does not apply itself just because you are a student.
Apply for a student discount through the council's discounts and exemptions pages. Students in halls of residence do not need to claim at all.
A student certificate.
Two residents with one student is a 25% reduction; three residents with one student is no discount at all; all residents full-time students is an exemption.
Checked 19 August 2026 against cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk. Councils change their forms and evidence rules; the council's own page is the authority when you claim.
Processes checked 19 August 2026 against each council's own pages. This is information, not advice, and the council's page is the authority when you claim.