A house in London (Hillingdon) 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 the student discount through the council's discounts and exemptions pages. |
| Evidence they want | A student certificate for each person, issued by the certification officer at their college or university, showing the hours studied each week, the course start and end dates, the student's full name, the name and address of the institution, and the institution's official stamp. |
| University sends your data directly | No — you must claim it yourself |
'A property that is occupied by 1 or more residents, all of whom are students, is exempt from council tax.' The disregard continues through vacations between terms, which is the detail students most often get wrong. Hillingdon is unusually specific about the certificate, down to requiring the institution's official stamp. It also warns that failing to report a change of circumstances may result in a penalty. Band D is null because the council's charges pages returned 404 on every path tried.
The disregard holds for as long as fewer than two adults in the property are not disregarded.
The councils nearest London Borough of Hillingdon 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 the student discount through the council's discounts and exemptions pages.
A student certificate for each person, issued by the certification officer at their college or university, showing the hours studied each week, the course start and end dates, the student's full name, the name and address of the institution, and the institution's official stamp.
The disregard holds for as long as fewer than two adults in the property are not disregarded.
Checked 19 August 2026 against pre.hillingdon.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.