A house in London (Westminster) lived in only by full-time students pays no council tax. At Westminster City Council's Band D charge of £1,048 a year, that exemption is worth about £87 a month — but only if you actually claim it.
| All-student household | Fully exempt |
| How to claim | Apply through the council's student discounts and exemptions page, uploading your certificate. |
| Evidence they want | A student certificate or written confirmation from the educational establishment, confirming the course studied, its start and end dates, and the number of hours of study required each week. |
| University sends your data directly | No — you must claim it yourself |
| Band D charge, 2026/27 | £1,048 |
'If everyone who lives in a property is a full time student the property is exempt from Council Tax.' Band D 2026/27 of £1,047.85 is the standard Westminster charge — £537.34 to Westminster plus the £510.51 Greater London Authority precept — read from the council's bands and charges page. Queen's Park and Montpelier Square carry their own additional precepts and pay more. This is the lowest Band D of any council on this site by a wide margin, which is a real feature of Westminster rather than an error.
Where a property is occupied by both students and non-students, a reduction of 25% may apply.
The councils nearest Westminster City 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 |
|---|---|---|
| London (Westminster) | Westminster City Council | £1,048 |
| Edinburgh | The City of Edinburgh Council | £1,626 |
| Dundee | Dundee City Council | £1,730 |
| London (Lambeth) | Lambeth Council | £2,047 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | Stoke-on-Trent City Council | £2,183 |
| Colchester | Colchester City Council | £2,241 |
| York | City of York Council | £2,270 |
| Leeds | Leeds City Council | £2,272 |
| Portsmouth | Portsmouth City Council | £2,292 |
| Hull | Hull City Council | £2,295 |
| Lincoln | City of Lincoln Council | £2,323 |
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 through the council's student discounts and exemptions page, uploading your certificate.
A student certificate or written confirmation from the educational establishment, confirming the course studied, its start and end dates, and the number of hours of study required each week.
Where a property is occupied by both students and non-students, a reduction of 25% may apply.
Checked 19 August 2026 against westminster.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.