A house in Stoke-on-Trent lived in only by full-time students pays no council tax. At Stoke-on-Trent City Council's Band D charge of £2,183 a year, that exemption is worth about £182 a month — but only if you actually claim it.
| All-student household | Fully exempt |
| How to claim | Complete the online student application form linked from the discounts and exemptions page (MyStoke self-service). |
| Evidence they want | Names, dates of birth, college/university, course name and start/end dates for every student, plus 'a copy of a student certificate from the institution confirming these details'. |
| University sends your data directly | No — you must claim it yourself |
| Band D charge, 2026/27 | £2,183 |
The page is explicit: 'if everyone living in the property is a student, there is a 100 per cent exemption'. Empty property previously occupied by a student and still owned by them is also exempt. Caveat on the money figure: the council's live charges table at https://www.stoke.gov.uk/info/20002/council_tax/16/council_tax_bands_and_charges is headed only 'Our council tax charges' with no year label — £2,183.12 is the Band D charge shown on that page as at 18 August 2026, and the page's related links point to 'About your 2026/27 Council Tax bill', but the year is not stated on the table itself. No Staffordshire University or Keele data feed mentioned.
Qualifying study is 21+ hours a week in term time (12+ hours for 18-19 year olds in further education), so part-time courses below that do not count.
The councils nearest Stoke-on-Trent 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.
Complete the online student application form linked from the discounts and exemptions page (MyStoke self-service).
Names, dates of birth, college/university, course name and start/end dates for every student, plus 'a copy of a student certificate from the institution confirming these details'.
Qualifying study is 21+ hours a week in term time (12+ hours for 18-19 year olds in further education), so part-time courses below that do not count.
Checked 18 August 2026 against stoke.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.