Council Tax

Council tax is a form of local taxation that helps pay for local services, such as bin collection, care for the elderly and the police and fire services. It is a charge on residential property and is set and collected by local councils.

The local authority responsible for council tax in Loughborough is Charnwood Borough Council.  You can find your local council by entering your post-code on gov.uk.

Do I have to pay council tax?

There is no automatic exemption for students, but most full-time students do not have to pay council tax because they live in properties which are exempted such as:

    • Halls of residence
    • Property occupied only by students
    • Property occupied only by students and their spouses and/or dependants (providing the non-student spouse or dependant is not a British citizen and is prevented by their visa conditions from taking paid employment OR claiming benefits).  

If a student shares accommodation with non-students, there will be a council tax bill, but in most cases either the landlord or the non-students will be liable to pay.  There are, however, certain circumstances where students are liable for council tax. 

You may have to pay if you:

    • own or rent a house and you let or sub-let a room to someone who is not a student.
    • are between courses (e.g. in the summer between undergraduate and postgraduate study).
    • live in off-campus accommodation before your course starts or after your course has finished.
    • are a pre-sessional student living off-campus, even if you are moving onto your main course at the end of the pre-sessional course.

What to do next?

For more information see the relevant tile below.

Bachelor’s and Master’s students

This includes guidance for Master’s students at our Loughborough London campus.

PhD Students

This includes guidance for students at our London campus

Pre-sessional Students

This is guidance specific for students studying on a pre-sessional English language course

Frequently Asked Questions

A student is a person undertaking a ‘full time course of education’, which is defined for council tax purposes as:

  • a course lasting for at least one academic year, and
  • where the periods of study, tuition or work experience last for:
    • at least 24 weeks per year and
    • amount to an average of at least 21 hours per week.

All full-time undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes at Loughborough University fulfil these criteria, so any student on a full-time Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD programme is considered a ‘student’ for council tax purposes.

The University’s pre-sessional English language courses are not full-time courses of education for council tax purposes as they do not last for an academic year.  If you are a student on a pre-sessional course, you are not considered to be a ‘student’ for council tax purposes. 

If you are registered on a programme that the University calls part-time, you are unlikely to be considered a ‘student’ for council tax purposes.

You may have to pay council tax if you live in off-campus accommodation before your course starts or after your course has finished, regardless of whether you hold student visa permission at that time.

Generally, no. If you are a ‘student’ for council tax purposes and you are working on a placement as part of your course you will retain your student status. In most cases you will not have to pay council tax. 

If you take a leave of absence from your course, you retain student status for council tax purposes.  In most cases this means you will not have to pay council tax.

If you withdraw or are dismissed from your course, your status as a ‘student’ for council tax purposes comes to an end.  In most cases this means council tax will be payable where you live, and depending on the circumstances you may be liable for the bill.

External Resources

Charnwood Borough Council – Council Tax Page

Last Updated: 15th March 2023