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Council Tax
Council Tax

What is council tax and how do I become exempt?

Updated over a week ago

What is Council Tax?

Council tax is a fee collected by the each local council of the area your property is situated in. This tax is used to pay for services such as road management, traffic, street lighting, rubbish collection and welfare services. 

You can find full details on Council Tax on the UK Government’s Website.

Will I need to pay Council Tax?

If you are a full-time student in an educational institution such as a University, you are exempt from paying these council taxes.

If you arrive in London before you are registered as a student, or if you stay beyond the end date of your course, you may need to pay tax for that period.  

How to prove my Council Tax exemption?

If you are needed to prove your student status in order to become exempt from council tax, you can request a council tax exemption certification from your University.

Common websites to obtain these documents would be:

LSE I Kings College I UAL I UCL I SOAS 

What is the deadline?

You must submit your council tax exemption certificate within 2 weeks of arrival.

Where do I submit my Council Tax exemption certificate?

Each urbanest property has a different process for submission of council tax certificates due to local regulations.

There are three potential ways to gain exemption, and we will e-mail all students at the relevant time with instructions:

  1. Full exemption
    If you receive an e-mail advising that you have full exemption, the good news is you don't need to provide us or the council with a certificate from your University, as the University has a data sharing agreement with the local borough directly.

  2. Submit to urbanest
    If you receive an e-mail advising you should provide us with your exemption certificate, you should obtain the aforementioned document from your University and submit to us by the deadline provided. If you don't provide us with the certificate within the deadline, the council will charge urbanest, and then we will charge you for the full cost of the council tax.

  3. Submit directly to council
    If you receive an e-mail advising you must submit your document to the council directly, then we are unable to collate exemption certificates and as such you will need to submit your form directly to them. Unfortunately in this case, urbanest are unable to assist with any queries or exemption discounts, as the council will be liaising with you directly.

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