Student and Council Tax

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After a little advice.

I work full time but also doing a full time degree with Open Uni. I am doing 120 credits, however one module started in October and finishes June, the other starts Jan and finishes in September.

Both modules equate to 20 hours study a week (though the reality is much more, especially when assignments are due.

My LA have stated I can only get the exemption for Jan to June.

Just wondering how things work in a brick university, where modules start on different dates as well.

CIS

With a brick uni people are signing up for a whole course usually so it's the course that brings the reduction, not the modules. The OU has always been an area for argument over the primarily modular system and the flexibility.

On the face of it I would say the LA is correct on that one for the hours - they've given the reduction for the period where the hours exceed the minimum required without much argument. OU courses are something which have not been massively challenged to the valuation tribunals so it can be difficult to construct an argument some times against the periods the local authority have used - I've dealt with a few OU cases over the last year but none of them have been quite like this.

For the hours it's the number of hours the course normally requires that have to be taken in to account - "are normally required by the educational establishment concerned to undertake periods of study, tuition or work experience" .... "which taken together amount in each such academic or calendar year to an average of at least 21 hours a week"