Council Tax for Student Accommodation

rtj090352

I am the owner of a student pod and have a concern about liability for council tax. My understanding is that a pod must be self contained including  areas for living, sleeping, bathing / washing, kitchen to be liable for council tax. However where a a pod shares a kitchen with 5 other pods, is this treated as non self contained?  Should this still attract council tax payments whilst vacant? 
This is not an on campus facility and the condition of construction was that it shall only be let to students. Hence there is a natural break in the cycle each year where the property is vacant. But the local authority refuse to allow us to let it to non students, hence heads they win , tales I lose.

CIS

It sounds like you're confusing council tax banding and discounts/exemptions, these are two different issues.

For banding there are 2 different tests that must be looked at - S3 LGFA 1992 and Article 3 of the Chargeable Dwellings Order.

S3, the first test, looks at whether or not it forms a dwelling - it the occupancy of the part Beneficial, Exclusive, Actual and Non-Too Transient. If it meets all these points it can be banded as a dwelling in it's own right.

If the test under s3 does not create a banding then the test moves to Article 3 (the 'self-contained dwelling').

Article 3 looks at whether it is capable of being occupied as self-contained. Self-contained does not have to be entirely self-contained. A bathroom or kitchenette alone can be sufficient form it and some shared facilities can still be self-contained.

Any dwelling that is banded whether each room is. or the property as a whole, applies the same discount/exemption rules as per any other property. So whether you look at the house as 1 dwelling or 5 dwellings, the same rules apply.

A dwelling is only exempt due to students when it falls under Class N - that is, the property is being used as term time accommodation, or is the residence of, full time students only. Once this situation ceases, such as between tenants, then the normal council tax rules apply on t being an unoccupied property.

There is a Class M exemption which covers all year round but this is aimed at halls of residence etc and gets quite technical. In nearly 20 years of working in council tax I've never had to actually deal with it, and that was working in a city with 2 large universities.

a dwelling comprising a hall of residence provided predominantly for the accommodation of students which is either--
		(a) owned or managed by an institution within the meaning of paragraph 5 of Schedule 1 to the Act [or by a body established for charitable purposes only; or
		[(b) the subject of an agreement allowing such an institution to nominate the majority of the persons who are to occupy the accommodation so provided;