student doing a Year in Industry Work Placement as part of degree - still counted as a student?

NormalforNorfolk

My son is doing a degree at university which includes the option of a 12 month year in industry work placement between the 2nd and 3rd year of the degree.  Fortunately he has just managed to secure an industry placement which starts in mid-August so we are now trying to find him accommodation near the placement.    The placement is located very near to a different university.  When enquiring  to a house share which has been advertised, the landlord says they can’t take someone on a Year in Industry placement because the whole house must be inhabited by full time students to qualify for Council Tax exemption.  Is this the case as I thought I’d read somewhere previously (but annoyingly can’t remember where!) that a Year in Industry Student is still considered a full time student? 

marcia_

NormalforNorfolk said:

My son is doing a degree at university which includes the option of a 12 month year in industry work placement between the 2nd and 3rd year of the degree.  Fortunately he has just managed to secure an industry placement which starts in mid-August so we are now trying to find him accommodation near the placement.    The placement is located very near to a different university.  When enquiring  to a house share which has been advertised, the landlord says they can’t take someone on a Year in Industry placement because the whole house must be inhabited by full time students to qualify for Council Tax exemption.  Is this the case as I thought I’d read somewhere previously (but annoyingly can’t remember where!) that a Year in Industry Student is still considered a full time student? 

 Yes he's still enrolled on his course so he is still a student. Ask the uni for a council tax exemption form which proves his student status 

NormalforNorfolk

Thanks very much -  I’ve emailed my son’s university to enquire about this and await their response.  I have messaged the landlord to flag this to them and they have advised they were unaware of it but have now followed up with their local council tax department who say the exemption only applies if gross weekly earnings during the placement are less than £195 per week - my son’s salary for the placement works out at NMW and is still more than that, so how does that work?  If anyone can shed any light on the detail because I’m struggling to find anything.

silvercar

NormalforNorfolk said:

Thanks very much -  I’ve emailed my son’s university to enquire about this and await their response.  I have messaged the landlord to flag this to them and they have advised they were unaware of it but have now followed up with their local council tax department who say the exemption only applies if gross weekly earnings during the placement are less than £195 per week - my son’s salary for the placement works out at NMW and is still more than that, so how does that work?  If anyone can shed any light on the detail because I’m struggling to find anything.

The local tax department are talking rubbish or the landlord failed to ask the right question or phrase it properly. You could contact the local tax department yourself.

NormalforNorfolk

Thanks actually the landlord subsequently did some more digging with the council and established the info she was given related to apprentices!  So we’re now all sorted and awaiting the document from the university.  

NormalforNorfolk

Thankfully we have managed to get everything resolved.  Once the placement was confirmed, the University’s placements team produced a letter which confirmed he is a student enrolled on his degree course undertaking a year in industry placement for the 2024-25 academic year, detailing the name of the company the placement is with, and that he would be graduating in 2026.  That has done the trick, with his landlady’s council tax department.  Thanks to all the commenters who provided advice on here!

building_with_lego

I want to jump in here to say that yes, students on a placement as past of their full-time course (and those on suspense) are counted as students for the purposes of Council Tax exemption. However, the student must prove their status themself, usually by requesting a letter from their university, and this is not something a parent can do on their behalf- a parent emailing the uni/ landlord will be met with a GDPR brick wall.

If in doubt check the council website for your placement area, and your university website for details on how to request the letter. They can also ask for advice from their university placements team.

building_with_lego

JennyDavis said:

Did you get the answer from the university, by the way? I’m eager to hear about it. My daughter is also currently at university, and she’s finding it quite challenging. She’s mentioned how overwhelming it can be to juggle all the assignments and deadlines. In fact, she’s considering hiring https://stateofwriting.com/uk/dissertation-proposal to help with her dissertation proposal. She’s hoping that getting some professional support will ease her workload and provide the guidance she needs to navigate this tough period.

That's not relevant to this thread.
Your daughter should seek guidance from her academic department and academic skills centre. The risk of using dodgy online offers is that she's charged with an assessment offence and has to redo (at best). Other outcomes are possible and a real risk.