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Council Tax - exemptions and discounts (occupied properties)

Students

If you or someone in your household is a student at college or university, you may be able to reduce your Council Tax bill depending on how many other adults live in the property.

We can offer the following for eligible students:

  • 25% discount is available if all but one of the adults living at the property are eligible students
  • 50% discount may be available if everyone else in the property falls under a discount category other than an eligible student
  • 100% exemption will apply if the property is occupied solely by eligible students

A person is considered to be an eligible student if they are:

  • under 20, studying for more than 3 months and for at least 12 hours per week for any qualification up to 'A' level or Higher Scottish Certificate of Education or equivalent; or
  • undertaking a prescribed course of education at a further education establishment lasting for at least 24 weeks within each academic year and involving at least 21 hours of study per week on average during term time; or
  • registered with the Central Bureau for Educational Visits and Exchanges and working as a foreign language assistant at a school or other educational establishment in Great Britain

You must contact us as soon as the course finishes so that any discount or exemption can be stopped. You will then be notified of any changes to your Council Tax charge and payments.

If you are a student studying away from home and are liable at a property that is unoccupied, you may be able to reduce your Council Tax. For more information see the Student unoccupied property exemption page.

Please note there are separate applications available below for non-British spouses or dependents of an eligible student and school and college leavers.  

University of the West of Scotland students

We need proof of student status as part of this application. However, students at the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) do not need to provide this proof if they have given UWS permission to share their information. If the student has not given permission to share their information they should contact the university immediately and give their permission. UWS will then confirm the student’s status at their earliest convenience. If they do not want the university to share their information they will need to obtain a student certificate (see below).

Student certificates

If the student does not attend UWS or has not agreed to UWS sharing their information, we will need the student certificate issued by the college or university. This can be uploaded with your application and should include:

  • Student name
  • DOB
  • Certificate/Qualification
  • Course name
  • Course start and end dates
  • Which year of the course the student is in
  • Length of course within academic year (months)
  • Average hours of study per week

If you have not been given a student certificate by your education establishment, please complete our student discount or exemption certificate.  This should be issued to your college or university to complete and you should upload it as evidence when making your application.

Only a student certificate as mentioned above will be accepted as proof. Student cards, general acceptance letters and student loan or bursary letters will not be accepted as proof.

Please have your UWS course details or completed student certificate to hand before you begin.

If you are an eligible student and your spouse or a dependant lives with you, but they are not British Citizens and are prevented from working or claiming benefits, you may be able to reduce your Council Tax bill by 25%, 50% or 100% depending on how many other adults live in the property.

If you or someone in your household is under the age of 20 and has left school or college after 1 May, you may be able to reduce your Council Tax bill by 25%, 50% or 100% depending on how many other adults live in the property.

Please contact us using the contact details shown to apply under this category.

If you are a student, you may qualify for a student leisure concession card offering up to 50% off swimming, fitness classes, gym use, racquet sports, golf and much more with South Lanarkshire Leisure. Full details can be found on the South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture website.