students and council tax question

[Samcro]

so from what I gather students at university do not pay council tax.
so my question is.. do the universities pay tax to the council to make up for this?
I have always wondered how this works. I live in a town with a large university, a lot of new accommodation is being built and there are masses of students living in private rental. because I have not been to university I can't work it all out.

No, the University don't pay tax to the council to make up for it.

so how is the "short fall" made up?

What “shortfall”?

No. Our city is being taken over by students. We have a major homeless problem. There has been at least 30 blocks of student flats built. The students still use the council services so we pay to subsidise them.

No one makes up the shortfall.

It's why councils with large numbers of people who are exempt from paying council tax (not just student but they are some of the problem) are on the verge of going bust left right and centre under a government of austerity.

Councils literally can't afford to provide statutory services because they can't raise enough revenue from council tax and the government have cut any central funding to the absolute bone.

Students aren't permanent residents of the area so, no they don't pay council tax.

Those councils that are struggling are in that position because of austerity - the amount some have lost from their budgets is horrific - not because of students.

Also, I don't know about other places, but in this city the universities pay for many services, developments and other useful stuff, as well as being major employers and attracting investment and jobs into the city.

If you have a large student population, surely the fact you have so many service industry's in the area who pay business rates makes up for it.

Would a block of flats built entirely to rent out to students be classed as a business and therefore subject to Business Rates - which I think now go to the Local Authority?

saskia it has nothing to do with them not being a permanent resident. If a student still lived at home with one parent the student would still be exempt and the parent could claim a discount as a single occupant of the house.

bigbluebus - that's a fair point. But even so, it is the only concession we get. Despite generally being on low incomes, students have no recourse to public funds in any other form, and pay through the nose for rentals - many landlords and agencies won't take students.

Would a block of flats built entirely to rent out to students be classed as a business and therefore subject to Business Rates - which I think now go to the Local Authority?

Yes, whoever owns the block will be paying business rates.

saskia I know all about the financial perils of being a student - we are currently supporting our DS through Uni - although thankfully he is somewhere with a surplus of student accomodation and rent is pretty cheap in a house share.

Students aren't permanent residents of the area so, no they don't pay council tax.

Apart from being incorrect re Council Tax, that’s a sweeping generalisation. I was a permanent resident as a student, although unfortunately my bank had the same erroneous belief as you and kept noting my address as “term time only” and sending my stuff to my parents 🙄

Surely students make use of council services though, rubbish collection for one.
At least i now know why the council tax is so high.
I. Always thought the university paid something to make up for it.

Council tax is higher in my non student town than in my closest full of students city.

Far too simplistic to blame student exemption on high council tax!

Most likely is, but it must have an affect, if you ave thouands of people using sevices and not contributing.
Im just trying to understand

Councils get central government funding to make up for student CTax exemption as part of the formula grant. It's a non ringfenced allocation of money to Local Authorities

All sorts of people use council services without contributing, not just students.

My council tax is higher than the Borough with my old university (ten minutes away).

Actually my council tax is the highest out of the whole Borough despite not being the one with the council nor the largest town, but hey ho..

Thank you I thought it must be made up some way

I wasn't having a dig at students, it wwas oneof those random things you wonder about

It just sounds like you want to blame students for poor council services.

Council tax is not, as many people believe, a service charge. It's just a tax. So there's no deficit to make up.

If it's correct that the owner of a building which is wholly student lets will pay business rates, you can bet your bottom dollar that this comes out of the rent the students pay.

In Edinburgh students are only exempt if the whole property is occupied by students.
A student living at home with both parents gets no reduction.

Or in a shared flat or house where someone else is not a student they may get 25% discount.
From website- a 25% discount if all but one of the adults living at the property are students