Council tax students

[MathersonC]

So last year my student daughter moved into a shared flat with other students and frankly it was a bit of a nightmare. It was a shared tenancy agreement, the others were EU students and there was lots of tenancy changes with students moving in and out.

Due to my daughter and I being a bit naive with these matters as previously in student halls we ended up paying other peoples share of the gas bill and constantly worrying someone wouldn’t pay their share of the rent and that we’d be liable for this too (we wasn’t)
Now the tenancy has ended and we had a 6 month fight with the letting agent to return the deposit. Now we’ve had a council tax bill for the duration via email to all the girls for over £1000.
I’m pretty sure that students are exempt but we’re worrying if we respond to this email we will be accepting the bill as a whole and a couple of the tenants were working too.
I don’t want to ignore it as I don’t want my daughter to end up with a ccj so how do we best approach it ?

If they were all students the property is exempted from council tax.

I would write back to the Council quoting the relevant bits of the attached document. You will have to provide proof. Do not ignore the bill.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/renting-a-home/student-housing/students-in-private-rented-accommodation/student-housing-council-tax/

Next time, get insurance to cover you as the guarantor of your daughter in any joint and several rental agreement.

Re council tax. Is your daughter named on the letter?
If so, contact the council with prove she is on her course and the end date. You will not be liable for anyone else also named.

Get your daughter to contact her college/uni for a council tax exemption certificate.

Deny liability to the agent and council with the certificate.

The other students might be liable if they are not British? Full time students are exempt with an easily obtained exemption certificate. Whatever the situation just explain to the council tax office and they will help you out.

Were all the tenants full time students for the duration of the tenancy, even if they were working part time as well? All the tenants must be full time students for the exemption to apply. If there was only 1 non-student tenant, the single person discount would apply. If there were 2 or more non-student tenants, the full amount of council tax is due.

However, even if it was a student only household, you have to apply to the council for the exemption to be applied. The info will have been on the council tax bill. Usually, councils won't apply the exemption retrospectively.

Did they not receive any council tax bills or summons during the year that they lived there?

They have sent an email to all the tenants asking for payment and it’s an address to issue the bill too I wasn’t sure about giving her new address as she lives with her landlady and didn’t want the council coming to her door and her thinking what a bill dodger she is

Don't worry.
She just has to email them with the university proof of her being a student. That's all.
Thousands of students do it in every city every year. Honestly, it's not an issue. Get the letter about your daughter's course and forward it.

PS but if she's living alone now with her landlady and if her landlady is claiming a single person discount, she'll have to do the same for this year too.

Ah thanks all that’s reassuring. We’ll respond with proof of her course. You live and learn with this stuff. She now has an individual tenancy with all bills included phew