We have been in touch with Leeds City Council about the £150 council tax rebate and they have provided us with some Q&A’s that you might find helpful. Take a look at below! Please note that all purpose built student accommodation is ineligible for the rebate (not just halls). Please read our article on energy costs for those who have “all-inclusive” rent. 

COUNCIL TAX REBATE Q&A FOR STUDENTS

1. I don’t pay council tax so can I still apply for the rebate?

Yes. You will still be entitled to the council tax rebate, even if you aren’t a council tax payer. The rebate is intended to offset rising energy bills and the cost of living. It will be paid to one person in your household and not to everyone living in your house. If you are a student and live on your own, the rebate payment will be paid to you alone.

2. Do I need to be registered for council tax to claim the rebate?

No. As a student, you do not have to pay council tax so you will probably not be registered with us. We have made other arrangements for you to still claim the council tax rebate (see below).

You will have received a Council Tax exemption notice letter in the post in the last few weeks. This may have the name of a person in your household or be addressed to ‘The Student Occupier’.

Remember that only one payment will be made to each household, not to every person in your house, so you will need to choose one person in your house who will receive the payment and can then share it between the rest of you. If the Council Tax exemption notice letter is in the name of someone in your household, that person can apply using the online form available at www.leeds.gov.uk/council-tax/£150-council-tax-rebate. You can choose whether to receive the payment directly into a bank account or as a voucher you can cash at the Post Office. Again, everyone in the house will then need to decide how to split the payment.

3. Where and how do I apply for the rebate if the exemption notice is addressed to ‘The Student Occupier’?

To receive the £150 payment, there are a number of steps you will need to follow:

• Go onto the Leeds City Council website at www.leeds.gov.uk/council-tax/£150-council-tax-rebate
• Scroll to the online form which is on this webpage
• One person in your student household will need to complete the online form
• The form will ask you for your council tax account number. This is the number on the council tax exemption notice letter, which will have been sent to your household in the last couple of weeks
• Bank account details do not have to be provided
• The person in your household will need to enter their name and your address on the form, and then submit
• The person who has completed the online form will then be sent a Post Office voucher in their name. They will need to go to a Post Office and redeem that voucher for cash at the counter
• To cash in the voucher, that person will need to take along a form of ID. The ID which can be accepted are a valid passport; photographic National Identity Card; council tax letter; Asylum ID card; a UK Biometric Residency Permit, and either a UK or EU driving licence.
• You and your housemates will then need to decide how you split the £150 payment.

If you’ve lost your council tax exemption notice letter, you can order a copy by emailing us at counciltax.rebate@Leeds.gov.uk. You can also call our contact centre on 0113 222 4444 if they have queries about the council tax rebate.

4. When can I apply for the rebate?

Your household can apply now. The online form at www.leeds.gov.uk/council-tax/£150-council-tax-rebate is now available.

Remember that the payment is made to the household, not to every person in your house, so you will need to choose one person in your house who will receive the payment and then share it between the rest of you.

5. When will I receive the rebate?

We aim to make most of the payments during April 2022.

6. I am living in halls of residence. Am I eligible for the rebate?

No, as all your accommodation costs will be covered already by your accommodation fees.

7. I am a student in Leeds but I still live at home with my family. Am I eligible for the rebate?

It will depend on your family home, and whether it is eligible for the rebate. Your household will need to be in council tax bands A to D. Only one rebate payment is made per household, so if, for example, one of your parents is the registered council tax payer, the payment will go to them. You will then have to decide as a household if one person keeps the full payment or whether you want to divide it up.

8. Do I have to repay the rebate?

No, it is a one-off payment and will not need to be repaid. It is not a loan.

9. Will my student loan be affected if I receive the rebate?

No. These two schemes are completely separate. You can receive both your student loan, and the council tax rebate if your household is eligible. The council tax rebate is a one-off payment to help your household meet increased fuel costs.

10. My landlords say that they will apply for the rebate on my behalf. Is that OK?

The rebate should go to the people living in your household, as you are the ones who are paying the energy bills where you live. Your landlord does not need to be involved, and you or one of your housemates will receive the payment directly to you. Remember that the payment is made to the household, not to every person in your house, so you will need to choose one person in your house who will receive the payment and then share it between the rest of you.

11. Does the rebate go to my landlord or to me?

As above.

12. We are all students in our shared house and don’t pay council tax. Are we eligible for the rebate?

Yes, if the house you live in is in council tax bands A to D. As a student household, you won’t be paying actual council tax and your household will be exempt, but you will still be entitled to the rebate payment to help your household meet increasing energy costs.

13. I live in a rented shared house. Some of us are students but some of us work. Will we receive the rebate?

Yes, if the house you live in is in council tax bands A to D. If someone in your household works, then it is likely that person who will pay the council tax, because as a student you will be exempt. The £150 rebate will be paid to the person in your house who is registered for council tax and only one payment will be made, so it with then be up to all of you living in the house to decide if and how the rebate will be split between you.

14. Will everyone who lives in my rented student house receive the rebate?

No. The payment is made to the household, not to each person living in the house. One person will receive the full payment, and then it will be up to you and your other housemates to decide whether and how the payment will be split up between you. The payment is to help your household with the rising cost of energy bills, so if you call contribute to these bills, you may want to divide the payment equally. But this is for you all to decide.

15. If the rebate is paid to me, do I need to share it with the other people living in my house?

That is a decision for you and your housemates to make between you, but the payment is intended to help everyone in your house who pays the energy bills with higher energy costs.

16. My parents pay my rent and energy bills for me, through their bank account. Will the rebate be paid to me, or to them?

The council tax rebate will be paid to the household in which you live as a student. So even if your parents pay your energy bills for you, the rebate will go to one person living in your student house, whether that is yourself, or one of your housemates. If you wish to pass on the rebate to your parents, that is a decision that you will have to make with them.

17. As students we are on low incomes. Can you receive any payments from the Discretionary Fund as well as the rebate, to help us pay rising energy costs?

The council is still finalising arrangements for how the Discretionary Fund will work and will share more information as soon as possible. If you are eligible, we will contact you directly in due course, so there is nothing that you need to do at this stage.

Please bear in mind that any payments made from the Discretionary Fund will be targeted at the lowest income families who are most affected by the increase in energy bills, such as those with children who receive council tax support.

18. My housemate got the rebate, but they will not share out amongst us all. Can they be forced to?

The rebate can only be paid to one person per household, not to all or just some of you. You cannot force a housemate to share it with you, and whether to split it or not is a decision for you and your housemates to make between you. However, the payment is intended to help everyone in your house who pays the energy bills with higher energy costs

You can call the Council contact centre on 0113 222 4444 if they have queries about the council tax rebate.