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#Living costs

How students can get £150 towards their living costs

In the wake of the cost of living crisis, you may have heard about the £150 Council Tax rebate being offered to households to help offset rising energy bills and other living costs. What you might not realise is that as a non-halls student household, you’re still entitled to that payment, even if you don’t pay Council Tax.

That’s because the rebate is intended to help with household bills such as energy, instead of being specifically targeted towards taxes. The rebate is not a loan, so will not be required to be paid back, and it will not affect your student loan entitlement. Those living in halls of residence are not eligible for the rebate, as their accommodation costs are already covered by accommodation fees.

Claim your rebate

The £150 payment is for your entire household, and will be paid to one tenant who should then distribute it between the household – it’s up to you as a household to decide how to split the payment. Your landlord doesn’t need to be involved, and the rebate should go to those living in the household and contributing towards the energy bills.

Leeds City Council has made arrangements to ensure students can claim the rebate without being registered for Council Tax, and this article explains what you need to do.

How to claim your rebate

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

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 here. You can choose whether to receive the payment directly into a bank account or as a voucher you can cash at the Post Office.

If your exemption notice is addressed to ‘The Student Occupier’, one member of the household needs to fill in the same form (available here) with their name and the student household address. When it asks for your Council Tax account number, use the one from your exemption letter. Bank account details do not have to be provided.

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. The person will need to take along a form of ID – acceptable forms include:  a valid passport; photographic National Identity Card; council tax letter; Asylum ID card; a UK Biometric Residency Permit, or a UK or EU driving licence.

If you’ve lost your council tax exemption notice letter, you can order a copy by emailing Leeds City Council at counciltax.rebates@leeds.gov.uk. You can also use this email address if you have any questions about the rebate in general.

Leeds City Council is aiming to make most of the payments during April 2022.