Cody Butler: The case for students to get a post-course council tax grace period

Cody Butler is the Chair of the One Nation Conservative Network, a grassroots organisation dedicated to advancing pragmatic and compassionate conservatism.

As a 20-year-old student about to start my final year at the University of East Anglia, and as someone who proudly identifies as a Conservative, I believe in policies that are both fair and grounded in reality. One of those core Conservative values is keeping taxes low, especially when people are just starting out. As George Osborne once put it, tax-cutting is “part of our DNA” – and that shouldn’t stop at graduation.

Right now, students benefit from a full council tax exemption while they’re studying. That is good policy. It helps young people afford to live independently, often for the first time, while still contributing to their local economy through spending on food, transport, clothes, and yes, a fair bit of alcohol. At the same time, students use very few local services. Most support comes from universities or students’ unions rather than the council.

But here’s the problem: as soon as your course officially ends, that exemption disappears, even if you’re still living in the same student housing, and even if you’re not yet working. For many, this means being hit with a council tax bill just as their student loan has run out and before they’ve even started earning. It’s a flaw in the system, and it needs fixing.

To give a sense of the pressure students are under, the organisation Save the Student puts the average monthly cost of student life at £1,104. The National Union of Students has gone further, finding that a third of students are left with less than £50 a month after rent and bills. And once you finish your course, it’s not like a job appears overnight. Applying takes time, and the job market for graduates is highly competitive. At the end of 2024, nearly one million young people were classed as NEET, Not in Education, Employment or Training. That is the reality we’re dealing with.

So instead of pushing unrealistic ideas like free tuition, which simply isn’t affordable, I’m proposing a practical, targeted solution: extend the student council tax exemption for up to three months after a course ends, as long as the graduate remains in the same accommodation they lived in while studying. It is a Conservative answer to a problem that disproportionately hits younger voters, many of whom feel increasingly detached from a system that punishes them just for graduating.

This change could be implemented through a modest technical amendment to the Council Tax (Discount Disregards) Order under the Local Government Finance Act 1992. Specifically, I propose updating the statutory definition of a “student” to include a short post-course grace period.

For example:

“A person shall be treated as a student for the purposes of this Order from the date on which their course begins until the earlier of:

(a) the date they vacate the dwelling; or

(b) the date three months after the course end date, provided that they remain in the same accommodation occupied during their course.”

Alternatively, where the graduate is tied into a fixed-term contract, we could allow:

“…until the end date of a fixed-term tenancy agreement signed prior to course completion, up to a maximum of three months beyond the end of the course.”

In real terms, this change would save someone in a Band D property around £362 to £543 over the summer months. That’s a big deal for someone who has just left university, is searching for work, and may already be facing mounting financial pressure.

Critics might argue this would put pressure on council finances, but we need to be honest about where council tax revenue actually goes. According to the Local Government Association, nearly 60 per cent of council tax is spent on adult and children’s social care – services that young graduates are extremely unlikely to use. Meanwhile, students and recent graduates are already contributing in other ways: renting housing, shopping locally, and working in part-time or seasonal roles that support the wider economy.

This wouldn’t be a radical overhaul of the tax system. It is a modest, fair adjustment that recognises how the student-to-worker transition actually plays out in real life. More importantly, it fits with our Conservative values, supporting aspiration, rewarding independence, and helping young people to move forward, not fall behind.

Even if national policy doesn’t change overnight, there are things landlords and universities could do right now. One option would be to offer more flexible tenancy agreements that end in line with a course’s conclusion, rather than sticking rigidly to academic-year terms. Alternatively, private providers and universities could issue short-term summer relief, giving students an affordable route out of financial hardship.

With wider changes coming to how local government is structured and financed, now is the right time to ask serious questions about fairness and efficiency. This proposal won’t solve every problem young people face, but it would show them that the Conservative Party listens, understands, and acts on common sense.

This isn’t about asking for special treatment, it’s about securing fair treatment. Just because graduates are no longer students on paper doesn’t mean they’ve found their footing in the real world. We’re not cash crops to be harvested for tax, we’re aspiring professionals who deserve a fair start.