The number of student homes has reached a new high in Brighton and Hove, according to a report to councillors.
The report estimated that there would be 5,996 properties solely occupied by students in Brighton and Hove in the 2024-25 financial year. The number excludes halls of residence.
The figures are significantly higher than in the current 2023-24 financial year when 4,766 homes were occupied solely by students.
But a new approach, with individual rooms in student accommodation rated as separate properties, means that figures are not directly comparable with previous years.
Student housing is exempt from council tax and the forecast was included in the report as officials calculated how many households would be expected to pay council tax next year.
There was a previous high of almost 5,400 houses exempt from council tax in 2020-21.
Student housing figures fell in 2021-22 to 5,098, with the drop linked to the coronavirus pandemic, and there were fewer again, with 4,950 in the current financial year.
Fewer international students moved to or stayed in Brighton during the covid-19 pandemic.
The Brighton and Hove City Council report said: “This is a significant increase compared with 2023-24 and is due to new student accommodation built within the city being added to the valuation list and the valuation methodology where individual bedrooms are now rated as separate properties.
“This means comparing growth in student properties across years is not on a consistent basis.”
Students living in a shared house have to apply for an exemption from paying council tax. Halls of residence are automatically excluded from the council tax base.
The report is due to be presented to the council’s Strategy, Finance and City Regeneration Committee at Hove Town Hall on Thursday 25 January. The meeting is scheduled to start at 4pm and to be webcast on the council’s website.
So if we can’t compare the two figures because the definitions have changed, are we able to consider this headline as factual?
If students are allowed to vote in local elections, then they should be paying council tax.
Unfortunately Brighton has very little contemporary architecture of any merit. And these bland, characterless buildings to accommodate them just add to the dreariness of the city.
I think that universities should pay a student levy rather than trying to collect council tax from students. Set lower than council tax but recognising that students do use the facilities provided by the council ( us indirectly )
Agree with your comment. They are using the same facilities as the general public and should, at least, contribute towards the council tax. No wonder this city is nearly bankrupt and we have such high council tax
That’s a decision for the government to take as the student exemption is set in law and not by the council.
Councils get paid a grant from government for student housing. Dates back to the poll tax when students were taxed. So the council does get an income for student housing, locally that’s many millions each year.
Thanks Nick I didn’t know that. Something else our spendthrift council keeps quiet about..
There isn’t a specific grant. It’s all rolled up into one.
If you asked the government how much they paid Brighton to cover students even they wouldn’t be able to tell you!
Don’t you think that the £10K they pay per year for their fees and supporting the local economy is enough to warrant allowing students a vote?
Tank
No. Students have a vote in their home town, wouldn’t be right they have two votes.
Being registered at both your home address and your term-time addresses doesn’t necessarily mean you get two votes.
You will need to choose one address and vote in only that area when you’re voting in:
UK Parliament elections
UK referendums
London Assembly and London Mayoral elections
You can’t vote at both your term-time address and your home address at these elections. Voting in more than one location is a criminal offence.
For other elections, you can vote at both your term-time and your home address. You can choose to vote in either or both areas (as long as the addresses are in different council areas) when you’re voting in:
Local council elections in England
Police and Crime Commissioner elections and mayoral elections
Council is compensated on Student non council tax payment
Well hopefully taking some stress out of the local housing market, although tax changes do mean many rentals are being sold.
The huge amount of student housing built along the Lewes/London Roads has done nothing to ease the chronic shortage of affordable homes in the area. In fact you could argue the opposite that, with the exception of Hawkridge Court, all the land that could have been used to build social housing on has been used to build nothing but student accommodation.
I have seen no evidence whatsoever that these massive increases in student blocks as freed up any housing for local people….
The only surprising part is that the Council is not already “taxing” them in some way already, the Council usually never cares how or why,
I’m sure they’ll find a way!
They do. That’s the thing. That’s why the argument against students is flawed.
all these houses are being put up for students but why is it that you can not put home s up for the other s that need them to like homeless and family s that need them to and plus why do you need this amount
Well it seems the Universities are getting fewer overseas applicants, so soon all this student housing will be standing empty. I do wonder why so much has been spent on its development. As Educationally the UK becomes the laughing stock of the World post Brexit as it is downgraded time and time again.
Ah well we can put all the boat people in them once the students have gone. Lucrative contracts to be had.
The “surplus” student accommodation should be used for BRITISH students to educate BRITISH people from our country, not being racist but the obvious difference in Brits getting Government sponsored higher education to the benefit of profit mongering Universities which also have tax money in their coffers, Educate and employ Brits, sadly not seen on Labour or Tory Agenda, that being said bin all the monkey degrees and get real time relevant degrees and courses in place, not difficult and clearly beneficial.
Racist bigotry ignorance aside, we don’t have a surplus, not by a long shot, to house all the students attending the two universities, in specific student accommodations.
Neither racist nor bigoted, I like many others would like some preference given to un-educated Brits being educated instead of foreign students buying slots which does not benefit the UK, I also believe more educated people equals less people on benefits and subsidies. Foreign paying students should take up left over spaces and not be the mainstream for money grabbers. Argue racism and bigotry all you want, I prefer a system in this country that benefits people in this country, not very much does, that is not racist.
So you wish to discriminate against non-British people, by giving an advantage to British people? Isn’t that the very definition of racism? Especially, since you elaborated that you believe that foreign people contribute less to Britain than a British person. Can you see how that comes across?
You have some good points in there, access to education should be available to all regardless of their situation, because it does lead to better equality, and we have plenty of research data that supports that, alongside the relationship between average education and average personal wealth.
Perhaps, kindly, the issue is much more simply a capacity issue. If there are fewer spaces than people wishing to go to university on a regular long-term basis, that, to me, is a very good argument for opening up more universities.
No Benjamin, I do not wish to discriminate against foreign people, Brits need right now more than ever more education places as opposed to them being sold off to foreign money students, not as complicated as you imply.
Optimists that they are, the universities are hoping the country comes to its senses, elects a competent government, and reverses the last decade of decline.
Generally speaking, however, the more realistic outlook would be that there’s going to be an almighty contraction in the sector and a lot of people are going to lose their livelihoods. As I’m sure is obvious, leadership making plans in that vein very quickly lose the support of investors, local stakeholders, and the unions (as a part of any preparations would be an almighty redundancy season). Stemming the bleeding will just lead to a decay in standards as the sector gets (even more) unpleasant to work in.
The “surplus” student accommodation should be used for BRITISH students to educate BRITISH people from our country, not being racist but the obvious difference in Brits getting Government sponsored higher education to the benefit of profit mongering Universities which also have tax money in their coffers, Educate and employ Brits, sadly not seen on Labour or Tory Agenda, that being said bin all the monkey degrees and get real time relevant degrees and courses in place, not difficult and clearly beneficial.
Oh dear Benjamin…pls…not more money grabbing, meaningless, worthless universities.
LESS universities.
I think it would be a good idea to shut down 50%.
Make them about education and training.