Students are excepted from joint and several liability for Council Tax purposes. This should mean that a student who shares a dwelling with a non-student or a part-time student (in cases like those listed below), and provides a valid Council Tax Certificate to the Local Authority, will not have to pay.
If you share with an unemployed person who is claiming Council Tax Benefit you should not be liable for the Tax. Council Tax Benefit (received by the unemployed person) should take care of the whole of the bill.
The non-student will probably be liable for 75% of the Council Tax bill. There is a 25% discount because there is only one eligible adult in the house. Employed persons on low incomes may be eligible for some Council Tax Benefit which should further reduce the bill. Students are not jointly and severally liable for the Council Tax bill as they are for other bills.
The non-students in the dwelling will probably be liable for 100% of the Council Tax bill as the students are not jointly and severally liable for the Council Tax bill as they are for other bills.
The residents in the dwelling will be liable for 75% of the Council Tax. The non-student partner may be eligible for Council Tax Benefit on the basis of low income.
If all the residents are students the dwelling will be exempt. Where non-students are resident then the dwelling may cease to be exempt and the landlord will be liable for the bill, even if the landlord is a student.
Students registered for part-time courses will be liable for Council Tax. For example, a single parent living with two children under 18 will pay 75% of the basic bill and will be eligible to apply for Council Tax Benefit on the basis of low income.