CALLS have been made for student landlords to pay council tax after figures revealed their exemption is now costing the public purse more than £11 million.

The lost revenues for cash-strapped councils in Sussex from not charging students council tax has almost doubled in a decade.

The figure has increased because local authorities have raised council tax, not because there are significantly more family homes being used for student digs.

Brighton and Hove councillor Michael Inkpin- Leissner said it would be unfair to charge students but landlords making large profits should pay a proportion of council taxes paid by the rest of the population.

The University of Sussex said its students helped contribute more than £200 million to the city’s economy, far more than what could be recouped in council tax, and making students poorer was not the solution to local government funding issues.

Brighton and Hove City Council is the most affected by the current exemption, leaving £9.4 million of potential council tax uncollected in the current financial year – almost double the £4.87 million exempt in 2007/8.

There are currently 5,150 city homes and flats that claim the exemption, an increase of five per cent in a decade, while there are almost 400 more halls of residence properties.

Chichester District Council is the next biggest loser from the current system with around £660,000 of lost revenue while Hastings Borough Council has seen the biggest rise in possible lost revenue with the value of the exemption, now around £300,000, worth twice what it was a decade ago.

Cllr Inkpin-Leissner, independent councillor for the heavily student populated Hollingdean and Stanmer ward, said it would be unfair to penalise hard-working students but landlords could be asked to pay at least something towards council tax.

He said: “It would be unfair for students, who work so hard and have to take jobs to get by, to pay but I think landlords who make a lot of money, £500 a month for a small room, could be approached to pay a little.”

A University of Sussex spokesman said the university, which already had one of the largest university accommodation portfolios in the country, was focusing on expanding student housing on its Falmer campus, which will increase to 7,000 by 2020.

He added: “We absolutely appreciate the complex housing environment in Brighton and Hove and are actively involved with politicians and residents’ groups on how we can work together and find solutions that will benefit the whole community.”

Councillor David Tutt is leader of Eastbourne Borough Council where the value of the exemption has risen to £570,000 despite the number of properties claiming exemption more than halving in ten years.

He said: “We want young people to achieve the highest level of education they possibly can and we are supportive in helping them to attain this.”