No rates are paid on 14 student accommodation blocks in Northern Ireland including three privately operated properties, Stormont has confirmed.
It emerges following calls to remove the exemption which is costing the public purse almost £2 million a year in lost revenue.
Stormont officials had proposed scrapping the exemption from 2018 but they said years of political instability and the Covid-19 pandemic meant it was not progressed.
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Queen's University defended the policy, saying it means prices charged for its accommodation are on average 25% lower than similar private student apartments in Belfast.
It comes as councils consider rates increases for residents amid spending pressures during the cost-of-living crisis.
Belfast City Council on Wednesday night agreed a 7.99% increase in its district rate for the upcoming financial year.
The Department of Finance told Belfast Live that 14 student accommodation properties are exempt from rates, with 11 owned or managed by Queen's and Ulster universities and three privately operated.
It said the three privately operated halls of residence in the list are:
- Halls of Residence, Ulster University, Cromore Road, Coleraine
- Halls of Residence, Dunvale House, 85 Duncreggan Road Pennyburn, Derry
- Dalriada Student Village, 686 Shore Road, Jordanstown, Newtownabbey
It said the other 11 rates exempt halls of residence, owned or managed by Queen's or Ulster universities, are:
- Guthrie House, 14-40 Fitzwilliam Street, Belfast
- Grant House, 64 Malone Road, Belfast
- 1 Glendun Court, Newtownabbey
- Elms Village, Malone Road, Belfast
- Coppin House, Strand Road, Pennyburn, Derry
- 1 Maple Lodge, Ballysally, Coleraine
- 1 McClintock Street, Town Parks, Belfast
- 8 College Avenue, Town Parks, Belfast
- Campus, 686 Shore Road, Jordanstown, Newtownabbey
- Ulster University, 2 Cromore Road, Coleraine
- Student Halls, Dunvale House, 85 Duncreggan Road, Pennyburn, Derry
The department said around £1.87 million in rates revenue would have been generated in 2022/23 if all 14 properties were not exempt, including £548,000 from the three private providers.
It said that under the Rates (NI) Order, private sector student accommodation is considered fully exempt if the student allocations are managed by the universities or colleges and they satisfy certain conditions.
The department said there is a "legal requirement on the universities to pass through the benefit of rates exemption in the form of lower accommodation charges to students".
SDLP councillor Carl Whyte called for the rates exemption to be removed, saying that ratepayers in Belfast, Coleraine and Derry are "losing out".
He said: "We're currently experiencing the worst cost-of-living crisis in living memory yet universities who generate surpluses in the region of tens of millions are somehow exempt from paying rates for halls of residence.
"I will be meeting the chief executive of Belfast City Council and the chief executive of LPS [Land and Property Services] to explore how this loophole can be closed and that we ensure a level playing field for all ratepayers."
A Queen's spokeswoman said the rates exemption means prices charged for university-owned accommodation are on average 25% lower than similar private accommodation in Belfast.
She added: "Queen’s has seen a significant increase in demand as a result of the value it provides. University accommodation operates on a self-funding basis with all returns being used to offset the operational costs, including a significant increase in utilities, which have not been passed onto students."
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