Regulation 40 Qualifying conditions for a loan for living costsI1
England and Wales
Subject to the following paragraphs, an eligible student qualifies for a loan for living costs in connection with their attendance on a designated course.
A student does not qualify for a loan for living costs if—
the only paragraph or paragraphs of Schedule 2 into which the student falls is one or more of paragraphs 3, 4(1)(d)(ii), 12(1)(c)(ii), 13(1)(b)(ii), 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22(c)(ii) and 23(d)(ii),
the student is a prisoner,
the current course is a distance learning course, unless the student is treated as being in attendance on the course by virtue of regulation 41(b),
the student is studying the course as part of an apprenticeship, or
the student is eligible to apply for a non-income assessed healthcare bursary.
A student does not qualify for a loan for living costs in respect of a course year of a designated course if the course in respect of which the support is applied for delivers fewer than 30 credits of study or 300 notional learning hours within the course year of the course, unless the application for support concerns a course year of an ALL-transfer course with a credit value of fewer than 30 credits.
Subject to paragraph (6), a student does not qualify for a loan for living costs in relation to a course year of a designated course unless, at the start of that course year—
the student’s fee loan entitlement balance or additional entitlement, as the case may be, in respect of fee loan support is more than the relevant floor amount multiplied by 30, or
the student’s fee loan entitlement balance or additional entitlement, as the case may be, in respect of fee loan support is more than nil and equal to or less than the relevant floor amount multiplied by 30, and—
the student is being charged a tuition fee, and is using a fee loan under these Regulations to pay for some or all of their tuition fee costs in relation to that course year, or
no tuition fee is charged to the student for that course year and, as a consequence, the student is unable to use a fee loan in relation to that course year.
In paragraph (4) the “relevant floor amount” is the floor amount in respect of the relevant basic amount prescribed in regulation 18(6)(c) or (d) of the Lifelong Learning (Fee Limits) Regulations 2026f1.
A student who is aged 60 or over at the start of the first course year of a designated course does not qualify for a loan for living costs in relation to a course year of that designated course unless their fee loan entitlement balance, or additional entitlement, as the case may be, in respect of fee loan support is more than nil immediately before the start of the course year.
Annotations
Commencement
- I1
Reg. 40 in force at 1.9.2026, see reg. 1(1)(b)
Footnotes
- f1