Council Tax Cost Cutting: reduce your band and grab any discounts Discussion Area

apcouldwell

Another warning: We contested our banding of D quoting the band of two neighbours in our village who are band C. Our next door neighbour's house is identical to ours. The VOA have come back to us and said we are in the correct band and they would review our neighbours!!!
He has just had valuers around and the VOA have told him they are changing his band to D.
When we started this I thought the only worry was if they increased OUR band when it was reviewed. I didn't think they could review our neighbours banding unless the house was sold.
Can we contest this? Is this legal?
Obviously our neighbour is not too impressed with us.

pkempc

Have today received a letter from the Valuation Tribunal Service notifying us that we have been given a date of 27th November for our appeal hearing.

This hearing is only to decide if the decision to declare our initial appeal invalid was made correctly.

We applied online to reband from E to D back in February after hearing about the process from this website. The online application was rejected as being over the 6 month time limit after change of ownership. We then appealed this ruling in writing and gave a long list of reasons why we think we should be rebanded including - historical valuation using Nationwide/HBos data, nuisance from nearby pub car park/footpath & adjoining stream flooding the property.

This appeal was also rejected by the valuation officer because similar local properties are also band E ( but don't suffer the same problems as ours ) yet at the same time he passed the appeal to the Tribunal to rule on the invalidity question.

We think our reasons for rebanding are valid but we are worried that they wont get looked at because of the 6 month time limit rule.

When we bought the property I was serving in the forces and was frequently away on regular detachments - as long as all the bills got paid on time we were happy. Its only since returning to civvy street that I have had the time to sit down and review all our household income/expenditure using this excellent website for help.

We intend to attend the hearing in person & will report back on its verdict, tbc..............

guppy

keziah wrote: »

Is it worth taking it up with the VA again do you think?

Hi,

I'd say yes. Its unlikely they'll increase the band again just for asking. They might be forced to if you insisted on going all the way to a Tribunal hearing though.

You can make a formal appeal within six months of the increase, as part of the appeal process they can show you the sales evidence they used including addresses (which are usually confidential).

At least then you can make your own mind up, if you're not convinced, the Tribunal can decide.

Good luck

guppy

apcouldwell wrote: »

When we started this I thought the only worry was if they increased OUR band when it was reviewed. I didn't think they could review our neighbours banding unless the house was sold.
Can we contest this? Is this legal?
Obviously our neighbour is not too impressed with us.

You can ask for your band to be double checked but the neighbour's is obviously their business. The VOA has a statutory duty to ensure all bandings are correct, so its not only legal, its their job.

Personally I think its unreasonable for the neighbour to blame you, they've had the benefit for some time, and its not like it will be backdated. At least you're not that bloke in the paper who got a whole street increased, and then ended up having his face go round the world in the foreign press!

Pat_of_York

Here in York I was successful in reducing my Council Tax Band from E to D. The process took about four months and my refund was in excess of £2000. I am not sure as yet what future savings will be, but it should be worthwhile.

JoeHel

I'm not sure what I should do, if anything.

I'm a tenant, not an owner. Moved in in May this year and our six months are up in about 2 weeks. We are in a 2 bed flat in Bishops Stortford and are currently banded D, as are the rest of the flats in our block (there are 9 flats in all).

I have, out of interest, put the sale price of the (identical) flat below us into the 1991 calculator, and it estimates a price of £60,000 - well within the Band C limits.

Thing is, as a tenant - is it my place to ask for a re-assessment? We're the ones paying the council tax.... Would a landlord object? This also will have ramifications for all the other 8 flats in the block, surely.

What should I do?

PRIOR_2

HELP can any one help us. We are in a terrace 12 of houses 2 of us are in band C the rest are in band B we have appealed but they said it is right. We cant see how this is right both of our neighbours are in band B. We have got a small extension but this was put up before the council tax came in. We have been in our priperty for 10 years now. We have done an online calculation and it has come up with our property being aproximately worth £40.000 in 1991.So how can we be in the right banding being in band C. Please can any one Help

ktbiff

ANOTHER ONE AFTER SOME ADVICE ,I'VE GONE THROUGH THE PROCESS BECAUSE WHEN WE PURCHASED OUR HOUSE IN APRIL 2000 WE WERE ADVISED THAT OUR BANDING WOULD BE REVIEWED DUE TO THE FACT THE PREVIOUS OWNERS BUILT AN EXTENSION THEY PROMTLY MOVED US UP TO BAND C FROM B,WHICH WE AT THE TIME ACCEPTED NOT BEING AWARE OF ANY OTHER OPTION .
WE APPEALED ON 26/9/07 AND RECIEVED A LETTER DATED 27/9 WHICH WAS AN NOTICE OF INVALID PROPOSAL THEY SAID IT WAS ISSUED COS OUT SIDE TIME LIMITS AND NO MATERIAL CHANGE TO PROPERTY. IN THE SAME ENVELOPE THERE WAS ANOTHER LETTER SAYING THEY WOULD REVIEW OUR BANDING IF I FILED OUT A FORM WITH OUR PROPERTY DETAILS ,BEING A BIT DISHEARTENED I HAD NOT FILLED THIS IN WHEN I RECIEVED A LETTER STATINGTHAT WE WERE BEING ALTERED TO A BAND B HOORAYWITH AN EFFECTIVE DATE OF ALTERATION APRIL 2000.
SO HERES THE BIT WERE I NEED HELP ,WHAT NEXT DO I WRITE APPEALING FOR MY MONEY BACK IF SO ON WHAT GROUNDS ?SHOULD I HAVE APPEALED AT THE TIME( APRIL 200) ?
I'VE NOT HEARD FROM MY LOCAL COUNCIL BABERGH YET WITH AN AMENDED BILL.BIT OF A STORY I KNOW ,SO FOR ANYONE STILL AWAKE HELP

vivatifosi

Hi ktbiff,

It takes about 6 weeks for the refund to come through. Where I live, the VOA sends a monthly list to the local councils and they then make contact with you regarding the repayment to you. You shouldn't fall through the cracks, but if you haven't heard from the council in a month or so I'd call them to find out the process. Good news though, congratulations!

vivatifosi

Hi Prior,

The key question is what value the extension added to your home. It may be the case that it just tipped your house from a band B to a band C. Where I live the house price calculators are out by about £6k (under) on very small band bottom of band C categories and give false readings for properties at the very bottom of band C as band B (you can check this for houses that you have recent and 1991 data for, make sure you use the same type of house as different sizes and types of property prices behaved differently).

The best thing to do then is to see whether any of the houses in your street sold (or even were just on the market) in 1991 and what they were selling for. The best ways to do this are check on the local newspaper house ads at the local library and ask around your neighbours. Does your other band C neighbour have an extension?

Good luck with the checking, and also ask the VOA to back up their evidence that they are correct. I hate it when they just say "we are correct" without saying why!