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

Zebedeee

pingua wrote: »

Thanks for that. So The hard bit is working out the value in 1991 with the extension.

Is there away of working out extension size against the value iyswim. The extension was done about 10?? years ago . But the atcual value it has put on compaired to other houses without the extension is only 10 grand in todays market. (Big extension but the house value just would not go any higher no matter how much of an extension was put on it.)

I am just not sure how to reply to them now and what 'evidence' to use next.

They don't make things easy do they!!

pingua, If the extension was done post-1991 it doesn't count anyway, unless the house has been sold since the extension was built. Did you put the extension on, or was it built before you moved it? An extension since 1991 cannot put the band up unless the house has been sold, then the VOA are able to include it in the valuation.

If, taking into account the above, the extension has to be factored into the value then I would think comparisons with other simillar-sized properties are the best bet. Have a trawl through the local property paper for 1991 (copies kept at local libraries) to see if you can find anything simillar. Not always easy, but that kind of evidence carries a lot of weight with tribunals, which is where you may be heading with this.

Zebedeee

pingua

What happened to the housing market prices between 91 and 94 ?? Up or down ??

pingua

We moved in about 9 months ago. Extension was done by previous owners about 10 years ago.

The other extension houses on the estate still have the owners who did the extension on them.

So it is size then ??

beingjdc

pingua wrote: »

What happened to the housing market prices between 91 and 94 ?? Up or down ??

Down about 8%, as a national average.

Zebedeee

pingua wrote: »

We moved in about 9 months ago. Extension was done by previous owners about 10 years ago.

The other extension houses on the estate still have the owners who did the extension on them.

So it is size then ??

No, its the value in 1991 that counts, unless the house has been extended since and then changed hands. The sale of the house since the extension could account fot the difference in bands, providing it has increased the value of the house sufficiently to move it into the next band. Its complicated, I know.

As for house prices, whether they went up, down or stayed static all depends on your area. Even the house price indices are not accurate. Actual sales prices are a much better bet.

Have you tried asking the VOA to justify your banding, with facts and figures? Put the ball in their court and see what happens.

Zebedeee

pingua

I could do that but I know they will throw the extension back at me.

The houses without extensions are 10 grand less than ours . Our extension is rather large!! And I suppose looking at it you would think it should have added a lot more than that on to the value but it has not regardless of its size.We have no garden though and have a few other dissadvantages regarding the situation of the property. Which is reflected in the price.

Their justification was the sq m of the properties.

guppy

pingua wrote: »

I listed the houses that had sold in the past 6 months and the value. Ours was in the middle of the values yet all other houses were a c - us being a d. (There are only about 6/7 houses on the list - small village)

Hello,

Although recent evidence might not prove anything about the value in 1991, it does suggest something is wrong in my opinion.

If a house is more valuable than your's now, it probably was at 1991, all other things being equal. Its a fact that bigger houses sell more than smaller houses, assuming they are equally desirable in every other way, e.g. location, style etc.

Have you had a sneaky look at the other houses? Are they of a similar age and style to yours? Are they really all smaller, or are the VOA's records wrong?

I agree with Zebedeee, phone up the person that wrote to you and ask them why your house is a D and all the others C, when they are clearly more expensive.

Good luck.

pingua

I willbe doing that thanks. Going to try and get a day in the library first though - without kids so may be a couple of weeks yet. There was no mention of a time frame on the letter so that is one good thing !!

Thanks you so much for all your help.

mike433

I enquired about my banding a few months ago. This was becuase I live in a terrace of similar properties All in the row are band D except mine E. Another is E but double fronted. Even though there are larger properties in the row that are in Band D the VOA refuse to acknowledge that my property should be in band D.It was clear through my correspondence that they had a lot of factual errors in their data and that their information recorded my property as a 4 bedroom house whereas it is infact 2 bedroom. Other houses in the street are 3 bedroom and in band D too. On question their data, the VOA refuse to give me the data I want and ignore my correspondence. What can I do?

CSL_2

Might be a good idea to send them a recorded delivery letter advising them that unless you receive a suitable reply, you will be invoking the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) within the next fourteen working days.

CSL
Monday 3rd December 2007