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

vivatifosi

Mum_of_5 wrote: »

Thanks for that, i must have missed it when reading it. I did see about looking in local newspapers but our library here i shut for at least another year so i can't do that!

thanks again

Hi Mum of 5,

Sorry to hear that your local library is shut. Sometimes libraries have the same papers in the libraries in adjacent towns instead. Or you could ask one of the other libraries in the county how to access the collection from the closed library. Where I live, when they shut a library for refurbishment they do try and retain access to their main collections so people can still look up popular stuff.

Failing that, you may find that the British Library has back issues of local papers. You will probably find that they are held in their store in York and that you need to make an appointment to view them (probably in London, you will also need to apply for a reader's card while you are there) . If you want to do this, make sure that you get a good year or so's worth as otherwise it won't be worth your while to travel. You would also need to check that they have archived the advertisements, not just the editorial. You can see the British Library's back catalogue online at https://www.bl.uk or telephone their Customer Services team on 01937 546060 for more info.

vivatifosi

To those who didn't catch it, our favourite subject (heaven help me, how nerdy do I sound?) of Council Tax has been heavily covered in the papers yesterday and today.

In short, a secret document has been released relating to the aborted attempt to reband houses in 2005. This identified that there was a large scale mis-banding of houses in England at the time Council Tax was introduced. The Sunday Telegraph claimed that this affected up to 400,000 houses though the government has said such estimates are too high. The Telegraph data is based on figures from Wales, where a full review has taken place. It found that 1.85% of homes were found to be incorrectly valued.

Here is a link to the most detailed report, in the Telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/24/ncouncil124.xml

grace21

wirehair wrote: »

Can anyone let me know where I stand please.
Just after Xmas I rang the valuation office and asked for them to look at my Council tax banding as I thought it was not correct ,they took all the details and said they would be in touch . We have lived in our bungalow for 13years.
Two weeks later my husband passed away , and having so much on my mind I forgot about the valuation office . I notified the council of my husband's death and they closed the account that was in both our names and gave me a new account in my name. Today I have just recieved a letter from the valuation department telling me that they have changed my banding and that I am now a D (I was E ) so I am very pleased about that as its over £350 less than I was paying . My question is this . As the account has now been closed and a new one opened will I still get the 13years of overpayment refunded .Or have I lost it. Any advice will be much appreciated , as it will be serveral weeks before the council get in touch , and that money would be very welcome at the moment. Thanks.

Hi Wirehair,
Sorry to hear of your loss,you've really gone through the mill haven't you . I note you have put down East Sx as the place you live. Hopefully it's not B'ton & Hove as some of us are having a dreadful problem getting our full refund!!
Most importantly you must take care of yourself.
Grace

beingjdc

I'm resubmitting my appeal based on the fact that they lost the electronic version. To recap, it is a newly converted 2-bed 2-bath flat, it has been placed in F. I am applying to be in C, but would probably settle for D if it came down to it. Here's the text before I send it, if anyone has any comments that'd be great!

--

The property is around 77m2 in total, or 67m2 if bathrooms and hallways are excluded. There is no outdoor space.

Local Properties:

Slightly larger flats such as {address} are in Band B
Substantially larger flats with small gardens such as {address} are in Band C.

Assuming the above examples are "discounted" due to being former council Housing, private sector properties locally include {address} in which some flats I believe to be larger* have been placed in Band D. Even a much larger house with substantial garden such as {address} is only in Band E.

Examining asking prices from local newspapers reveals sellers hoping for (not necessarily achieving) the following prices in April / May 1991.

£88,500 - 3-Bed end terrace with large garden
£83,000 - 3-Bed Terrace in the next street
£94,950 - 4-Bed 3-Bath flat in slightly nicer area nearby
£64,995 - 2-bed maisonette
£70,000 - 2-bed 2-reception house with garden

Local Area Statistics - properties by tax band in the Council ward:

A: 621
B: 1876
C: 1833
924
E: 289
F: 5
G: 1
H: 3

* They said on the phone that they aren't, but the evidence of the estate agents is that this is only the case if you include our bathrooms and hallway as surface area, but not theirs.

tom_j

Is there any basis for claiming a council tax discount for temporary but regular periods of sole occupancy?

For the last two years my partner has been out of the country for three months and currently looks set to be away for eight months.

My local council's valuation officer has declined a discount on the basis of a stock example related to ownership of two properties. Neither of us owns a second property.

Tom

spencecl

can anyone help me. I read the council tax bit did my homework found my house was in the wrong banding as i had always thought and tried to appeal. There is one house in our street which was rebanded (lower) the rest have never appealed. This house is 1 away from me and identical to my house. However the valuation office are insisting that that house is smaller than mine thus the bandings are correct and their calculations of value appear to be correct but very different to the calculations from using the websites.
Is it worth persevering or accept and wait for it all to 'come out in the wash' as i hear this week that a report has been leaked about the government knowing about these descrepencies! I have sat on this for a while these appeals where in the summer last year but it still really bugs me as my bill is going to be nearly £1500 in April and i don't live in a mansion just a normal 3 bed semi!
Claire

vivatifosi

hi spencecl

Has your house had an extension or any other structural change that would increase its value over that of your neighbour?

If not I would reiterate that your house is the same as the other and not smaller. I would do this by taking photographs of both houses and show that they are the same. You may also want to go onto one of the aerial photo sites, such as Google Earth, download a picture, show both houses from the air are the same size and same or similar plot size.

I would then send these to the VOA and ask them what evidence they have that your house is larger. There has been a similar post recently where the VOA had someone's house down as a three bed and their neighbour's as a two bed because the previous occupant of their house used their front room as a living room. I'm not saying that this will be the case in your case, just that the more evidence that you have and submit the better.

If you feel that you have a definite case, and your brief summary would suggest that you do have a reason to go back to the VOA, then I would definitely put the ball back in their court and not wait for it all to 'come out in the wash'.

Peanuckle

Peanuckle wrote: »

I have what should be, in my opinion, a fairly obvious case of mis-banding. I live on a farm, there are only 2 houses here, semi-detached and identical in everyway (apart from a wooden shack style porch on ours) but my neighbours are band C and we are band D. Both houses are owned by the same farmer but next door are employed by the farm and the house is linked to the job. Can this make a difference? The farmer actually pays the council tax for next door and has said he's doesn't know why they are different but suspects questionaires were sent out when the bands were set, and the tenants in my house had said it had 3 bedrooms when in fact it's 2 bedroom and they chose to use the front room as a bedroom?

I've asked for the banding to be looked at, but we've been here more than six months, I assume it will be rebanded but will we be entitled to a refund if it is or does the new banding just take effect from now on?

Got a reply from the "powers that be" and apparently the difference is because next door worked on the farm when the bands were set (something about a reduction for farm workers in tied accomodation). One interesting point is the letter stated that even if it wasn't occupied by a farm worker any more there isn't a provision in the council tax rules to alter the band it is in. So anyone who rents/buys that house will get cheaper council tax until a global review is done?

vivatifosi

hi beingjdc,

Sorry I didn't get to you sooner, I was offline much of yesterday.

Looks like you've built a good case. I wouldn't worry too much about whether the properties are ex-council right-to-buy. The price that the VOA should have assessed them on would be the open market price at which they would have been sold to a willing vendor, they shouldn't reflect discounts. Hopefully this will work in your favour.

vivatifosi

Peanuckle wrote: »

Got a reply from the "powers that be" and apparently the difference is because next door worked on the farm when the bands were set (something about a reduction for farm workers in tied accomodation). One interesting point is the letter stated that even if it wasn't occupied by a farm worker any more there isn't a provision in the council tax rules to alter the band it is in. So anyone who rents/buys that house will get cheaper council tax until a global review is done?

Hi Peanuckle,

How frustrating! At least it suggests that you are in the right band, rather than one band too high which I imagine would be even worse.

Thanks for letting us know the outcome. It all adds to our shared knowledge. I've been posting on this board for about a year now and it never ceases to amaze me how many little details there are to be aware of. I wish I knew what I do now when I made my first appeal. Life would have been much easier!