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

vivatifosi

Hi Aitch 7,

When were the flats converted? I would get their original selling prices and look for other similar properties that were on the market at the same time and at the same price and see what band they were in.

Unfortunately you can't divide by four as a house conversion to flats is often worth more than as a single dwelling. Also, be aware that basement flats often sell for less than flats on upper floors for a number of reasons: they often have poorer light levels, can be more prone to damp etc. This may be the reason that the basement is C, irrespective of what band the rest of you are in.

You can also ask the VOA for their evidence as to why they put your flat in band d with those of your neighbours and the basement in a C. I would be almost certain that the basement sold for less.

vivatifosi

pjg wrote: »

I bought a house in Leicestershire in Sept 2005 that cost me £184000, from average recent sales these now value at about £210000-£220000.
Im in Group 'E'.
The house was a new build in May 2002 and sold at £137,950.
There are 2 styles of 4 bed houses on the estate, ours in group E, the others in group D, although resale is approx the same.

My question is should I claim, based on the fact that if the house had been here Q2 1991 it would have been worth only approx £66000, border line C/D...?!?!?! Im worried because my valuation was done later it my be more accurate...please help, dont want to mess this up.

PJG

p.s. just got demand in today for £1747.41...Jesus!!!!!

Hi PJG,

What I would do is find out when the houses were first sold and how much for. As the houses were new build in 2002 you will be able to get their initial sales price very easily off one of the house price comparison sites. Check the two different house styles against each other.

What matters is not what they sell against each other for now, but what the difference in price was at the time of sale. Were both house types built by the same developer? If not you may find that one house was priced more because it contained more incentives. This is something that you may be able to find out from your neighbours that have lived there a long time. When the VOA values a house it is supposed to take out the value of incentives. Another thing that may make a difference is if one lot of four beds (yours) has a garage within its boundaries, but the others don't. In that case, the garage price is removed from the equation.

All of these things could make a difference. Get the initial prices together, find out what the differences are, come back, let us know and we'll try and help you take it from there.

vivatifosi

simdon wrote: »

I have been on the voa website to check neighbours bandings and those in the next road over. Many of which are deleted. What does this mean?? Does it mean they are currently going through an appeal, or just the local council are rebanding them?

I have done the check for the value of my house in 1991, which would put us in band 'C' not 'D' as we are currently.
Is it worth an appeal?

:easter: :think: Thanx.

Hi simdon,

I tried looking this up and couldn't find all the reasons for deletion, maybe exvoaperson will know this.

When I've come across a deletion it normally meant that something has happened to the building: for example it has been split into flats, something else was built instead of the initial plan, etc. As a result the original band was deleted and something else often put in its place. In that respect, unless the site has been cleared, you may find other band references to the same or similar addresses instead.

Does that help?

vivatifosi

Sassca wrote: »

Hello - I'm sure you get hundreds of people asking the same question, but I'm wondering if you can help me! My council tax is band D, as are the other flats in the block I live in. However, I've checked the 1991 valuation and this shows I "should" be in Band C by quite a big margin. I've lived in my flat for 8 years, so would appreciate any advice on whether to try and claim this back or not?

Thanks in advance.

Hi Sassca,

It isn't as straightforward as that I'm afraid. Unfortunately the house price calculators are only an average and only an indicator. Flat prices often behaved differently to house prices in the period 1991 onwards, with the result that the price fell by more and then came up more slowly. This can give a false sensation of being a C when D is the right band.

You are unlikely to be successful at appealing as you have been there so long. Unfortunately you don't have an automatic right to a tribunal in the same way that someone who has been living there less than six months would. In that respect you are likely to get the VOA telling you that the list is correct and using the other flats in the same block to confirm this.

If you want to challenge you need to find out how much your flat was worth in 1991. Also check if there are other similar blocks in a different band. If you can't establish either of these you are really unlikely to succeed I'm afraid.

Andrea_Gilluley

I have recently challenged our council tax banding (B) but have been told that a reduction does not apply to us. I completely disagree. I have done my research to discover the house was worth approx £36000 in 1991 and the band B value was £40001 - £52000 at this time. Also, other houses on our block are band A and some semi detatched houses opposite are band B, so there is no consistency at all.

To add insult to injury, I am told we cannot appeal this decision. Surely everyone has a right to appeal? If a mass murder was found guilty, even he could appeal if he so wished!!

Does anyone know if I can take this any further?

Aitch7

vivatifosi wrote: »

Hi Aitch 7,

When were the flats converted? I would get their original selling prices and look for other similar properties that were on the market at the same time and at the same price and see what band they were in.

Unfortunately you can't divide by four as a house conversion to flats is often worth more than as a single dwelling. Also, be aware that basement flats often sell for less than flats on upper floors for a number of reasons: they often have poorer light levels, can be more prone to damp etc. This may be the reason that the basement is C, irrespective of what band the rest of you are in.

You can also ask the VOA for their evidence as to why they put your flat in band d with those of your neighbours and the basement in a C. I would be almost certain that the basement sold for less.

Hi,

Thanks for the advice re the basement flat - that would make sense.

I don't know when the flats were converted other than it would have been a very long time ago and even if I could find out when that was - the issue is that they don't sell the flats individually - all of these houses are bought as whole properties - that's the problem...

cheers
Aitch7

boggie40

Have had another sleepless night due to back problem, but thats another story !!!
during the wee small hours i researched what my neighbours houses had been branded. we are pretty lucky in wales unlike you across the border that they revalued properties in 2003, but there still seems to be some glaring errors around, although i have been unable to find anyone else on this site who has had a success in south wales ????

Just rang the valuation office in Merthyr Tydfil which covers our area, and to be fair they were very helpful. They asked a couple of questions about my current residence and said it would be passed to a case worker, i would receive a reference letter confirming this in the next 48 hours and they will do the rest within 28 days.
having spoken to a few new neighbours recently and threw in the council tax bill question (as you do !) i found out i was paying nearly £500 more than one of my neighbours and we have an almost identical house.
When i mentioned this to the valuation office they did say "oh which number house was that" but i would not grass......
but i have already probably ruffled the feathers now and they will do a check of the whole street.
There are only 4 of us in our street with 5 bedroom houses (one could not be described as a bedroom as it is impossible to fit a bed in - we tried !!) and we are all paying different council tax !!
Well hopefully in 28 days time i will be posting on the success board as i think £1440.40 for what we get is disgusting. i have been here nearly 3 years and have never seen a street cleaner enter our street, despite problems with leaves bloody oak trees....

If anyone else on here is from south wales and has had success or failure i'd love to hear from you ??

vivatifosi

Andrea_Gilluley wrote: »

I have recently challenged our council tax banding (B) but have been told that a reduction does not apply to us. I completely disagree. I have done my research to discover the house was worth approx £36000 in 1991 and the band B value was £40001 - £52000 at this time. Also, other houses on our block are band A and some semi detatched houses opposite are band B, so there is no consistency at all.

To add insult to injury, I am told we cannot appeal this decision. Surely everyone has a right to appeal? If a mass murder was found guilty, even he could appeal if he so wished!!

Does anyone know if I can take this any further?

Hi Andrea,

If they have told you this I would imagine that you have lived there longer than six months and therefore don't have an automatic right to a tribunal, does that sound right?

You don't have a right to appeal, but you do have a right to ask them why they feel that they have "maintained an accurate list" (the VOA's duty) when other houses of an equal or higher value are in a lower band. You can also ask them under the Freedom of Information Act for how your band was reached. See my note to exvoperson above, for specific website links as to the type of info you can ask for, how they are likely to try and stall you and what you can therefore ask them to do in order to fulfil this request.

If that doesn't work, wait until someone new moves into a higher band house and get them to appeal. Also check as a matter of urgency whether any of your neighbours bands has been reduced at tribunal (it should have a V against it on the VOA website). This will also give you ammunition. If you find one, try and find out immediately whether this appeal has been made in the past six months. That gives you a right to tribunal. You can then resubmit your appeal and mention the tribunal. If it is older than six months, make sure that you still make reference to this in your letter asking them for information as to how your band decision was reached.

Good luck

ianaicr

Hi
I just discovered that I should have claimed a single-adult discount on my council tax - 5 years ago!
I've claimed, and the backdated it to the beginning of tax year 2007, but can I claim for the rest? If so, how?
Many thanks
Ian

wardd

Hi,
I've just contacted Birmingham Council about my CT because I'm in Band B & the Nationwide valuation puts me in a Band A. They said it would take upto 2 months before I get a response.
Anyway, do you think I will get a refund if I'm right. This was my parents house which they bought in 1982 but I've been living here all that time. Sadly they have both passed away within the last two years & I was left the house after my Mom died last April. If I get refund will it include what my parents paid as I am sole beneficiary of their wills ?

Thanks for any advice :easter: