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

Zebedeee

vivatifosi wrote: »

Oh I soooooo do!

And you know you can probably do the same where you live Zebedeee... fancy a bit of mutual trouble making??

Watch out VOA!

lincroft1710

There are probably tens of thousands of properties which should have had their bands reduced. But lack of resources meant they never were.

Most of original bandings were not carried out by regular VOA staff, but either by estate agents on contract, or ex estate agents temporarily employed by VOA. And 15 years later they're still trying to sort out the mess!

In my experience Valuation Tribunals lean over backwards to be fair to taxpayers - we thought they were often biased against VOA.

If the all available evidence supports band then that is good, it shows job has been done properly. If it clearly doesn't, band should be reduced accordingly without recourse to VT hearing. There really should only be two occasions when VT hearing necessary - when evidence is sparse or contradictory (and then VOA should reduce if possible) or if there is a disability which VOA does not believe is sufficient to reduce band, N.B. reduction in value does not automatically mean reduction in band.

BTW taking a case to VT can mean 4/5 hours preparation for VOA, not to mention time and money consuming inspection of property. I could usually type letter and necessary paperwork for reduction in about 20mins. Far easier to agree reduction than take case to VT.

[Deleted User]

I'm having trouble getting my property re-banded. I live in a terraced cottage with no off-road parking, double glazing, or central heating. Other properties in the area that are larger than mine, semi-detached, and with off-road parking etc are in a lower band.

I've written to the VOA in Swindon and have been told that my property is in the right band. I am really frustrated with this response as I checked and listed all the houses that are in the village that are in the lower band. There is no house similar to mine - which is sandwiched between two larger houses.

They have said in the letter that I am entitled to 'challenge' the valuation. Can anyone explain what this process is and how I should approach it?

Many thanks in advance for your help!

LittleEmms

Hi Guys,

Sorry if there is a piece of information on this already. I've had a search around but am new and therefore getting use to the boards.

I am fortunate enough that the local council are carrying out a review. I am currently banded C, the same as the two beds in my road, when infact I believe I should be a B, as I have a one bedroom starter home.

Very simple question, so I fill out the Property Details form correctly (dont' want to give them an excuse ) - is there a simple way of finding who built my property. I am in shared ownership, and believe it was a housing association that built it. The options are 'local authority' or 'housing association'. I have spent this morning looking through my lease, and all mortgage paperwork, I can't find who constructed it.

As for most things...:rolleyes: is there a website??

Thanks in advance!!

vivatifosi

Hi LittleEmms,

Sometimes you can get this information online from the local council planning information (depends on how long ago it was built and whether archive info is available) but if not, give planning a call. You'll be surprised what they know. I was trying to find out for my house, which is 14 years old, whether it had cavity wall insulation and they knew that, so if you get someone who has been there a long time they may well remember your place being built and be able to give you all the info you need.

vivatifosi

Hi Lincroft,

I just wanted to clarify that I don't have a downer against the staff at the VOA, some of whom can be a bit difficult to deal with (isn't that the case in every office), but most of whom are very helpful. My issue is with a system that can one day say you can't have these house prices, then at some point further down the line makes them available.

For what its worth I would imagine there are people sitting in VOA offices thinking exactly the same: what on earth's going on that the data sets are now available to the public when we've spent years saying they can't have them, because that's what we were told. They are probably also concerned that its going to lead to another big wave of work and queries coming their way and I understand that they are already overworked.

However, I don't agree that the VTS is biased against the VOA. I did an analysis of all tribunals that went to the VTS over a period in 2006/7 and for which information was available (by reading the tribunal notes on the VTS website) and found that far too many members of the public turn up for tribunal woefully underprepared and uninformed, and as a result lose their case. Those that are better prepared seemed to be decided on balance of probability, sometimes the VOA won, sometimes they didn't. The biggest issue in my opinion is invalidity tribunals and that they totally waste the VOA, VTS and appellant's time as they are virtually never overturned (I did find one out of hundreds that wasn't but that was a very wierd situation). If the public better understood what invalidity tribunals are I think that would be a great help.

vivatifosi

gin1998 wrote: »

I'm having trouble getting my property re-banded. I live in a terraced cottage with no off-road parking, double glazing, or central heating. Other properties in the area that are larger than mine, semi-detached, and with off-road parking etc are in a lower band.

I've written to the VOA in Swindon and have been told that my property is in the right band. I am really frustrated with this response as I checked and listed all the houses that are in the village that are in the lower band. There is no house similar to mine - which is sandwiched between two larger houses.

They have said in the letter that I am entitled to 'challenge' the valuation. Can anyone explain what this process is and how I should approach it?

Many thanks in advance for your help!

Hi gin,

While at first sight it does sound as though you have a good case for rebanding, I'm wondering if there's something about your place that sets it apart. For example, if it was a picturesque thatched cottage built in the 15th century, then it could arguably be worth much more than the houses on either side, irrespective of whether they are larger, have double glazing etc.

You say that you've listed the houses, and that's a good first step, but you need to get price evidence. There are two ways of doing this. Firstly, speak to neighbours and people in the village who have lived there a long time and see whether they remember house prices from 1991, especially for your house or similar houses. Second check the local newspaper archive which most local libraries have and read back through the microfilms for the end of 1990 to early 1991 and see what was available then.

If 'location, location, location' is the key to house purchasing, then 'research, research, research' is the key to getting a reband. The more information you can give the VOA upfront the better, but please, please, don't rely on house price back checkers such as those from the Halifax as they will only give you an average for where you live and won't be accepted.

lincroft1710

vivatifosi - I cannot imagine VOA will object if the restrictions against wholeale divulgence of pre 1995 sales evidence are removed. The confidentiality aspect is historic (poss dates back 100 yrs) and let's face it, who could really be opposed to anyone knowing how much they paid for their house seventeen years ago.

We will have to agree to differ on subject of VTS bias. I speak from 12 years personal experience of presenting cases at VT, being presnt when other colleagues have presented cases, and from discussions with like minded colleagues during my 35 years at VOA stretching across 4 counties and involving many different VT members.

The one area where their hands are tied is the subject of invalid appeals, the legislation is so straightforward - if you're too late that's it, it's invalid!! And they are waste of everyone's time and prevent VOA from getting on and investigating band. A lot of underprepared and uninformed taxpayers don't have a case to start with, even those who would appear to be extremely knowledgeable and intelligent are sometimes incapable of assimilating basic facts. This may seem a little harsh but again I am speaking from personal experience.

LittleEmms

Thanks Vivatofisi, I will do that!! They were only built in the 1980's, so I hope that they will have the info. Cheers for the tip! And hope your claim goes well!
:beer:

LittleEmms

OOo further question - they're asking me to provide evidence on the questionnaire... would you suggest I am pre-emptive and provide selling prices from archived newspapers (fab tip!!) or just start with nationwide calculator and the proof I am paying the same as the two beds??

LittleEmms