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

webtalk

Thanks so much for all your responses.

exvoperson

vivatifos
I'm interested that it never went to High Court, but also seem to remember hearing that tribunals don't set precedents, so I'm now curious to hear whether others can make a valid appeal off of the back of it.

What happened to the subsequent appeal?[/quote]

Vivatifos

You are correct in that a VT does not have to follow the decision of another tribunal. However in my experience they normally do if on a point of law-unless there is a decision of a higher court. I think they did not appeal to High Court because their case was too weak and that it was best to sweep things under the carpet.

The appeal remains outstanding and am awaiting another hearing date.

However on 3 other cases that were pending this decision the VOA withdrew their invalidity appeals and have just reduced all 3 banding's.

All the best

ExVOperson

PS I have another case in January regarding invalidity. This time my appeal on the back of a VT decision related to the fact that the new appeal property was referred to as a comparable in the originating decision having been sold in 1992.

The VOA consider that the originating VT decision showed no issue of law or valuation that could cause me to consider the banding of another property was wrong as the banding was considered correct. I will let you know the outcome.

lincroft1710

exvoperson - I don't know how your former office operated, but I'm certain quite a few VOAs don't want hassle of referring poss HC appeal to their head office. And head office aren't too keen on HC appeals because of cost, time involved and resultant fallout if they lose and an unwanted precedent set.

As with your previous invalid, had this appeal been referred to me for a decision, I would have accepted it as valid.

I do recall that one offce I did work for (rather than actually working there) accepted loads of appeals which were in fact invalid as valid!! They believed it was good customer relations.

kih79

I live in a development of 50 flats which was built in 2006. I moved in in June 2006, the council tax banding was assessed to be D, which at the time thought steap but didn't know you could challenge it. Now I know you can I'e followed Martin's advice and gone through the neighbours check and 1991 valuations. I've checked multiple valuation sites all of which put my property well within Band C, however when checking the neighbours all the other 2 bed properties seem to be in D as well. Is it worth putting in an appeal on this basis? Has anyone had a similar case and been successful?

lincroft1710

kih79 - You can't make a formal appeal as you're well out of time. You can ask the Valuation Office Agency (England/Wales) or Assessor (Scotland) to check the band and you should give them as much information as you believe will support your case. VOA have access to virtually every house price and do not regard prices supplied by indices such as Halifax or Nationwide to be reliable. Many post 2000 apartment blocks are far superior to those built in 1960s/70s/80s, so trying to find 1991 evidence of exact comparable may not be easy, but it may be worth trawling local newspaper archives to find asking prices of similar flats in 1991.

It would be helpful to know how much you paid for flat and what part of the country you're in.

palicia

The Knowsley Wardens Service has been scrapped and they have been given 90 days notice when they will finish in January.


Does this then mean that we get a reduction in our council tax bills as according to the column below they were awarded 1.6 million to perminantly fund them.
What do you think?

Knowsley faces challenges as council tax goes up 4%

Mar 5 2008 by Alan Weston, Liverpool Daily Post
COUNCIL tax bills in Knowsley will rise by 4% after the authority set a budget of £422m yesterday.
It means those living in Band A properties – who make up the majority of residents – will see their total annual bill for 2008/09 increase to £882.80, or by 56p a week.
The authority said the budget had been set against the background of tough financial challenges, with a government funding increase of 2%, while costs had increased by more than 9%.
However, council leaders said the budget meant they would be putting an extra £70m in to key projects, without cutting services or closing facilities.
Funding of £2.5m has been set aside for Knowsley’s wide-ranging education reforms, with the setting-up of seven new learning centres across the borough by 2010. An extra £1m will be used to help young people improve their Maths and English.
More than £500,000 will also be ploughed into looking at ways to redevelop Kirkby town centre.
The Neighbourhood Warden Service will be permanently funded with a new investment of £1.6m.
Knowsley council leader, Cllr Ron Round, said: “We are delighted to once again set a budget which keeps council tax increases to a minimum while maintaining quality services and investing in the future of the borough.
“We remain committed to improving people’s lives and transforming the neighbourhoods in which they live.
“That is why we have invested £45m to improve buildings, roads and facilities across the borough, over £18m in key services including social care, education, anti-social behaviour, waste and recycling.
“In addition we are investing an additional £9.4m in key initiatives to tackle worklessness, improving attainment, the environment and crime reduction.
Cllr Norman Keats, Knowsley’s cabinet member for finance, added: “This budget has been achieved by identifying over £7.3m efficiency savings across the council, which have been reinvested in priority services.”
alanweston

vivatifosi

Unfortunately this is something we are going to see more and more. Councils will be under pressure to keep council tax bills low, while dealing with other pressures on finance (such as their income falling) and a drive to find 'efficiency' savings.

One thing you can be sure of though is that your bill will not fall.

Have a read of this article for more info:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1094767/Council-tax-hike-warning-householders-town-hall-income-dives.html

Airwolf1

lincroft1710

Just curious. Do you work at the VOA? If not, what is your line of work?

Thanks

lincroft1710

Hi Airwolf, worked at VOA for 35 yrs before taking early retirement.

Airwolf1

Edited due to being too inquisitive!