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

RRatchet

Hi
I'm wondering if anyone has any advice on my particular situation. We have inherited an uninhabitable farmhouse and land from my father in law. Well we will have when the conveyancing is completed and we become the legal owners. The farm was lived in by my OH's grandad until he died in 1976, when it ceased to be liable for rates. After that it was left empty and wasn't maintained so by 1991 it was uninhabitable. It completely missed out on the poll tax era and council tax has never been collected on it. It is however a band D. Which is really odd especially as similar farmhouses within half a mile including my MIL's who is still alive (which has 1 more bed) are band C. I'm fairly confident that I can get the banding down to a C, however giving it's condition and the fact that it was valued in 2004 at £65,000 as part of my father in law's estate what are the chances of a lower band (using the calculator it would be under £27,000 ie a band A). I know I can approach the valuation office and council, however I'm very wary of opening a can of worms like why no council tax has been levied and who if anyone would be laible if some how it had just been forgotten about. I certainly don't want it declared uninhabitable and delisted as we are starting to renovate it and would then have to get involved with planning permission etc. Equally I don't want to have have to pay council tax on a second home I cannot live in as it has no water/electric/bathroom floor and the roof has holes in it (we have a slater starting work in the next 2 weeks to re-roof it). Is it possible to have an anonymous informal chat about a theoretical property with the valuer?

lincroft1710

RRatchet - For CT purposes all property has to be valued assuming it to be in a reasonable state of repair. Disrepair cannot be taken into account. The 2004 valuation would reflect its condition and being part of a farm and is little help in trying to establish value for CT. Calculators are inaccurate.

It is very difficult trying to compare one farmhouse with another. Farmhouses are notoriously complex to value for CT as it will depend on size of farm, farm buildings and whether there are occupational conditions attached. If the house will not be occupied in connection with agricultural land then it will be valued on a straightforward stand alone value as at 1 April 1991.

There is no definition of "uninhabitable" in CT law. In fact the word does not exist. From personal experience (I'm ex VOA, 35 yrs - last 12 spent dealing with CT appeals) if a dwelling has a roof, albeit in poor repair and will be reoccupied it isn't uninhabitable. When a dwelling was being renovated, very rarely was it delisted.

Both my colleagues and myself would be wary about giving anonymous advice in such circumstances, usually an inspection would be necessary before any decision could be made.

I am equally surprised that no CT has been levied even on an empty dwelling. There are certain exemptions from paying CT, but as these are on the charging rather than banding side of CT, I can only advise that you check with the Council as they should have a leaflet detailing these. You can also Google "Council Tax - exempt dwellings"

yasmintaylor

Hi I was wondering if anyone has tried to have their property rebanded after the 6 mth period. We have bee in our house for 2 years but honestly never knew we could find out what the neighbours were banded or indeed what we could do if we thought our band was too high. We were not told when we bought what band it was and to be quite frank forgot to ask. I wrote to the scottish assessors office after reading MSE and asked to be reviewed as most of the other houses are 1 band lower with however most of the houses are 2 lower but are now larger than ours due to extensions and have sold for more than we bought for. There seems to be no sense to the way the houses are banded and I have walked all round the immediate area and checked all the large houses. Some are 1 band some 2 lower and of course there still are a couple that are the same but only about 2 out of about 20. I was told that since it has been more than 6 mths our case is invalid. I was told if I had any evidence I could appeal which I did and wrote a 2 page letter listing all the properties and what they sold for and sizes which were all larger/more expensive and lower bands. I received anothe letter saying they still belived our case to be invalid as it was out with the time scale. Is there anything we can do? Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
Yas East Renfrewshire

lincroft1710

Did you make an appeal which was rejected as invalid because you were out of time?

Even if this is the case, in England/Wales band would still be investigated and I hope in Scotland the Assessor would do the same. It is pointless pursuing validity aspect, but you should insist Assessor investigates your band based on the evidence you have supplied.

StephenL

Hi Everybody. Hope this hasn't been covered elsewhere but I could not find it in any other posts.

My Mother-in-law sold her house about 5 months ago and has since found out that the buyers applied for and got a rebanding of the council tax.

My question is can my Mother-in-law apply for the retrospective council tax overpayment for the time she lived there?

Any help appreciated. Thanks

SavingTide

Hello, my semideteched house is Band D - the house next door (the other part of the 'semi') is also Band D but is now much larger having gone through some expansion work (so that the owner could rent out to a no of tennants, it has extended and coverted the garage to ensuite room though still part of the main propoerty).

The 2 houses the other side from me, neither of which is a larger property (indeed approximately equivalent though not as identical as the 2 parts of the semi prior to the extension work) are Band C.

Do you think that I might have a case to re-bad - I have been in the house 14 years!

Is there a danger that they could re-band my neighbours house in Band C upwards? (I do not want to fall out!)


Thanks for your advice,

PS: Further info: My house purchase price in 1994 was around 71.500- it is probably now worth over 200 K but I have never had it valuated. The only properties that were sold recently on my street, whcih are also semi-detached. all sold for over 210K.

EMMMS

I bought my flat from an ex-council tenant, who bought it at a below market price, so I assume the tax banding currently was determine by using comparable private properties in a middle-class town eight miles away. As a new town property prices are now consistently lower than established town around and in the past all properties were owned by the council so no record of market prices exists. Have I any hope of getting a realistic tax band, given that the market prices were skewed then and now?

lincroft1710

StephenL - Yes

lincroft1710

SavingTide - CT law allows existing owners to extend without CT being increased so next door cannot be rebanded until it is sold. Extensions to a dwelling will not always result in increased band. As house prices fell between 91 and 94, a 94 price of £71,500 would suggest a figure well in excess of £68K (Band D min) in 91.

lincroft1710

EMMMS - CT is based on property values as at 1 April 1991 (for England and Scotland, 1 Apr 2003 for Wales). Dwellings are banded by looking at relevant sales evidence of properties as near as poss in size, type, age and location. So a 1 bed flat in Weatherfield won't be compared with a 3 bed stone cottage in Emmerdale. Whether your band is correct or not cannot say, you can easily check bands of other flats in area.