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

suzy83

Hi,

I've received my forms to fill in from the VOA.

My house is currently in band C and beleive that it should be band B. I have gone on the nationwide check following advice from MSE and i don't understand what quarter i need to put in under the valuation date 1!

Can someone help me??

Thanks

lincroft1710

It will be 2nd Qtr of 91 as CT valuation date is 1 Apr 1991. Neither Halifax nor Nwide HPIs are accurate though. If you can find houses of a similar type and size in the neighbourhood in Band B, that could considerably help your case.

osc

We are looking to move house and have realised that the council tax band that the house is in is F, the current owners have lived there for 30yrs, so we cannot use nethouseprice to find out how much it was worth (bought/sold for). I may have completely overlooked someone already answering this question but is there anyway to assess council tax banding without this information, to see if it is correctly banded.

Thanks in advance

lincroft1710

Look at what the bands are of houses of a similar type and size in the neighbourhood. No point in doing anything though until you've actually bought the new place.

guppy

osc wrote: »

We are looking to move house and have realised that the council tax band that the house is in is F, the current owners have lived there for 30yrs, so we cannot use nethouseprice to find out how much it was worth (bought/sold for). I may have completely overlooked someone already answering this question but is there anyway to assess council tax banding without this information, to see if it is correctly banded.

Thanks in advance

You can still use the Nationwide Index, just with the asking price...but its still a terrible way to try and work out what a house was worth 18 years ago - especially since prices are now on their way back down.

As lincroft says, the bands of other houses are your best guide. Find out the bandings of all the other houses you have considered in your price range and see if there are any anomalies.

DaveyCB

Hi all,

I hope someone can help me with this as I don't know what to do!

Long story short - I moved out of a flat a year ago in central London and the new tenants who have moved in after me have had the council tax banding reassessed. The banding has subsequently been upgraded and they are paying more.

The council are now asking me to pay the difference between my old tax and the new amount - even though I no longer live there and had not lived there for months when the rebanding was done. This is almost £300.

Where do I stand on this? Am I liable for these charges?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks

CIS

If the Valuation Office have amended the banding then the Council Tax charge becomes due from the date at the amended band. You are liable for any extra charge generated if you were the liable person during that period.

You need to negotiate with the council as they will usually spread the balance out in circumstances such as this.

guppy

DaveyCB wrote: »

Hi all,

I hope someone can help me with this as I don't know what to do!

Long story short - I moved out of a flat a year ago in central London and the new tenants who have moved in after me have had the council tax banding reassessed. The banding has subsequently been upgraded and they are paying more.

The council are now asking me to pay the difference between my old tax and the new amount - even though I no longer live there and had not lived there for months when the rebanding was done. This is almost £300.

Where do I stand on this? Am I liable for these charges?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks

As CIS has said, yes.

However the circumstances in which a banding can be increased retospectively are very, very rare.

If the VOA made an error in valuing the property in the first place - any increase cannot be backdated.

The only circumstances I can think of are where a clerical mistake has been made, e.g. the wrong band was input in to the computer system or in certain situations where the property has been divided or used for business purposes in the past.

Do you have any more information over what might have happened? It may be worth speaking to the Valuation Office.

DaveyCB

Thanks Guppy and CIS,

I do know that the flat is owned by the owner of the corner shop on the ground floor.

Would this be grounds for them to backdate the charges to me if they believed the flat was part of the shop until the new tenants asked for a revaluation?

Apart from that I do know that the flat has been there for years, used for residential purposes throughout, and is still used as a residential property.


Thanks again

lincroft1710

Even if a clerical error was made the corrected band should not be backdated if it is an increase. As it is an increase, although it is more likely that the flat has either been merged with another or part of another flat or former business premises, the physical merger must have occurred before your occupation.

I agree with guppy, speak to VOA.