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

lincroft1710

Davey - I was writing my previous post at same time as you posted.

It looks very much as if a room or rooms which was/were part of shop became part of flat, so the correct effective date is the date on which this actually occurred. In such circumstances the VOA would be correct in backdating the increase.

guppy

DaveyCB wrote: »

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

Did you actually get a council tax bill when you lived at the flat?

DaveyCB

Thanks for your help all,

In respone to the last post, yes I have paid all the council tax for the period I lived there, and I have the statements to prove it. It is because of this that I find it so hard to swallow an extra £300 bill on top of this!

guppy

DaveyCB wrote: »

Thanks for your help all,

In respone to the last post, yes I have paid all the council tax for the period I lived there, and I have the statements to prove it. It is because of this that I find it so hard to swallow an extra £300 bill on top of this!

In that case it sounds as if part of the shop became part of the flat before you moved in, but the VOA only found about it now.

If the current occupiers were to appeal and win...you'd get a refund, but that's a big "if".

lincroft1710

Davey - what was CT band when you moved in and what is current band, pl?

Maisie

Hi Guppy. Remember me? Maisie who started this Council tax thread advising MSE's to check their council tax banding way back in 2005 I think it was.

After a long battle with VOA trying to get our band lowered I gave up! I know I shouldn't have but have been ill and didn't have the energy to continue.
I'm feeling better now so might take up the challenge again.

Great to see you are still giving good advice and a lot of new names posting.
Keep up the good work.

All the best Maisie.

lennie28

Hi

I used to live in a 3 bed end of terrace house, with two reception rooms and garden and was in Band A. I am now in a 2 bed appartment with only one reception room, property is much much smaller and has no garden, however I am now in band B. Does anyone else think this is incorrect?? When I called up about it, I was told I was in band B as i have 2 bedrooms! I dont see how this can be correct when i was in band A and had 3 bedrooms and a much bigger property. Can anyone help?

lincroft1710

lennie - it depends what the value of each property was in 1991 (England/Scotland) or 2003 (Wales). 2 bed apts can be worth more than 3 bed ETs, location can play a big part. There is even a possibility that house CT band is wrong.

A better approach would be to look at bands of other similar size 2 bed apts in nearby blocks. If they are A, you can ask why yours is B. If you have been occupier of apt for less than 6 mnths then you do have a right of appeal.

guppy

Maisie wrote: »

Hi Guppy. Remember me? Maisie who started this Council tax thread advising MSE's to check their council tax banding way back in 2005 I think it was.

After a long battle with VOA trying to get our band lowered I gave up! I know I shouldn't have but have been ill and didn't have the energy to continue.
I'm feeling better now so might take up the challenge again.

Great to see you are still giving good advice and a lot of new names posting.
Keep up the good work.

All the best Maisie.

Hi Maisie, sorry to hear you were ill, but glad you are better now

Who could forget your epic struggle?!

If you do decide to try and reopen your case I would recommend trying to find out how the VOA have reached their decision - I imagine your local office believe your banding is correct even if they are wrong.

Or, try and find either a material change in the area to appeal on the grounds of, or; appeal off the back of another relevant recent Tribunal decision (Vivatifosi is the expert on this!).

That way, if you were up to it, you would at least be able to have your say at an independent Tribunal.

Good to hear from you anyway.

lincroft1710

Maisie - during past 6 months has anyone moved into a nearby identical (or near identical) house to yours. If so, you could try persuading them to make appeal.

VOA are not as informative regarding decisions on correctness of bands as they were 2/3 yrs ago.