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

lincroft1710

Tooler - water rates are based on Rateable Values which for domestic properties (e.g. houses, bungalows, flats) were abolished in 1990. The government allowed water companies to continue charging for water/sewerage based on Rateable Values even though the RVs cannot be changed.

I will repeat - water rates have nothing to do with Council Tax, so if you did get a CT band reduction it won't lead to a reduction in your water/sewerage bill.

50Twuncle

Could someone please confirm or deny whether there is a 6 month rule in place for CT refunds ?
I may have been overpaying for 10 years and if there is a 6 month rule - I will lose out.......
If not - could someone please quote what statement I should use ?

Many thanks

Twinkle

lincroft1710

21Twinkle - there is a 6 month time limit in which to make an appeal against CT band, over 6 months ask VOA to investigate your band and tell them why you think band is wrong. If VOA agree band is wrong it will be reduced, they are statutorily bound to find correct band for every dwelling. Plenty of posts on these threads where VOA have agreed to band reduction.

HOWEVER just because you have evidence that you believe your band is incorrect does not mean VOA will automatically agree with you. They may have evidence which is more relevant and supports the current band.

MaryCC

I have an appointment next week to appeal my CT banding. I am over the 6 months mark by a few years but I am going to go and give my evidence.

Only problem is that the Surveyor has already told me that it will not win as it will be ruled invalid - I've not even got my foot on the door yet!

Has anyone also had a success story in the Scottish Valuation Appeal Committee (VAC) after the 6 mth mark?
Has anyone else had success appealing as their house is underpinned and has a lower market value?
Has anyone else had success appealing when the house next door has been condemned, is lying empty and parts of it are dangerous?

I have also asked the VAC to show me their evidence for the 1991 value which they say they have, as yet they have not shown this to us in any format. Is this allowed?

Any relevant help and advice would be appreciated as I know there is just one shot at this.

Thanks.

lincroft1710

Mary - if VAC are like English Valuation Tribunal then the only thing they will consider is whether your appeal is valid or not. As the appeal was made outside 6 month time limit, they will not have a lot of choice.

shiers123

First post on MSE!
Complicated problem about Council Tax banding here - can anyone help?
In 1991 all the houses on my street were the same - large 2/3 bed victorian terraces.
About 1993, some were demolished and a local housing trust built 5 new ones in 1994 (much smaller style) on the plot. These houses (including mine) are on a 50% leasehold mortgage - half mortgage, half rent.
My neighbours was sold in March 2005 for £75,000 - that's half the property's worth (if you wanted to buy it outright you would have had to pay £150,000) as the other half is rented.
So, I used Martin's Council Tax value checking thing, but I am confused - this is not a straightforward calculation. I am SURE we are paying too much Council Tax. Everyone on the street is Band B, but I think our 5 houses should be Band A.
Has anyone any advice on how to sort this out or anyone who has dealt with the same situation??
I just don't know where to start......

lincroft1710

Shiers - if you use the calculators you have to 1) work on full value of house (£150K), 2) be aware that both Halifax and Nationwide HPCs are inaccurate.

In my view £150K in 2005 does not suggest £40K or less in 1991. The best comparison you can make is with other modern houses of similar size and type in the neighbourhood.

ped2608

Hello there, this is my first post and I apologise beforehand that it is a question that probably has been asked a thousand times before but doing a random check thru the hundred odd pages hasn't brought it up so here goes, we have been in our house since 1987 so well before the council tax came into being, we haven't ever challenged our banding as we ASSUMED it was correct, having recently found out that you can challenge I started investigating and found that the house next door which is the same size and on a plot the same size is a band lower than us. We live on a country road and houses don't sell very often and no 2 houses are really the same so my only comparison would be with next door, the question is...is it worth challenging after such a long time and what reason could I give other than 'it is the same as the house next door' which, from what I understand does not constitute a good reason to challenge.

I hope that with all the experience out there you can help us, as as with many of you we are struggling at the moment and any possibility of reclaiming and getting bills reduced would really help.

Many thanks in advance

Ped

50Twuncle

I emailed VOA on Friday to get my house correctly valued (<£52k in Q2 1991) and received a response by post this morning - Quoting the 6 month rule as a reason for not progressing my claim
I have read (somewhere ?) that this is just a "cop out"
What is my next step ?

louiseacat

I'm sure the property I used to live in is in too high a band and I want to appeal but...I no longer live there but my ex-partner does. Will he get all the money or will the council share it between us if I explain the situation? It was joint names on the council tax bill.
I'm not going to bother doing the work if they give it all to him!

cheers