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

nikkib999

Not sure if anyone can help me, i have disputed my council tax banding and have gone through all the steps on the website. My house is in band E all others down my road are band D. My house is a bit unusual as it is attached on one level to a dentist, all others down the road are normal semis. Estate agents have never really been sure what to call it, semi, detatched (its def not) , link detatched etc. When i called the valuations office they had it down as detatched but i told them it def isnt as it is attached to dentist. Anyway they said they wld investigate and i received a letter today saying they believe band E is correct based on the actual value in 1991 of mine and all others down my road.

My question is how do i find out what my house was actually valued at in 1991 ? (ive used the price comparison tool based on todays price and what this means in 1991 but of course this isnt 100 percent accurate.) Does anyone know how i can find out ?? Valuations office have told me i have no right of appeal but im not letting it go without a fight !

lincroft1710

nikki - the only way you can get an idea of 91 asking prices is to search archived newspaper property ads.

rdm2007

There are a few things that people need to be made aware of.
They are in NO WAY intended to put you off checking your band.

However, sometimes things are not explained in a way that are easily understood - bad news is bad news no matter how it is put to you, but bad news which is not properly explained is even worse - if you know what i mean - so the following is meant to be informative and not a criticism.

I did work there for X (not xx) years which were X years too many - very very boring - no offence to those who do work there it just wasn't for me .

Explanation. Valuation - this is not a valuation which you get from an estate agents etc. For example - Two identical properties next door to each other - A is in a good state of repair, B has a tired old kitchen that needs replacing - an estate agent would value A higher than B - The VOA would not, they would have the same value for council tax banding purposes. Would it be fair to A if B had a lower band - the VOA feel it would not, and so, all properties are assumed to be in a good state of repair regardless of their actual condition. As long as they are habitable.

1. An APPEAL - (a formal legal procedure) must be done in the first 6 months of purchase (or revaluation see wales below, or if there is a physical reduction e.g. removal of an extension or a material reduction if a property is devalued by something being built close by e.g. a factory) - if disagreed with you have the right to take it to an appeal tribunal.

2. A BAND REVIEW - (an informal procedure) can be done at anytime. You have the right to insist that it is done. But there is no right of appeal if you still disagree (this is the only difference - the work the VOA do is exactly the same as if it were an appeal)

3. Band A is the lowest - there is nowhere to go that is any lower - if you are in this band and think you pay too much the only people to complain to is your local Council. The VOA set the BAND ONLY and your council set how much money is to be paid in each band.

4. Do not get bogged down with the 1991 valuation this is the date that national valuation was first done and became effective 01/04/1993 if your property was built after this date it will merely be compared to similar properties that did exist or similar properties that have already been valued by comparison. comparisons are made to similar properties which are as close to your local area as possible.

5. If you expand your property you will not be re-banded until (a) you sell it or (b) the whole nation is re-valued (i.e. the valuation of 1991 is repeated as in wales below), or (c) you ask for it - strange i know but i did have one person ask for this -they must have felt that a higher band was a status symbol :eek:

6. If your Appeal/Band Review results in the increase of your neighbours bands the VOA will only state that "An error has been noticed" they may also include "which may have been due to an appeal or band review" - they will NOT state "oh it was Mr Z at no XX". AN INCREASE IS NOT BACKDATED

(If you ask for either to be done don't tell the neighbours until you know which way it is going lol )

7. example if property A and property B are exactly the same and both are extended in the exact same way they will stay in the same band. If B then sold that property the new owners would be re-valued and may be increased to the next band. Therefore, if you have moved to a property that has been extended but is still the exact same as your neighbour who has lived there before any alterations took place then you can be in different bands.

8. If your property is reduced the council are advised of the new band and the effective date of the re-banding. The actual refund is done by your council. The effective date for England is 01/04/1993 if you owned the property then or the date of purchase if you didn't. (the 1993 date will change if and when England has a revaluation)

9. Finally - and this is surprisingly common - each band has a value range e.g. A = £0 - £40,000 B = £40,001 - onwards
if most of the houses in your street are valued at say £39950 then there will only need to be a small difference to push a property into the next band.

If the re-banding does go back to 1993 - you would need to ask your council if they refund further than the legal requirement which is the same as any other business i.e. 6 years I think. Most do but i believe there were some who did not - i think that has now been dealt with but best to check.

Wales was revalued in 2003 and became effective 01/04/2005 so this would be the effective date or the date of purchase if that is later.

I hope this helps you all (1) to know your rights and (2) to explain a few things that may look wrong at the first glance.

Edit in rare circumstances you could be increased a band i.e. if your property was under valued originally....

nikkib999

Hi Lincroft 1710
Tks for your reply and would these be in a local library ?? i guess no way of checking on line ?

Tks Nikki

lincroft1710

Nikki - either the library or local newspaper offices. As far as I am aware there is no online site for 1991 sale prices.

lincroft1710

rdm - have deleted my post as you have updated yours.

BTW - can't believe you didn't enjoy working at VOA. Such a fun place, all the telephone and counter callers were so pleasant and friendly. People really welcomed you into their homes and businesses. Head Office issued easily understood instructions, only when really necessary say one a year. Line managers set very low and easily achievable targets and quickly found other people to help you out. Everything was filed where it should be, all property details accurate and up to date.

Actually I think I've loved the past 4 yrs most of all ....when I wasn't working there (or anywhere else)!

rdm2007

lincroft1710 wrote: »

rdm - have deleted my post as you have updated yours.

BTW - can't believe you didn't enjoy working at VOA. Such a fun place, all the telephone and counter callers were so pleasant and friendly. People really welcomed you into their homes and businesses. Head Office issued easily understood instructions, only when really necessary say one a year. Line managers set very low and easily achievable targets and quickly found other people to help you out. Everything was filed where it should be, all property details accurate and up to date.

Actually I think I've loved the past 4 yrs most of all ....when I wasn't working there (or anywhere else)!

I was only admin support (thankfully) oh data enhancement i miss it so (NOT) and don't forget the pay was so good

jamdown

lincroft1710 wrote: »

jamdown - check if any of 4 bed terrace in C were originally in D. The valuation of £150K for your home in 2001 does suggest Band D could be correct though.

Thanks for the reply and i found the 2 valuations i had done on my hse:-
1) £260000.00 for my mortgage company in October 2007
2) £140000.00 to wish the council valued it in May 2002 when i brought it from them.
my calucaltion makes my hse to be in band c also all other houses idential to mine were originally in band c and no-ones been down graded from a D.

shapeshifter_2

Hi, does anyone know how I can find out what my property sold for around 1991 as I'm trying to make a claim to have my council tax band lowered. I've been through the Nationwide Price Checker and looked online, but the local valuation office are saying that it's wrong and that there was a sale around 1991 that was within the banding they are charging me for. The Land Registry only have figures for 1993 - 2000, so I don't think I can get much joy from them as it's too late. Hope someone can point me in the right direction.

lincroft1710

jamdown - I'm in Band D (fully checked) and my neighbour who had basically identical but slightly better house sold for £225K in Nov 07. So it's up to you if you want to use these valuations.