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

Ritty

I own a ex military married quarter. All the houses around us look the same but have either 2, 3 or 4 bedrooms. Obviously those with 4 bedrooms are valued at more than those with just 2. However I did the first check and found that all of the properties are on the same band (B). I did the value check and I was placed in band C. Please can someone explain if I should go to the council about this? My property is in Scotland and I purchased it fir £124,000 in may 2008 with the list price being offers over £116,000. I'm a bit confused.

lincroft1710

Ritty wrote: »

I own a ex military married quarter. All the houses around us look the same but have either 2, 3 or 4 bedrooms. Obviously those with 4 bedrooms are valued at more than those with just 2. However I did the first check and found that all of the properties are on the same band (B). I did the value check and I was placed in band C. Please can someone explain if I should go to the council about this? My property is in Scotland and I purchased it fir £124,000 in may 2008 with the list price being offers over £116,000. I'm a bit confused.

From your post it seems you think you are underbanded. There is no requirement for you to inform the council or Assessor. In any case the Band B may well be correct, in 1991 ex military housing probably wasn't worth that much on the open market.

lincroft1710

roar349 wrote: »

Just done the checks in the guide. I live in a row of 4 terraced townhouses, all of us are in band E (they're biggish, but only 3 bedrooms) which seems a bit high. I've done the valuation checkwhich puts the properties clearly in band D (I've checked a couple of the 1991 prices). Is it worth challenging?

Yes, as they can only say no. Highly unlikely band would be increased.

lincroft1710

Boardwitless

The valuation should reflect the property as it existed as at 1 Apr 1993 or as at the date first entered in the Valuation List (if built after 1 Apr 1993) or as at the date of the last sale (again if after 1 Apr 1993). It seems your band was increased to C (with effect from 23 May 2002, your purchase date?) because of the alterations, which is perfectly legal and above board as CT legislation permits such an increase.

If you think the alterations didn't warrant a band increase, you can ask for a band review, but of course no guarantee that the band will be reduced back to a B and you will have give reasons to support your request e.g. other similar size houses in Band B, or house price index shows B. Although HPIs are inaccurate, it will give you a rough idea if Band C is totally inaccurate.

vrc8883

I find this all very interesting, but wonder: I bought and moved into my house in 2002. It was 5 or 6 years old then. If my house was built in the late 90s do I still go back to 1991 to find an assumed 1991 basis for taxible value?

With one exception, all of the houses on our street are in Band F, the exception is next door and is in Band E.

If I check the most recent selling price and year of sale for all of the houses on the street, using the website calculator, they all come out as Band E - or would have been, if they existed in 1991.

So the question is, given my neighbour is Band E already and given that my house in 1991 should also have been Band E, according to the Nationwide calculations - is it worth my challenging the valuation?

Many thanks

lincroft1710

vrc8883 wrote: »

If my house was built in the late 90s do I still go back to 1991 to find an assumed 1991 basis for taxible value?

Yes

So the question is, given my neighbour is Band E already and given that my house in 1991 should also have been Band E, according to the Nationwide calculations - is it worth my challenging the valuation?

Many thanks

Certainly worth asking for a band review, the Band E house may either have been reduced and others not followed up, or it could be too low. Be aware that house price indices are inaccurate and should only be used as a rough guide.

flopon

[/QUOTE]how do I work out valuation if the house was built in 1999?

vrc8883

lincroft1710 wrote: »

Certainly worth asking for a band review, the Band E house may either have been reduced and others not followed up, or it could be too low. Be aware that house price indices are inaccurate and should only be used as a rough guide.

I suspect that when built all of the houses were Band F. It is just when you take the most recent selling price and date of sale and then convert that back to a 1991 value that the result becomes Band E.

I paid less for my house in 2002 than many of my neighbours paid for theirs in subsequent years, yet my house is much closer to the top of the E Band and theirs, some of which are identical to mine, are in the mid Band range - funny...

The house next door that is listed as E Band was just sold by the original buyer but I doubt that explains anything. I am the 3rd owner of my house and if I take the price and date of purchase for the second owner - the calculator says F Band which is why I found it strange that the band could be challenged based on 1991 presumed value based, in turn, on my purchase price. So is it that the band might change subject to market pressures?

lincroft1710

vrc8883 wrote: »

I suspect that when built all of the houses were Band F. It is just when you take the most recent selling price and date of sale and then convert that back to a 1991 value that the result becomes Band E.

I paid less for my house in 2002 than many of my neighbours paid for theirs in subsequent years, yet my house is much closer to the top of the E Band and theirs, some of which are identical to mine, are in the mid Band range - funny...

The house next door that is listed as E Band was just sold by the original buyer but I doubt that explains anything. I am the 3rd owner of my house and if I take the price and date of purchase for the second owner - the calculator says F Band which is why I found it strange that the band could be challenged based on 1991 presumed value based, in turn, on my purchase price. So is it that the band might change subject to market pressures?

The VOA work out bands by looking at sales of dwellings in 1991 which are of a similar type and size and in the area of the dwelling to be banded. They will also take into account any relevant Valuation Tribunal decisions and settled appeals.

Bands will not change because the market values those dwellings more or less over the years for whatever reason. The exception to this being a physical change in the locality which directly devalues nearby dwellings, e.g. a large noisy factory built at the bottom of the garden. In such circumstances, the 6 month rule doesn't apply and a valid appeal can be made.

Sherco_2

Council Wiltshire
Previous Band D
New Band C
Amount Refunded £1850
Saving going forward £135 per year

It was so easy to sort this out with the help of the Martins Website.

When I checked the council tax banding website I found out that my semi-detached bungalow was band D as was the other half of my semi. I have lived in my bungalow for 25 years & in my opinion the banding has been wrong since 1st April 1993. Most of the other houses in our street are band C so I felt I had a good case & the worse that could happen was I would stay the same.

I wrote to the Valuation office putting my case, they sent back a form, I filled this in, sent it back & within 4 weeks I got a reply to say that my property would be re-classified to band C. Result!!!

I then got a letter from the council saying that I would get a refund for £1850 & I will save about £135 per year from now on


I told my neighbour & he is disputing his banding as well. He has only been in the property 18 months so he probably wont get a refund but his council tax payments should be reduced so he is chuffed


Thanks Martin for making it so easy!!:money:

Sherco