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

jhall_4

hi myself and my friend have just applied for council tax rebanding we have both been told that we are in the wrong band she recieved 15 seperate letters the other day telling her how much she has overpaid each year for the last 15 years but that she is entitled to reclaim for 19 years she was expecting just over 2000 refund only to then be told that she would only recieve 4 years back pay she asked the man from the council how this could be as she had all of the letters stating otherwise he asked her who had told her that she could claim back for 19 years to which she replied you, your name is on all of the letters i have just recieved he said he would look into it, when she read her letters again it looks like the have already taken the money off her for future bills so she now doesnt know if she will get anything back. i am still waiting to see the outcome of mine.

Abatement

Is it possible to make a claim in relation to properties built after 1991 (specifically, 2004)?

The relevant property is on a development of 7 houses, all in band F, but all the other houses in the area of a similar size are C, D or E. The only problem is that all the other houses are old properties, but there is no real difference in value, judging by current selling prices. There aren't any other new houses near by to compare with, apart from the 7 houses in the development (and obviously they would all have been valued at the same time, so they're either all right or all wrong).

lincroft1710

The age of a property does not matter when seeking a band reduction. However it does not follow that if 2 different house types currently have the same value, they would also have had the same value in 1991. Further, properties have often been improved and/or extended over the past 20 years. The best comparisons are with properties of a similar age, type, style and size.

It's probably worth a phone call to VOA (Eng/Wales) or Assessor (Scot) to ask why the bands are so different. It may be that the lower banded properties are underassessed.

Gemtree

I moved into a 2 bed flat 4 months ago, Brighton, band C. I wrote to contest the band citing a couple of reasons, that its a small flat, added measurements and that a supermarket was built 50ft away in 2004.

Its a block of 7 flats, all band C, housing association tenants.

I have had a reply from the VOA saying they are making no change. And on another page, it says 'since the development was first assessed in 1997 there have been no previous challenges to the council tax banding of all 7 flats, no challenges were received either following the opening of (supermarket). As such I consider the banding tone to have been established for this type of property in the locality'

How can I appeal this, can anyone help

moth4thestar

My mother moved last year (in Scotland) and only mentioned to me last week that she was surprised her house was in Band E. I did some research and it appears her house should be Band D, however, the Scottish Assessors website says you can only appeal to alter the Council Tax band within 6 months of becoming the owner, so she's too late to appeal

sirazs

Hi all, I was hoping to get a bit of reclaiming advice please..

I was going to check our banding but have just received a council tax bill which shows we have been put down to a lower band this tax year.

Although this is great, I just wanted to ask whether this is fair. The properties have not changed at all and have been in a higher band for all this time, meaning we paid higher council tax for the last 10 years or so.

Is it possible to reclaim for that time? I appreciate the council have changed the banding themselves but having done the checks it should have been in this current band in the first place.

I would appreciate any advice at all, thankyou, :-)

lincroft1710

sirazs wrote: »

Hi all, I was hoping to get a bit of reclaiming advice please..

I was going to check our banding but have just received a council tax bill which shows we have been put down to a lower band this tax year.

Although this is great, I just wanted to ask whether this is fair. The properties have not changed at all and have been in a higher band for all this time, meaning we paid higher council tax for the last 10 years or so.

Is it possible to reclaim for that time? I appreciate the council have changed the banding themselves but having done the checks it should have been in this current band in the first place.

I would appreciate any advice at all, thankyou, :-)

If you don't think its fair, ask them to put the band back up.

If you're in England or Wales banding is done by the Valuation Office Agency part of HMRC not the council. You should have received a separate notification from them that your CT band was being reduced.

The council should automatically refund any overpaid CT, there should be no need to claim.

jbaker7776

I've just checked the neighbours bands and the valuation and have one question.

I bought my house in August 2000 for £57,500 and it has recently(2yrs ago) been valued at £125,000. Going by the calculator on this website in 1991 it would have been valued at £37,000 (ish) but it wasnt built until 1998.

I cant figure out how this works or if I should try for a refund as Im afraid they'll put it.

Anybody else in a familiar position?

J

lincroft1710

jbaker7776 wrote: »

I cant figure out how this works or if I should try for a refund as Im afraid they'll put it.

You don't say which band(s) you or your neighbours are in.

House price indices are inaccurate and can only give a rough idea. I'm not exactly sure how they calculate their figures, especially over such wide geographical areas.

Depending on the band it may be worth asking for a band review.

thehappycamper99

Right. Quick question. I remember reading somwhere that there was a way around the 6 month rule. How do you appeal the 6 month rule and win?