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

gingerfox

We have just been turned down as our property was valued on the price it would have been in 1991 if it had been improved. We purchased in 1992, way below the band margin, and subsequently modernised it - central heating, rewire and new kitchen. According to the Nationwide tool it still sits in the lower band.

The properties in our area are very mixed, but other similar properties are split between 2 bands. The valuer argued that they haven't exchanged hands since they modernised; when I explained that we haven't he said that the decision was final.

Is the valuer correct?

lincroft1710

gingerfox - if the modernisation was carried out prior to Apr 1993, then the valuer is definitely correct.

afm_2

Hello,

I have recently moved into a property that has had its councilt tax band moved up because it has an extension and I am not convinced that it should have been moved up one band. It is a ground floor extension.

There are many similar properties around, many with conservatories and some with extensions done with bricks on the walls but with a roof like a conservatory. I can't find any property with exactly the same extension thus it is very difficult to compare if this one is in the right band.
However, when checking the CT for other properties, I found 2 that were in the CT below mine (band D) and clicked on "see previous CT for this property" and this appears:
02502335698 E 08/04/2004 1993 Challenge
2502335698 E 08/04/2004 1993 Challenge

and
2502335676 D 01/06/2004 1993 Challenge
2502335676 E 01/06/2004 1993 Challenge

On that link one appears with a different band (band E) from the one showing on the main page and the other shows both bands. Any ideas if this means something or if it is just an error? The first property has a brick extension with conversatory like roof and the other has a conservatory.

Also, do conservatories count as improvements that will increase CT?

When this house was rebanded it was next to fields. Now it has several new builds on the side (building site next to it as well) that block the views and part of the sun from south. Does that influence the value of the property for CT proposes?

Finally, is there any way of getting the information that was used to reband the property? Like the valuation that they are using.

I'm sorry for all the questions but I am a bit lost and don't know where to start. Looking at those websites like Nationwide, the maximum value that this property has been sold for would never get it up a band (and it had the extension then). Even if it had sold for £20k more, it wouldn't go up a band.

Thank you,
Alexandra

lincroft1710

afm - anything which increases or decreases the value of a dwelling can be reflected in its CT band. VOA tend to be of the opinion that having houses built next door is not usually a reason for reducing a CT band as only a very small percentage of houses are without neighbours.

If you are able to and do make a formal appeal, then the VOA will at some time provide details of sales which they believe support your CT band.

afm_2

Thanks for your reply! However, there's a house exactly like this one but without the extension that is as band above all the others, and I believe it is because it is next to fields and woodland. And in the letter I've received from the council for challenging the band it says that significant changes to the area can be taken into account. Are you sure that being next to fields is not taken into account?

I would like to get the details of why they rebanded the house before challenging because I would like to see if there's any chance of taking it a band down and also because I would like to see what kind of value they are giving to the extension and location. Would that be possible?

Also, does anyone have any idea of what the CT records I shown above mean?

Thank you!

lincroft1710

The VOA office I worked in, used what they called "the broad brush approach" to banding. If you had an "Emmerdale" type in the middle of an estate, it would be banded the same as an "Emmerdale" overlooking open fields.

Certainly when I was settling CT appeals I (and my colleagues) would not reduce a band on account of more houses being built next door. Other offices may have a different approach, but in the end it will depend what the effect is on the notional 1991 value. Being next to a 24 hr petrol station, or noisy factory is more likely to affect value.

VOA value properties as a whole, there is no "breakdown" of the value, they look at 1991 sales of properties of a similar type and size in the vicinity.

afm_2

The problem is that these houses are 8 years old and I don't think that 20 years ago there were any properties in the area. It makes it very hard to find a way of comparing bands and get an idea of how much it would have been worth 20 years ago

When I called VOA they said that they don't even take into account the size of the garden thus it surprises me that you say that anything that can increase the value is taken into account. Did you take gardens into account?

Sorry to bother you but I find the information about CT too difficult to work with.

lincroft1710

In theory anything that affects the value of a house should be reflected in the band. However in practice, given the 1991 sales information available, and bearing in mind that virtually identical houses can sell for slightly different amounts, in most cases it is impossible to attribute values for differences between otherwise very similar or identical properties.

We also tended to ignore garden size, probably a carryover from the old domestic rating days, because of a well known (in VOA circles) case decision which basically said garden size was immaterial. Also VOA didn't usually record garden size when surveying properties for domestic rating and later CT.

dh-york

Advice please
My propoerty is band E the same as the same style properties on my street, however in the next street (slightly older properties) house of same size and same value (or in most cases higher value) are 2 council tax bands below mine.

Should I appeal for my property banding ?:money:

lincroft1710

dh-york wrote: »

Should I appeal for my property banding ?

I'm ex VOA and had to deal with a similar situation. But the outcome wasn't quite what the occupier of the higher banded house wanted - I increased the bands of the lower banded houses by 2 bands, their bands were too low rather than the other house being too high.

So if you want to appeal, do so, but do a little more research before you do.