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

windymiller123

I live in a road that was all bungalows but now most of them have been turned into houses what with loft conversions etc., this makes them more valuable, as mine has stayed the same am I entitled to a rate reduction? There rates don't seem to have gone up.

lincroft1710

hyposmurf wrote: »

I live in a house that is housing type A and my neighbour is housing type B.Both houses are the same floor area and same number of bedrooms.Type B's initial sale price was higher then type A, although type A pays the higher band.Quite odd.

I would check with the VOA what floor area they believe the 2 house types are.

lincroft1710

windymiller123 wrote: »

I live in a road that was all bungalows but now most of them have been turned into houses what with loft conversions etc., this makes them more valuable, as mine has stayed the same am I entitled to a rate reduction? There rates don't seem to have gone up.

Are you in NI as you mention rates?

If you are in fact in E, W or S and meant to say Council Tax, then the probability is that your band is correct and the others are wrong. However if the loft conversions were carried out by the current owners after 1 Apr 1993 (E and S) or 1 Apr 2005 (W) then the bands cannot be increased until the relevant property is sold.

richee1

Can someone help with this query - I've just moved into a new build (1 bedroom 50sq metres) in London. The VOA have just sent my notification that I have been put in Band D. This is the same banding as my previous three bedroom flat share 3 miles down the road!!

I don't understand how they can match the valuation of a one bed 50 sq metre flat with a three bed 100 sq metre flat at 1991 prices.

As its a new estate and I'm one of the first residents to move in I can't do any comparisons. Is it worth appealing the decision or does that sound right?

lincroft1710

Impossible to say whether it is right or wrong. The 3 bed could have had a value of £85K, in 1991, the notional value of the 1 bed could have been £70K, both would be Band D. 3 miles in London can make a huge difference in price and a newbuild may well be high priced compared to an existing similar size and type apartment.

If you are really unhappy about the band, appeal it.

qbazdz

Hi,

We are about to move into our first house and I've noticed that the council tax band seem relatively high and when using the calculator it is showing we should be in a one lower.
I doubt that our neighbours have ever investigated that and even if they did, their house had an extension and loft conversion so perhaps this would justify it...

Can we still put the claim if we have just moved in? I understand that we wouldnt get a refund but future payments at least may be lowered...

lincroft1710

qbazdz wrote: »

Can we still put the claim if we have just moved in?

Yes .

richee1

lincroft1710 wrote: »

Impossible to say whether it is right or wrong. The 3 bed could have had a value of £85K, in 1991, the notional value of the 1 bed could have been £70K, both would be Band D. 3 miles in London can make a huge difference in price and a newbuild may well be high priced compared to an existing similar size and type apartment.

If you are really unhappy about the band, appeal it.

Thanks. I've actually moved to a cheaper area after being priced out the other one - I was hoping that was reflected in council tax banding too!! I might appeal as it does no harm. I would have thought the VOA would have told you how much the valued the flat at 1991 prices to give you an indication of where you are in the band but they just tell you what band they placed you.

It's a pity they don't take into consideration the state of the area in 1991 rather than how it looks now!!

lincroft1710

The VOA are not required to place a value on a dwelling, only to state the band in which it falls. The current rather than the previous physical state of the locality should be reflected in the band.

clairey22

Hello,

I have posted before but now am completing the online form to appeal my new band which has been applied since we moved in to the house this August. Please can anyone let me know if this is the right sort of thing to put in the appeal or is there anything else I should add?

Many thanks in advance
Claire


I understand our band has been increased due to the improvement indicator placed on it. The changes made by the previous owner were:

1) Knocked down wall between dining room and kitchen to make one larger kitchen.

2) Added a single story extension on the back of the house of approx size 4.8m x 3.2m

However we still have two reception rooms (extension and lounge - as have lost the dining room).

In our road the 5 bed houses with double garages are band F I do not believe that we should be in the same band as these properties. We have a 4 bed house and single garage.

The vast majority of the 4 beds in our road are Band E. There are a few that have recently been increased along with us to Band F but I do not see why this is. There have also been recent sales of 4 beds that have not had their band increased.

According to the Nationwide House Price Index data:

Our house bought in Q3 2014 for £388,000 would be worth £103,039 in Q3 1991

This puts us in Band E (£88,001 - £120,000)

In summary I do not believe the single story extension added by the previous owners should have pushed us into the higher band and the Nationwide House Price Index data puts us firmly in band E.