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

Powerhour60

We challenged our council tax band 4 years after moving in. We are on an estate of houses built in 1998 - though a few (larger ones) were build independently before that. The builder Wayne Homes built a range of 4 bedroomed detached houses - all with double garage, and all with at least 1 ensuite. All but 2 are placed in band F. Ours and one other are in band G. Some of the band F houses have an extra bathroom, and many have had extensions. When we bought the house in 2008 for £365,000, some band F houses were on the market for more than we paid for ours. Our challenge was rejected because the VOA believe that our property is 15% larger than the others. I doubt it having been in some of the others, and given that we have no more rooms and in some cases fewer. The council tax calculator on your site shows we should have been firmly in Band F. Given that we have tried and failed to get it reviewed in the past, is it worth trying again, and if so, how?

CIS

Powerhour60 wrote: »

We challenged our council tax band 4 years after moving in. We are on an estate of houses built in 1998 - though a few (larger ones) were build independently before that. The builder Wayne Homes built a range of 4 bedroomed detached houses - all with double garage, and all with at least 1 ensuite. All but 2 are placed in band F. Ours and one other are in band G. Some of the band F houses have an extra bathroom, and many have had extensions. When we bought the house in 2008 for £365,000, some band F houses were on the market for more than we paid for ours. Our challenge was rejected because the VOA believe that our property is 15% larger than the others. I doubt it having been in some of the others, and given that we have no more rooms and in some cases fewer. The council tax calculator on your site shows we should have been firmly in Band F. Given that we have tried and failed to get it reviewed in the past, is it worth trying again, and if so, how?

Glad to see you found your way here .

Craig

lincroft1710

Powerhour60 wrote: »

Our challenge was rejected because the VOA believe that our property is 15% larger than the others. I doubt it having been in some of the others, and given that we have no more rooms and in some cases fewer. The council tax calculator on your site shows we should have been firmly in Band F. Given that we have tried and failed to get it reviewed in the past, is it worth trying again, and if so, how?

Ask the VOA to re-measure as you believe the measurements are incorrect. However there is a possibility they may have undermeasured the Band Fs, which may mean their bands could be increased

retireetobe

Hello, bit of a strange one. I am executor for a relative who co-incidentally has lived next door to me since 1986. He died three weeks ago so I have received his final council tax bill. Our house is identical in size to his BUT he was a hoarder and the house is in terrible condition - no kitchen, barely a bathroom, not been modernised since it was built over 100 yrs ago, no heating, dangerous wiring etc etc. Dreadful. I was shocked to see he has been paying the same council tax as me (E) all these years. I'd just assumed it would be lower than mine (mine is the same as most on this street).

I appreciate that as he has passed away it is too late for him. However, he has left the house to his adult son. Unfortunately the son has no money to modernise it, so if he is eligible to be considered for a council tax banding reclaim/backdate it would help him massively. Do you think there's any chance it could be looked into after his death?

lincroft1710

retireetobe wrote: »

I appreciate that as he has passed away it is too late for him. However, he has left the house to his adult son. Unfortunately the son has no money to modernise it, so if he is eligible to be considered for a council tax banding reclaim/backdate it would help him massively. Do you think there's any chance it could be looked into after his death?

If you are the executor, you can ask the VOA to review the CT band, but no allowance can be made for the house being in poor repair. The son can appeal the band when he becomes the owner

NWOIHTS

Hi, I hope this is in the right place to ask about getting my band checked?

Ok my story is that I moved into a semi-detached bungalow this Summer and checked my banding with e Scottish Assessors Website. More or less all the properties on my street are in band D, yet the street is a mix of semi detached and detached bungalows and 2 up 2 down houses. I checked previous sales of houses nearby and noticed one detached bungalow, which was sold in 2012 for about the same as what mine cost this year, so obviously the value of the detached is more. There are about 4 detached on my street and 2 semi detached bungalows.

There was also a 2 up 2 down 3 bdrm detached sold next street down for 145k, that is in band D as well, yet I stay in a semi-detached bungalow that is a lot smaller and was 25k less than this.

The other thing I find strange, is that across in the next street there is a SD bungalow exactly the same as mine but is in band C.

I looked at my estimated value back in 1991, which I know is not 100% proof of the value in 1991 but it says I was clearly in Band C, just over the threshold for band B!

I got a reply from the assessor saying I did not challenge it within 6 months, as I had actually bought the house last year, whichi s over 6 months ago, however they wrote on the back that they will still look at it, and phoned the assessors they said write in and say you are wanting to go ahead with reassessment.

So just wondering what might my chances be and should I say anything else in the letter of response in addition to the evidence I wish to be considered.

For the evidence I am including the fact there is the same type of house as mine but in C, but all the others are in D i.e the detached bungalows and 2 up 2 downs that all have sold for more, which I would think is right, but I think mine should be C. There are also other SD bungalows the same as mine but also in D, I think they might be wrong too.

If something did happen and anyone ended up with their banding being put up (which I really don't think is the case here as most of the houses are slightly pricier than mine so would expect D based on mine being in C) would they find out that I had queried it?

lincroft1710

NWOIHTS wrote: »

So just wondering what might my chances be and should I say anything else in the letter of response in addition to the evidence I wish to be considered.

For the evidence I am including the fact there is the same type of house as mine but in C, but all the others are in D i.e the detached bungalows and 2 up 2 downs that all have sold for more, which I would think is right, but I think mine should be C. There are also other SD bungalows the same as mine but also in D, I think they might be wrong too.

If something did happen and anyone ended up with their banding being put up (which I really don't think is the case here as most of the houses are slightly pricier than mine so would expect D based on mine being in C) would they find out that I had queried it?

Chances are 50/50.

If you have more evidence which suggests a lower band for your home, include it.

It is unlikely that the Assessor would disclose who had been seeking a re-assessment.

positiveR

Hi all, followed Martin's advice and found everyone around us is Band C; we are Band D. Did the Nationwide price check and we fall slap bang in the middle of the Band C range. Applied to the valuation office and they replied, within 2 days, with an "invalidity notice" - "you are out of time to make a valid appeal". It does state I have 4 weeks to appeal this - where do I begin? We have lived here for 2years but is that it - beaten at the first hurdle or, surely, many applicants are in the same position and have appealed successfully?

[Deleted User]

positiveR wrote: »

H Applied to the valuation office and they replied, within 2 days, with an "invalidity notice" - "you are out of time to make a valid appeal".

Answered on your duplicate posting here;
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?p=71502742

laneycakes

Hi. Bought our house in July and have received a letter from the valuation office saying that our council tax band has been revised due to the extension the previous owners put on the property. We've gone from band a to band c -and increase of around £300 a year. I expected it to go up one band but this seems a bit excessive. The extension added an extra en suite bathroom upstairs, and extended the size of the existing bathroom and bedroom. Other properties around us are either band a or b...I'd like to figure out the value it would've been in 1991 but with the extension I'm not sure how! Anyone have any advice? Thanks.