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

lincroft1710

aimess75 wrote: »

Hi all,
Just wondering if i can get some advice. Ive read the article on MSE but still a bit unclear about how to go about this. I have checked and of 76 houses on our street only ours and 1 other are in band D, all others in C. We have more rooms than most as we gave extended into the attic but I was under the impression this was not a factor?
Does this sound right? Im confused about what i can do aboit this. I cant work out what all our houses were worth in 1991.
Any help would be really gratefully received. Am really feeling the pinch right now due to very high childcare costs so would love to get some money back.
Aimee

Loft extensions will affect a dwelling's value, so could potentially affect CT band. Although if this extension was carried out by you after 1 April 1993, it should not have been reflected in the CT band. Ignoring the loft extension, if all the houses in your street are exactly the same age, type and size, then you could ask the VOA to explain why yours is in a higher band.

Do be aware that there is a possibility that your band could be correct and the neighbours' bands incorrect, which could lead to their bands being increased. Also look at the bands of similar houses in the area.

ddks

One of neighbours sent a letter for an informal band review comparing their property with a property on the original part of the estate, which sold in 1991.Band E..the neighbours are a Band F.
The letter has been registered on the system, 3 weeks ago.... No acknowledgement letter at all! Another neighbour same thing.... No acknowledgement!
One of the neighbours has resorted to a formal appeal.
This must be just an issue with our local office and we believe higher up the chain!
What's made worse is one of the sales they used to determine a band F, which is on the original part of the estate has been reduced to a Band E. The property is not used for business, it's not been extended, it's not been adapted for disabled use, there have been no changes in the area!!
Something seriously a miss in our area!!
We can't help that this is another Lowestoft sham!

ewokuk

I am in the process of buying a flat and think they may have it in the wrong band. I have done a postcode search and all 24 of the flats in my block are band E. However when I plug in the purchase price the value in 1991 would be £80k putting it in the middle of band D. So I am thinking all 24 of the flats are in a band that is too high?

They were only built around 2003 but going on the price I am about to pay, I should be band D not E.

lincroft1710

ewokuk wrote: »

I am in the process of buying a flat and think they may have it in the wrong band. I have done a postcode search and all 24 of the flats in my block are band E. However when I plug in the purchase price the value in 1991 would be £80k putting it in the middle of band D. So I am thinking all 24 of the flats are in a band that is too high?

They were only built around 2003 but going on the price I am about to pay, I should be band D not E.

If you are using a House Price Index, these are not accurate. As all the flats are Band E, there would be no harm in you submitting an appeal within 6 months of you actually becoming the owner of the flat.

michaeljb

Hi, I am a retired pensioner and new to this forum, after watching Martin's Money tips on tv and reading the article I emailed VOA to request a reassessment. They replied requesting more information to support my request.
The problem I have is that I am a tenant in a 2 bed terraced bungalow within a courtyard complex. All the other houses in the complex are dormer bungalows or two storied properties, all are in band D. The bungalow has never been marketed, it was built by the owner for his mother and retained as an investment rental property.
I cannot determine a 1991 value and there are no directly comparable properties within a 0.2 km radius, other bungalows are semi detached 2 or 3 bed and all in band B. VOA have rejected these for comparison purposes. Has any one had similar problems or know what I can do next? Thank you for any help you can give me

lincroft1710

michaeljb wrote: »

there are no directly comparable properties within a 0.2 km radius, other bungalows are semi detached 2 or 3 bed and all in band B. VOA have rejected these for comparison purposes. Has any one had similar problems or know what I can do next? Thank you for any help you can give me

0.2 km radius is a relatively small area, try to extend the search. Band B seems very low for a 3 bed semi det bungalow. The VOA's stance seems unfair, ask them which bungalows they believe support Band D.

opaque

Are the bands actually based on what the value was in 1991 or what changes there have been since then? We have an extension that was built in 1983 so the value would have been incorporated in the 1991 pricing, we know the rough value of the house via Nationwide so are covered there.

Next door didn't have the same extension. But they have built one on the front since and recently got downgraded from C to B. We asked to be dropped from C to B as well based on the prices and that all other houses around us are already B and next door (semi detached) dgot dropped down. We've now been told that because we bought the house 2 years ago we are on a higher band as the house is bigger than surrounding houses. The fact next door has an extension as well might only change the banding when they sell it on and the new owner might get pushed back to C.
Is that right? Seems weird that things get reset on sales rather than when changes are actually made as doesn't that mean tha theoretically that means you could add new wings to a house, swimming pools, helipad instead of trampoline etc but as long as you don't sell it you would never rocket up to the top band.


If that is their reasoning it's their reasoning but just seems odd if you never move you're never going to be paying more council tax, something I can't imagine any council actually allowing.

We need to find a house that had an extension pre 1991 that has been sold since that is currently on B to be able to get ours reduced from C to B.

Worth a go anyway I suppose.

CIS

Seems weird that things get reset on sales rather than when changes are actually made as doesn't that mean tha theoretically that means you could add new wings to a house, swimming pools, helipad instead of trampoline etc but as long as you don't sell it you would never rocket up to the top band.

You're spot on, that's exactly the situation.

lincroft1710

opaque wrote: »

Are the bands actually based on what the value was in 1991 or what changes there have been since then?

The physical state of the dwelling will be considered either as at 1 April 1993 or the date of the last sale, whichever is the latter. So if a dwelling was sold on (e.g.) 22 March 1989, the relevant date is 1 April 1993, but if it was sold on 22 March 2016, then 22 March 2016 would be the relevant date.

opaque

Many thanks to you both. Don't ever remember seeing the date of the last sale mentioned before. Makes the utter confusion about values more understandable, how can you match any property if you rank it different ways.