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

lincroft1710

jks2019 wrote: »

Has any other successful council tax re-bander had problems sorting out their re-banding with their local authority? Any ideas/suggestion on how to get things moving on this?

I think you will just have to be patient. 15 and more years ago, when working at the VOA I used to advise taxpayers that it could take the LA 6 weeks to process a refund.

jks2019

Oh, well, so three more weeks to go then.

Many thanks for your response.

SavingTide

I did 1st check, showed house nos 1-4 Band C, I am band D. houses 1-4 very similar, esp no 3 which is almost same, we both have extra room added. Others in street are Band E. Valuation from online sites suggested £66k or £67k so just in Band C. But money saving expert tool showed £73,000 so correct band. I based mine on purchase price of £78,000 in April 1998. So not sure if Should go ahead, do not want to risk neighbours going from Band C to Band D.

Would be grateful for advice

lincroft1710

SavingTide wrote: »

I did 1st check, showed house nos 1-4 Band C, I am band D. houses 1-4 very similar, esp no 3 which is almost same, we both have extra room added. Others in street are Band E. Valuation from online sites suggested £66k or £67k so just in Band C. But money saving expert tool showed £73,000 so correct band. I based mine on purchase price of £78,000 in April 1998. So not sure if Should go ahead, do not want to risk neighbours going from Band C to Band D.

Would be grateful for advice

From all the information Band D sounds correct.

Jenb101

I have a house I rent out on air bnb, I have been paying full council tax as I didn’t realise there was a way of reducing it. I spoke to the council where I live and advised them that I was going to let it out and gave them all the correct details so it would fit with the requirements of a furnished holiday let. Then I was told great that’s fine but there is no change to the amount I will have to pay. Is this normal??

CIS

Jenb101 wrote: »

I have a house I rent out on air bnb, I have been paying full council tax as I didn’t realise there was a way of reducing it. I spoke to the council where I live and advised them that I was going to let it out and gave them all the correct details so it would fit with the requirements of a furnished holiday let. Then I was told great that’s fine but there is no change to the amount I will have to pay. Is this normal??

In most cases a furnished, unoccupied property is given a 0% discount by a local authority.

Jenb101

Would I have been better putting it under something else? Like w 2nd property ? I just assumed by the things I’d read that it would have given me a discount. Also I’ve been living on my own and had asked for a single occupant discount which now I’ve received the notification of it all changing they haven’t given me- would the be obliged to give me a refund? And now it’s a furnished holiday let does this still apply?

CIS

It doesn't matter how you try to classify it under these circumstances, the same discount for a furnished & unoccupied property would apply.

If you were resident in the property as your 'sole or main residence' and you were the sole resident then a 25% discount should apply.

davelees215

I was at my dad's flat last night and spotted his council tax bill. He's in a one bed flat he bought for 160k in august last year and he's on band e. A quick check of what his house would have been worth in 91 (although it was only built in2000) shows approx £41k so it should be in band b. His neighbours seem to be either band d or e although I'm not certain which flats are what size (I know some are bigger, others the same, although he has a better view than most).

The only reason I can think for the high band is that it's a leashold and he has access to communal areas including a gym and pool that he pays a large management fee for. Would this make a difference.?

I do have power of attorney and will need to sort this out myself as for details I won't go into he won't do it himself.

Saluka740

Hi I was woundering if we’re eligible to claim council tax back when we first moved in 2014 I told them I had ptsd and my husband had sleep opena and depression we never claimed the severeve as they only reduced it 25 percent being on benefits didn’t think any of it till today are we allowed to get this backdated.
Thanks