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

koskks

Penguinloz said:

koskks said:

Hi, We bought a house 2 years ago where the garage (which is attached to the house) was converted into an annexe by the previous owner. We pay 2 sets of council tax (annexe is at 50% rate).  The annexe has a bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. We use the annex as a utility room and spare bedroom with ensuite if family stays over (1ce every few months). I'm happy to remove the cooking facilities (as we've never used them) from the kitchen, therefore hopefully it can be classified as just part of the house and not an annexe, therefore not paying council tax on the annexe. Could our house then be rebanded if we do this as it will have an additional bathroom and bedroom, or can this only be done when we sell? Apart from removing the cooker and the cable back to the fuse box, is there anytime else we may have to do to satisfy the VOA that it is no longer an annexe? Thank you

Depending on the amount of work you do to remove the cooking facilities they may not remove it. For example if they believe cooking facilities could easisly be reinstated and there are still worktops,sink, microwave etc they may say it is still capable of being used as a self contained unit of accommodation. If they do remove it they would look at the banding of the whole house again. This may increase the band or it may stay in the same band. 

Thanks for your reply, I'm trying to get in touch with the VOA to clarify, if the band may increase anyway, it might not be worth it!

CIS

Also keep in mind that simply removing kitchen facilities does not by itself automatically mean it is not dwelling for council tax purposes. Something without a kitchen can still be entered in to a valuation list.

rachaelsmith82

Hi, 

Have posted this in other thread but think it may be more appropriate here! 

 I live in Scotland and have just received letter rejecting my application to move to D band. I live in 3 bed flat ( 1 of 9 in the block) All of the other flats are band D apart from me who is an E. My Flat is slightly larger but many of the other flats have balconies which mine does not. The flats were all similarly priced when they were built - mine was a couple of thousand more. I am going to appeal as I really struggle that my friends lovely period semi detached house a street away, which she bought for £265,000 last year, is in the same bracket as mine which I paid £148,000 in November!! When I asked the man that visited the property from the valuation board, he said that at that time period stone properties were not at all sought after and much cheaper is thats why there is such a discrepancy nowadays!!! It just seems madness.. I am currently pulling as much data as possible but struggling for real prices from 1991 which would be my best bet. The rejection letter I received stated that one flat in my block sold for £58,000 in august 1991 which is his main basis for rejection. Whilst I acknowledge that my flat is slightly bigger - his does have the balcony and I have a feeling this sale price was perhaps over the valuation ( though hard for me to prove ) I have checked every other flat price in block and used nationwide calculator ( realise this isn't official) and every single one shows the 1991 price at way under the £58,000 mark. 

Really struggling with how to get data if this is the only way I can provide evidence. I just feel unfair for him to rule based primarily on one sale price - this could be an anomaly and think a larger pool should be selected for fairness. 

If anyone has any hints / advice it would be GREATLY appreciated! 

Also - what is the exact criteria the valuation board use? The guy I spoke to said Square footage was one thing and how many rooms. I feel there should be set things - as ambiguity can make this quite an unfair process!

lincroft1710

rachaelsmith82 said:

Hi, 

Have posted this in other thread but think it may be more appropriate here! 

 I live in Scotland and have just received letter rejecting my application to move to D band. I live in 3 bed flat ( 1 of 9 in the block) All of the other flats are band D apart from me who is an E. My Flat is slightly larger but many of the other flats have balconies which mine does not. The flats were all similarly priced when they were built - mine was a couple of thousand more. I am going to appeal as I really struggle that my friends lovely period semi detached house a street away, which she bought for £265,000 last year, is in the same bracket as mine which I paid £148,000 in November!! When I asked the man that visited the property from the valuation board, he said that at that time period stone properties were not at all sought after and much cheaper is thats why there is such a discrepancy nowadays!!! It just seems madness.. I am currently pulling as much data as possible but struggling for real prices from 1991 which would be my best bet. The rejection letter I received stated that one flat in my block sold for £58,000 in august 1991 which is his main basis for rejection. Whilst I acknowledge that my flat is slightly bigger - his does have the balcony and I have a feeling this sale price was perhaps over the valuation ( though hard for me to prove ) I have checked every other flat price in block and used nationwide calculator ( realise this isn't official) and every single one shows the 1991 price at way under the £58,000 mark. 

Really struggling with how to get data if this is the only way I can provide evidence. I just feel unfair for him to rule based primarily on one sale price - this could be an anomaly and think a larger pool should be selected for fairness. 

If anyone has any hints / advice it would be GREATLY appreciated! 

Also - what is the exact criteria the valuation board use? The guy I spoke to said Square footage was one thing and how many rooms. I feel there should be set things - as ambiguity can make this quite an unfair process!

The Assessor is correct in ignoring current price differentials, what prices were doing in 1991 is the correct approach. There may be very few relevant sales hence his reliance on a single sale. You are free to inform him of other 1991 sales of similar flats you are aware of.

There is no exact criteria, anything which influences the price of a property is a criterion. Different criteria can influence the price dependent on the property type and location. Also what is desirable or undesirable now won't be the same as nearly 30 years ago.

rachaelsmith82

lincroft1710 said:

rachaelsmith82 said:

Hi, 

Have posted this in other thread but think it may be more appropriate here! 

 I live in Scotland and have just received letter rejecting my application to move to D band. I live in 3 bed flat ( 1 of 9 in the block) All of the other flats are band D apart from me who is an E. My Flat is slightly larger but many of the other flats have balconies which mine does not. The flats were all similarly priced when they were built - mine was a couple of thousand more. I am going to appeal as I really struggle that my friends lovely period semi detached house a street away, which she bought for £265,000 last year, is in the same bracket as mine which I paid £148,000 in November!! When I asked the man that visited the property from the valuation board, he said that at that time period stone properties were not at all sought after and much cheaper is thats why there is such a discrepancy nowadays!!! It just seems madness.. I am currently pulling as much data as possible but struggling for real prices from 1991 which would be my best bet. The rejection letter I received stated that one flat in my block sold for £58,000 in august 1991 which is his main basis for rejection. Whilst I acknowledge that my flat is slightly bigger - his does have the balcony and I have a feeling this sale price was perhaps over the valuation ( though hard for me to prove ) I have checked every other flat price in block and used nationwide calculator ( realise this isn't official) and every single one shows the 1991 price at way under the £58,000 mark. 

Really struggling with how to get data if this is the only way I can provide evidence. I just feel unfair for him to rule based primarily on one sale price - this could be an anomaly and think a larger pool should be selected for fairness. 

If anyone has any hints / advice it would be GREATLY appreciated! 

Also - what is the exact criteria the valuation board use? The guy I spoke to said Square footage was one thing and how many rooms. I feel there should be set things - as ambiguity can make this quite an unfair process!

The Assessor is correct in ignoring current price differentials, what prices were doing in 1991 is the correct approach. There may be very few relevant sales hence his reliance on a single sale. You are free to inform him of other 1991 sales of similar flats you are aware of.

There is no exact criteria, anything which influences the price of a property is a criterion. Different criteria can influence the price dependent on the property type and location. Also what is desirable or undesirable now won't be the same as nearly 30 years ago.

Thanks for reply! 

I have looked everywhere I can for house prices - struggling to find anything at all! Even the property they provided I am unable to get data for - does anyone know where they get their info from? Is there somewhere I dont know of that perhaps I can pay for stat going that far back? Only other thing I can think of is to look at the newspaper archives for the town I live in for 1991? Would this be any help do you think? 

I know it is a long shot - I really do. I am just so infuriated with the system to calculate - it seems completely unbalanced!  ( even the man that came out said it was completely unfair) and even Wales have had the foresight to revalue much more recently!!

Airwolf1

The Land Registry has records of all transactions since 1990, but the price paid for the property wasn't recorded until 1995. Your best bet is still rightmove. I've seen 1 or 2 sales going back to the very late 1990's on there. Rightmove was founded in 2000.

lincroft1710

rachaelsmith82 said:

lincroft1710 said:

rachaelsmith82 said:

Hi, 

Have posted this in other thread but think it may be more appropriate here! 

 I live in Scotland and have just received letter rejecting my application to move to D band. I live in 3 bed flat ( 1 of 9 in the block) All of the other flats are band D apart from me who is an E. My Flat is slightly larger but many of the other flats have balconies which mine does not. The flats were all similarly priced when they were built - mine was a couple of thousand more. I am going to appeal as I really struggle that my friends lovely period semi detached house a street away, which she bought for £265,000 last year, is in the same bracket as mine which I paid £148,000 in November!! When I asked the man that visited the property from the valuation board, he said that at that time period stone properties were not at all sought after and much cheaper is thats why there is such a discrepancy nowadays!!! It just seems madness.. I am currently pulling as much data as possible but struggling for real prices from 1991 which would be my best bet. The rejection letter I received stated that one flat in my block sold for £58,000 in august 1991 which is his main basis for rejection. Whilst I acknowledge that my flat is slightly bigger - his does have the balcony and I have a feeling this sale price was perhaps over the valuation ( though hard for me to prove ) I have checked every other flat price in block and used nationwide calculator ( realise this isn't official) and every single one shows the 1991 price at way under the £58,000 mark. 

Really struggling with how to get data if this is the only way I can provide evidence. I just feel unfair for him to rule based primarily on one sale price - this could be an anomaly and think a larger pool should be selected for fairness. 

If anyone has any hints / advice it would be GREATLY appreciated! 

Also - what is the exact criteria the valuation board use? The guy I spoke to said Square footage was one thing and how many rooms. I feel there should be set things - as ambiguity can make this quite an unfair process!

The Assessor is correct in ignoring current price differentials, what prices were doing in 1991 is the correct approach. There may be very few relevant sales hence his reliance on a single sale. You are free to inform him of other 1991 sales of similar flats you are aware of.

There is no exact criteria, anything which influences the price of a property is a criterion. Different criteria can influence the price dependent on the property type and location. Also what is desirable or undesirable now won't be the same as nearly 30 years ago.

Thanks for reply! 

I have looked everywhere I can for house prices - struggling to find anything at all! Even the property they provided I am unable to get data for - does anyone know where they get their info from? Is there somewhere I dont know of that perhaps I can pay for stat going that far back? Only other thing I can think of is to look at the newspaper archives for the town I live in for 1991? Would this be any help do you think? 

I know it is a long shot - I really do. I am just so infuriated with the system to calculate - it seems completely unbalanced!  ( even the man that came out said it was completely unfair) and even Wales have had the foresight to revalue much more recently!!

I don't know about the Assessor, but in Eng and Wales, the VOA have for many decades been provided with details of virtually every property sale by either the Stamps Office or Land Registry.

The Welsh Revaluation was actually a "trial run" to see if it would be possible to do an English Revaluation, which it was, but the govt decided not to proceed with the ER  just weeks before it was due to come into force

_whatshername_

I've recently been looking into the value of my property and found that the property valuation websites all suggest that the house should be in Band A but I am actually in Band B so I am considering requesting a reconsideration. 

The house was built post 1991 but the first sale in 1998 was £41,500 so surely it must have been worth less than £40,000 in 1991? The valuation check suggested in the article gives me a value of £38,792 suggesting that I am in the wrong band. 

However the article suggests only proceeding if you also pass the neighbour check and this is where I am struggling. Our street is very mixed, there are properties in bands from A - G, so it is difficult to compare. Our house is one of about 10 built on a brownfield site in the late 90s and all but two of the houses are band A, with us and our next-door neighbour being band B but we are the only ones in the development with a third bedroom so they are obviously worth more, with ours being worth a bit more again as we are the end house so we aren't terraced. Next door sold for £41,000 in 1998 and also pass the valuation check. 

Is it worth requesting a revaluation? We have been in the house more than six months so we aren't entitled and would have to just make the request. Is there really a risk to requesting a revaluation, if so what is the risk? I can't see that our banding could be increased based upon the 1998 sale value, and we haven't made any major changes such as extensions, just the usual upgrades for a house of this age. 

This could save me over £200 a year so it seems worth a try, any advice? 

lincroft1710

_whatshername_ said:

I've recently been looking into the value of my property and found that the property valuation websites all suggest that the house should be in Band A but I am actually in Band B so I am considering requesting a reconsideration. 

The house was built post 1991 but the first sale in 1998 was £41,500 so surely it must have been worth less than £40,000 in 1991? The valuation check suggested in the article gives me a value of £38,792 suggesting that I am in the wrong band. 

However the article suggests only proceeding if you also pass the neighbour check and this is where I am struggling. Our street is very mixed, there are properties in bands from A - G, so it is difficult to compare. Our house is one of about 10 built on a brownfield site in the late 90s and all but two of the houses are band A, with us and our next-door neighbour being band B but we are the only ones in the development with a third bedroom so they are obviously worth more, with ours being worth a bit more again as we are the end house so we aren't terraced. Next door sold for £41,000 in 1998 and also pass the valuation check. 

Is it worth requesting a revaluation? We have been in the house more than six months so we aren't entitled and would have to just make the request. Is there really a risk to requesting a revaluation, if so what is the risk? I can't see that our banding could be increased based upon the 1998 sale value, and we haven't made any major changes such as extensions, just the usual upgrades for a house of this age. 

This could save me over £200 a year so it seems worth a try, any advice? 

In many areas house prices fell from 1991 till around 1996 and in some areas did not achieve 1991 values until 1998, so £41,500 in 1998 could have seen a similar figure in 1991. House Price Indices are very general and inaccurate, usually undervaluing 1991 prices.

If you rely on the evidence you have offered here you're probably looking at a standard rejection letter from the VOA, so you really need to look further afield and see if there are any 3 bed end terrace houses of a similar age and type in Band A.

_whatshername_

Thanks I will see what I can find, it is going to be tricky as it is a very mixed area.