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

selv

Hi all,This is my first post concerning my Tax Banding.I have all ready filled the form in off the Council,and they phoned me up,and after a chat they informed me of 2 options. I went for the 2nd option which was going to a Tribunal.Due to lockdown I have still had no reply from them.Anyway this is a shortened version about the things I shall be taking with me as I am doing it alone. We moved in our house in 1987 (Not sure if it was Poll Tax then?).In the middle of  April 1991 we had an extension started,it was finally finished in mid 1992.Due to various reasons I had not checked the Council Banding till 2020,and found out that most people around us were still on a Band C,while we have been paying on a Band D from as far back as I can remember. Having  read different things about this on the Councils Website,what is my chance of having my Band Reduced,as we are still living here?..
 

lincroft1710

selv said:

Hi all,This is my first post concerning my Tax Banding.I have all ready filled the form in off the Council,and they phoned me up,and after a chat they informed me of 2 options. I went for the 2nd option which was going to a Tribunal.Due to lockdown I have still had no reply from them.Anyway this is a shortened version about the things I shall be taking with me as I am doing it alone. We moved in our house in 1987 (Not sure if it was Poll Tax then?).In the middle of  April 1991 we had an extension started,it was finally finished in mid 1992.Due to various reasons I had not checked the Council Banding till 2020,and found out that most people around us were still on a Band C,while we have been paying on a Band D from as far back as I can remember. Having  read different things about this on the Councils Website,what is my chance of having my Band Reduced,as we are still living here?..
 

I am presuming you are in England.

Firstly it is the Valuation Office Agency who deal with CT banding not the council.

Secondly as you are many years outside the 6 month time limit, I can only assume the Tribunal will only rule on the validity of the appeal, and not the actual banding and in the circumstances they have little option but to dismiss the appeal as invalid.

Thirdly, as your extension was finished in 1992, it can be reflected in your CT band as the effective date for the physical state of the dwelling is 1 April 1993, or the last sale if this is a later date.

Fourthly, if your house was was bigger than those in Band C as at 1 April 1993, it makes it easier for the VOA to maintain that Band D is correct

Fifthly, I wouldn't mention the fact that for various reasons it was 27 years before you checked your CT band.

Sixthly in 1987 it was the old rating system that was still in use.

HelpIfICan

Im in Band E for my postcode.
The price band for

E	Over £88,000 and up to £120,000

 with south staffs council.
However i only paid £66,000 for the house back in 1994..
Is it worth saving about £3500 or will my band go up? if i apply.

lincroft1710

HelpIfICan said:

Im in Band E for my postcode.
The price band for

E	Over £88,000 and up to £120,000

 with south staffs council.
However i only paid £66,000 for the house back in 1994..
Is it worth saving about £3500 or will my band go up? if i apply.

In most areas 1994 prices were well below those of 1991, often up to 30%. The Valuation Office Agency would investigate a request for rebanding (you are decades out of time for a formal appeal) but you will probably need more evidence than a 1994 sale price, otherwise they will just send you a generic "your band is correct" reply.

razzadazza_2

Hi all,

I could really do with some advice.

I recently moved into a rental ground floor flat in Cheltenham, England. At the house viewing I was told that the council tax was a band A but after I checked, discovered it is a band B. The flat is 1 of 6 in a converted house. I think its' a maisonette ? We have a communal door and a hallway where we can access our own doors. In total here are 9 other properties that share an address with me (just different numbers) and half of them are a Band A and half of them are a Band B. Some are not part of the communal flat but are attached to the back and have their own entrances. I have looked at a few of the floorpans for the band a and band b's and compared them and the sizes of the flats are essentially the same. The only thing is that my flat has been converted into a 2 bedroom (I am assuming because the only evidence I can find of this is Zoopla property details that has history of it being 1 bedroom). 

I've emailed the VOA and gave the other 5 address at my property as "evidence" and they've told me that those properties are different. I've now found out that at least 1 (maybe 2) of the addresses from my list is in the same house I am in, a floor or 2 above me. They have told me that "Our records show the list of properties you provided differ in type, also your property is a 2 bedroomed. We cannot consider them as comparable evidence." I am a bit confused now because everywhere that I search these apartments, they are listed as flats. I don't know what other types there are of flats. I don't know the house price from 1991 because I am pretty sure these flats were made in 2008 and I don't know if the price of the actual house that was converted is of any use.

I am currently looking for more "similar" properties (2 bedroom flats I suppose) that are Band A nearby. How should I progress? Does it matter that my 1 bedroom was converted to a 2 bedroom? 

lincroft1710

razzadazza_2 said:

Hi all,

I could really do with some advice.

I recently moved into a rental ground floor flat in Cheltenham, England. At the house viewing I was told that the council tax was a band A but after I checked, discovered it is a band B. The flat is 1 of 6 in a converted house. I think its' a maisonette ? We have a communal door and a hallway where we can access our own doors. In total here are 9 other properties that share an address with me (just different numbers) and half of them are a Band A and half of them are a Band B. Some are not part of the communal flat but are attached to the back and have their own entrances. I have looked at a few of the floorpans for the band a and band b's and compared them and the sizes of the flats are essentially the same. The only thing is that my flat has been converted into a 2 bedroom (I am assuming because the only evidence I can find of this is Zoopla property details that has history of it being 1 bedroom). 

I've emailed the VOA and gave the other 5 address at my property as "evidence" and they've told me that those properties are different. I've now found out that at least 1 (maybe 2) of the addresses from my list is in the same house I am in, a floor or 2 above me. They have told me that "Our records show the list of properties you provided differ in type, also your property is a 2 bedroomed. We cannot consider them as comparable evidence." I am a bit confused now because everywhere that I search these apartments, they are listed as flats. I don't know what other types there are of flats. I don't know the house price from 1991 because I am pretty sure these flats were made in 2008 and I don't know if the price of the actual house that was converted is of any use.

I am currently looking for more "similar" properties (2 bedroom flats I suppose) that are Band A nearby. How should I progress? Does it matter that my 1 bedroom was converted to a 2 bedroom? 

"Recently moved", when exactly did you move in? If within the past 6 months you are able to submit a formal appeal and proceed to an independent Tribunal hearing, where the VOA would have to provide evidence that your band was correct.

If out of time just keep looking for 2 bed flats in Band A. 2nd floor flats without lift access would probably be cheaper and not a good comparison.  Concentrate on what is there now and not what was there in the past.

murphydog999

Am I on the right track with this....? I am looking to purchase a house which is currently in Band F. It was built as a new build in 1995 for £125,00, it's had no extensions or alterations since, and then again in 2002 for £245,000. It is in the high £400's now. Does anyone else think it is in the wrong band, or have I missed something that happened in the meantime? Revaluation??
T.I.A.

rabbitlover

I think the Band F in April 1991 was for properties more than £120thousand and up to £160thousand.

lincroft1710

murphydog999 said:

Am I on the right track with this....? I am looking to purchase a house which is currently in Band F. It was built as a new build in 1995 for £125,00, it's had no extensions or alterations since, and then again in 2002 for £245,000. It is in the high £400's now. Does anyone else think it is in the wrong band, or have I missed something that happened in the meantime? Revaluation??
T.I.A.

Bands reflect a dwelling's value as at 1 April 1991. Given the 1995 purchase price, the band seems correct.

madtrekker

Hello. I would like some advice if anyone can help. We're in band E. The other 3 houses in our street that are most like ours are also band E, but a group of 6 larger houses a bit further down the road are all band D. Checking our house price in 1991 using the Nationwide calculator gives a value of £72K, meaning we are very much near the bottom of band D so I have no idea why we were ever in band E. There hasn't been any improvement to the property by way of extensions etc.

So, should I try and pursue a campaign to reband us from E to D, or is it pointless due to the fact that the houses most like ours are also in band E? I've lived in the property for more than a year.