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

gatchamandave

The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:

Zebedeee

rpjjuk wrote:

Hi everyone - need help with this. Checked my council tax banding (band My house is is the same as all the others in my street (2up 2down terrace) and every house is band b except one - the one belonging to our local councillor !
This house had it's banding changed in 1993 to band A.
Checked my house value in 1991 and was 39000 although I doubt it was worth that even.
I have lived here for 29 years and since then an industrial park and new road have been built at the rear of my property with all the associated noise.
I also have the main London railway line at the bottom of my garden which makes properties on my side of the road sell for less.
Halfway along my road it changes name and the houses become 3 bedroom bay and forcourt - they are also in band B.
Is it worth trying to get my house rebanded ?
Any advice would be welcome.

Hi there!

Based on my limited experience I would have thought that you have a good case here. Although you won't technically be able to able to appeal the band as you have been in the property over six months you can still ask for the banding to be looked at.

It seems like you have some good reasoning, and mentioning the material change in the neighbourhood (the industrial estate and the railiway, etc.) should definately count in your favour. Set out all your evidence in a clear letter and I think you are in with a good chance.

All the best!

RGNMAIL

Hi
I wonder if you could also advise me what to do.
I've followed Martin's Council Tax rebanding procedure and have been given a Tribunal date. Basically the property is a studio on band D in Houslow and the other flats in the council block are Band D but are all 3 bed maisonettes or two bedroom flats. Other one bed apartments in the area are shown to be in Band B with a larger surface area(about 50% bigger) on the VOA site and through local estate agents and another 2 bed flat in the same block was sold for a figure on the Net House price site in 2004 which takes it below the Band A 1991 valuation figure on the Nationwide House index site. The Council valuation officer agrees that the studio has been wrongly banded and suggests band B - implying that the Nationwide Index is not representative of the area because it uses London or greater London average prices. So we have a basic disagreement about the appropriateness of the Nationwide Index.
Is there any other index the Council would use or I could use to hammer home the point ?
Ray

dibble77_2

Can anyone help or offer advice.

I have just moved literally round the corner from a 2 bed flat in a purpose built block (band F) to a 3 bed semi detached house (band E) where i am now paying less council tax. I called my local valuation office but was told as i no longer live at the previous address i am not entitled to anything. It is up to the new tenants to do investigate. I explained this situation has only just arisen as i have moved to a bigger property and discovered i am paying less than before, so obviously was unaware that i could have been paying more council tax. I was also informed that if i wanted to take it further then i was to instruct a solicitor. Can anybody give me any help or advice.

Many thanks

mary_mo81

gatchamandave wrote:

No, I'm afraid you can't back claim, mary_mo81, unless the new owner did query and got a reduction in his/her band for that property. But you lose your right to appeal when you dispose of the property - in effect the right transfers to your new property ownership for the first six months of ownership, then it lapses.

Thanks very much - I didn't think we would have a case but thought it was definately worth looking into just in case.

Zebedeee

dibble77 wrote:

Can anyone help or offer advice.

I have just moved literally round the corner from a 2 bed flat in a purpose built block (band F) to a 3 bed semi detached house (band E) where i am now paying less council tax. I called my local valuation office but was told as i no longer live at the previous address i am not entitled to anything. It is up to the new tenants to do investigate. I explained this situation has only just arisen as i have moved to a bigger property and discovered i am paying less than before, so obviously was unaware that i could have been paying more council tax. I was also informed that if i wanted to take it further then i was to instruct a solicitor. Can anybody give me any help or advice.

Many thanks

Dibble, check out posts above to see that there is no chance of getting anything back since you sold the property, unfortunately. Your best chance here (correct me if I'm wrong, anybody) is to pop round to the folks who bought your old house and tell them about it. If they successfully appeal you'll get a refund too.

Hope that helps!

dibble77_2

Thanks for that. Thing is we rented the property from a managing agent and am not sure if anyone else has taken a tenancy on it yet. Will have to wait and see.

dibble77_2

sorry folks just another quick question if anyone can help.

My elderly parents live on a council estate with varying degrees of houses, i.e. 3 bed, 4 bed, garden, no garden. Anyway, i followed martin's instructions and all the properties are in the same band even though they range in size etc. Some tenenats have purchased and then sold their properties, so when calculating the value of the properties back in 1991, i have done so on a bigger dwelling. This still works out that my parents house appears to be in a higher band than it should be. What is the policy on council houses/ estates.

Beatle_2

When I bought my first house in 1994 found it to be in wrong band (D) successfully had it rebanded to a C band. As water rates were worked out on the valuation of a property I challenged Anglian Water as to my water rates being too high. Eventually they also reduced my water rates as my property was initially valued to high. It took a lot of phone calls and arguements but I felt I was right and won. They said at the time they had never reduced water rates in these circumstances. Surely if I can reduce mine then everyone who has rebanded down could also do it.

GallagherLad

I have just checked my mums house. They paid £42000 in 1996 for the house, but the banding A was >£40000 in 1991. There is no way here house is a B (1991 estimates £33000 using MSE template)

The whole street is B, a few C's. I am certain that all the houses are in A due to the fact that none of them were worth over £40k in 1991. There are 50+ houses. Is it possible they got in wrong on this scale? I have worked out they owe her £990 if I am right. If she tells the whole street (she will) this would be a massive blow for the local council!

Is it feasible that all the houses are over valued? We are talking about a poor area of Doncaster in 1991.