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

Sante

Still can't get round this A Band thing as I have been reading as many of the posts as I can last night and today and have noted that there are some people out there who live in a Band A property and its a house!!!

Yet I spoke with my local Valuation Office this morning to query once again about what constitutes a Band A property and she told me it would be a mobile home or bedsit.... /this is Elmbridge by the way in Surrey.. My property is a one bed maisonette on a council estate. (Was band C now band

Does it vary according to what borough you live in?

Also she could not give me what the property was valued at in 1993 as there were no sales in that time!

How can i check the value of my property in 1991/3, is there a website I can go to?


Any comments on this one would be appreciated once again.....

CIS

A Band A property (as per any band A-H)can be a house or a boat mooring/caravan pitch, it depends on the valuation put on the property/pitch in 1992(or later it was built later) , if you live in an expensive area then its more likley that your property will have been banded higher.

Thesaurus_2

CIS wrote:

Ian guessing that your talking about exemptions rather re-banding.

What may have happened is that once probate was granted on the property the relatives wil have applied for a class C exemption (empty and unfurnished) and unfortunately as the exemption is on the property and not the owners then until there has been a minimum of 6 weeks inhabitation of the property without exemption, you can only ever have whats left of the balance of 6 month class c exemption, if there isnt any balance you go back to standard empty property rate.

Have you applied for a class A exemption ?,only applicable if the proprty is unliveable due to renovation work, but it isnt affected by the fact its been preceeded by a class c.

Your best bet is to find out exactly what exemptions that the previous tenants had, after probate a 6 month exemption can be given, which IIRC when it expires can go to the class C rate for 6months, so its possible that they where still within the class F exemption, allowing you to get the class C.

Thank you. Would you know when we should apply for the class A exemption?The council informed us that once probate was organised they claimed for exemption. Prior to this the old gentleman lived alone at the property in what you can only describe as appalling conditions. No heating apart from a coal fire, no cooker, filthy bathroom etc.

We have gutted the property and require a new roof, gas central heating electrics, bathroom, kitchen and woodworm treatment along with some wet rot where a leak was left under the bathroom floor. It is certainly not habitable. We plan to move in once a greater proprtion of the work is complete.

Would it be better to wait, or request an inspection now to gain the year exemption in which time we hope to sell our property to help fund the improvements and reduce our mortgage?

We plan to move in to the upstairs, within about six months, whilst the downstairs is not complete so that we have the funds to finish the project. Once we move in will the class A exemption be nullified even though the downstairs will not be habitable?

CIS

You can ask for the class A to be backdated as long as it needs to be, but it would obvioulsy also bring forward the end date of the exemption.

Your best bet is to claim it ASAP and if needed backdate, but once the property is lived in the class A should theoretically end, but best bet is speak to an inspector and see if they can suggest what they would allow or not, at the end of the day thw Ctax dept will take on board any comments made by an inspector - if he says its liveable and the class A should end then it wil be ended.

Sante

Can you check and see what the other properties in your area were banded at, say a year ago?

Scully's_Girl

So Happy! We got it reduced from F to E, and we just got the letters in the mail saying we can reclaim a little over £800 for the 5 years we've been here. I'm a bit annoyed they can't just send us a check and we have to instead jump through hoops, but we still get 800 quid.

I'm now off to tell the bloke down the street how he can stop being the only band F on the road.

jamesiebabie

Scully's_Girl wrote:

So Happy! We got it reduced from F to E, and we just got the letters in the mail saying we can reclaim a little over £800 for the 5 years we've been here. I'm a bit annoyed they can't just send us a check and we have to instead jump through hoops, but we still get 800 quid.

I'm now off to tell the bloke down the street how he can stop being the only band F on the road.

Well done. Tell as many people as you can!

Maisie

Scully's_Girl wrote:

So Happy! We got it reduced from F to E, and we just got the letters in the mail saying we can reclaim a little over £800 for the 5 years we've been here. I'm a bit annoyed they can't just send us a check and we have to instead jump through hoops, but we still get 800 quid.

I'm now off to tell the bloke down the street how he can stop being the only band F on the road.

That's great news Scully's girl. Hope you get the refund soon.

Glad my original post (on the closed thread.)
'COUNCIL TAX. ARE YOU PAYING MORE THAN YOUR NEIGHBOURS. CHECK IT OUT' has helped so many people get their council tax rebanded and a refund.

You'll be the most popular girl in the street if you tell your neighbour. Drinks all round eh? !!

Enjoy your refund.

C'mon everybody let's hear some more success stories.

Maisie OP

misty

I've come to this thread v late and have read all of it but still a bit unclear. I've checked my property (rented)against the others in the cul de sac. Most are band A but mine - 1 side next door and 1 other further down the road are band B. None of these houses is bigger/smaller etc than any of the band A houses. My next door neighbour on the other side is band A and her house is the mirror image to mine. I've appealed on the website but as I have lived here 10 months, I assume I'll be unsuccessfull. How do I go about the next appeal - do they send you a form or do I just appeal saying it is unfair as the other houses are the same size etc?
thanks in advance

Mark-W_2

I've just moved into a new property a 3 bed detached built in 1999, its a Band D.
Every other 3 bed detached in the village is band C, so im thinking of appealing but there is an identical house a few doors up and according to the http://www.voa.gov.uk/council_tax/cti_home.htm website it has "Banding Review Pending Indicator", does this include downward rebandins or just upwards?