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

Altarf

Maisie wrote:

I applied to VOA for reassessment as adjoining identical house is band C and we are band D. Another house again identical 2/3 doors along also band C.
Also much larger 4 bed houses with garages (we don't have one) in next road are band D same as our small house.

VOA say the 1991 sales evidence shows our band to be correct and 'they have considered the 1991 sales evidence and they will not be altering our band'.
(We looked at 1991 house sale prices archived at the library and these showed mid band C)

Also they say they will be investigating the identical houses at band C.

They do not refer to any further correspondence or us going to a tribunal so what do we do now?

Can anyone advise please and guide us through the next stage if there is one.

There are two possible senarios:

1 - The VOA are correct and that your house should be in band D.
2 - You are correct and that your house should be in band C.


Taking the first scenario. Even though there is an identical house at band C, if that is a mistake, then the VOA will not reband your house. Also they will not reband the other house upward unless it is 'clearly wrong and towards the midpoint of higher band' - this is from their internal guidance that is published on their website i.e. they would not reband if both of your properties were £52k, yours would stay D and theirs would stay C, but if they were £58k, then they would reband the other house.

The other scenario is that the VOA are wrong and that your house was worth less than £51k. I would ignore the fact that there are bigger houses in the road that are also in band D. Remember that band D covered from £51k to £66k, a very wide range of properties can fit in that. If you want to prove that the VOA are wrong, then you will need to come up with some convincing evidence that your house was worth less than £51k, not just that a couple of houses in the street have lower bands. I succeeded in my case despite the fact that all the other houses in my street are the same band as mine, so it can be done.

panther

WOW what a coincidence. I was just about to start the process to get my brother's house band lowered and as if by magic, and without even asking the VOA to check the band, he today received a letter saying their was a mistake when they set the band in 1993 and his band has now been lowered to A. He's due a refund of around £1900. I can only assume that with all the media coverage a neighbour has got ahead of us and already asked for the banding lowered and they decided to adjust all similar properties in that row. Now it just leaves me to press ahead getting my sister's band lowered.

Maisie

Altarf wrote:

There are two possible senarios:

1 - The VOA are correct and that your house should be in band D.
2 - You are correct and that your house should be in band C.


Taking the first scenario. Even though there is an identical house at band C, if that is a mistake, then the VOA will not reband your house. Also they will not reband the other house upward unless it is 'clearly wrong and towards the midpoint of higher band' - this is from their internal guidance that is published on their website i.e. they would not reband if both of your properties were £52k, yours would stay D and theirs would stay C, but if they were £58k, then they would reband the other house.

The other scenario is that the VOA are wrong and that your house was worth less than £51k. I would ignore the fact that there are bigger houses in the road that are also in band D. Remember that band D covered from £51k to £66k, a very wide range of properties can fit in that. If you want to prove that the VOA are wrong, then you will need to come up with some convincing evidence that your house was worth less than £51k, not just that a couple of houses in the street have lower bands. I succeeded in my case despite the fact that all the other houses in my street are the same band as mine, so it can be done.

There are about 200 of these houses all identical. Two of them are band C so obviously that is a mistake. One happens to adjoin ours and another two doors away.
Although I don't really want those occupants to pay more why should we pay more than them? The houses are identical.

I cannot come up with any evidence that our house or their house is worth any more (or less) than the other as I say the houses are identical.

Maisie

Zebedeee

Masie, as long as you are sure that there is no chance that you can go up a band I don't think it will do any harm to restate your case clearly to the VOA, using any new evidence you can find, especially comparisons with your neighbours. If you continue to reach stalemate they may well refer you to a tribunal where you can put your case to an independant hearing. All being well they'll see it your way.

Maisie

Zebedeee wrote:

Masie, as long as you are sure that there is no chance that you can go up a band I don't think it will do any harm to restate your case clearly to the VOA, using any new evidence you can find, especially comparisons with your neighbours. If you continue to reach stalemate they may well refer you to a tribunal where you can put your case to an independant hearing. All being well they'll see it your way.

Thanks zebedeee. You have given me some things to think about. I don't think they could (would) put us up a band. As mentioned before many much larger houses 4/5 beds with garages and more outside space are band D same as us in this small terraced house. I really would cause a riot! if they raised our band higher than those

Some of these larger houses were in Band E and F and got lowered to band D. It was done in 1993. I guess it might have been easier to appeal and get lower banded then if you knew the system.

If anyone has any more suggestions I'd be pleased to hear them.

Thanks again. . Maisie

Maisie

panther wrote:

WOW what a coincidence. I was just about to start the process to get my brother's house band lowered and as if by magic, and without even asking the VOA to check the band, he today received a letter saying their was a mistake when they set the band in 1993 and his band has now been lowered to A. He's due a refund of around £1900. I can only assume that with all the media coverage a neighbour has got ahead of us and already asked for the banding lowered and they decided to adjust all similar properties in that row. Now it just leaves me to press ahead getting my sister's band lowered.

Panther
Great for news for your brother . Hope you have luck with your sister's band.

maisie

marioc

Hi, this is my first post ...
I have been following this topic closely, done the research as Martin suggested, and believe that I may have a good case for re-banding.
However, I am minded by Martin's comments about 're-evaluation'.
If I could explain, when the original bandings were issued in 1991, the majority of my road was Band B, however my house was Band C. I see no reason why this should have been the case, and would ordinarily have staked my case for re-banding.
However, I have recently (in the last year) had a considerable extension built.
Should the house be re-evaluated as it stands today, I would guess that the banding would now probably go up !!
How exactly is the re-evaluation performed ? Is it on how the house stands today ? I would assume that the council would be privy to the planning permissions recently submitted for the extension.
Would I still have a case to claim for the period 1991-2006 ?

jackofherts

Are there any example letters online for send to the Listings Officer for a reassessment?

wannaberich41

Hi
Im after your opinion really. I got through the whole banding thing and make out that we should be a band b and not c. The house is about 30yrs old and my neighbour has lived in hers since it was new. Looked and found out everyone else on the estate is a c, however if you look at the property value of houses in 1991 the house for band b should have been valued between £40,001 & £52,000 and band c is between £52,001 and £68,000. When we purchased our house in august 1997 the figure was in between the band b catagory. Surely we should claim for band b? the only thing im worried about if the move me from a c to a d. What would you do? anything for saving money! Your opinion would be very much apprecaited.

Altarf

Maisie wrote:

There are about 200 of these houses all identical. Two of them are band C so obviously that is a mistake. One happens to adjoin ours and another two doors away.
Although I don't really want those occupants to pay more why should we pay more than them? The houses are identical.

I cannot come up with any evidence that our house or their house is worth any more (or less) than the other as I say the houses are identical.

I believe that you are using the wrong argument. Obviously it is unfair in any circumstance if you have a situation of two identical properties in different bands. What the VOA should do is identify which of the two houses is wrong and correct it. If it is the higher banded house that is wrong they will simply reduce the band. However if it is the lower banded house that is wrong they will not change it if the error came to light from a third party enquiry (your appeal), unless the lower banded house is clearly wrong. For example if the VOA decided that your house type is worth £51,250 that places it in band D, but they will not increase your neighbour's band to D, as they would not wish to defend the tribunal case that your neighbour would raise. So if this is your argument, it is that your neighbour should have their council tax band increased, not one I would wish to argue.

As for there being larger houses also in band D, as I said before this is also the wrong argument. The £15k width of the band allows for a 29% difference in the price of the houses. That is a huge amount, and there will obviously be huge differences between a house at the bottom of band D and house worth 29% more, but still within band D at the top end.

I believe that the above two issues detract from your argument, which is the only valid argument, that your house was worth less than £51k in 1991. Obviously a tricky thing to do, but it is possible. By including the above issues, you give the VOA a reason to reject you. If you only argue the 1991 house price, you make it harder for them.