Council Tax Rebanding SUCCESS stories

lincroft1710

jayneben wrote: »

My question now is what do I do next as I still believe that 6 identical houses should be on the same banding ??
Any help no matter how small would be gratefully recieved !

You could try writing to your MP and ask him/her to write to VOA expressing your concern that you don't believe your request for a review of your CT band has been properly dealt with.

However there is no guarantee that he/she won't get a polite brush off.

toxicpixie

Thanks to Martin I have seen to have a very good case for appealing to Tunbridge Wells Borough Council again to lower my Band.

I should be in a Band B, according to the amount paid for the place when we bought it and subject to being in the same band as three other houses with more land and more square footage, the valuations are not remotely in the same pall-bark. I have been in a Band C for five years.

I appealed to them about 2 years ago, they flatly refused saying that I needed to have done this within a certain amount of time of moving in!.

I have sent them a letter today. The property next door (same band) sold for £50,000 above our current valuation last year (this is actually spanning TWO BANDS), so they really do need to visit our property and properly discuss!.

Also the time limit is bogus, we rented with Ashford Borough Council for a year and they wrote to us in 2007 (6 years after moving out) and gave us a rebate cheque because they told us we were in the wrong Band (E instead of D) we knew that anyway but the landlady/agent did not want to contest at the time we raised an enquiry with them.

Lets see if TWBC turn us down again this year and I will re-post.

competitionscafe

This guy is not very popular with his neighbours after trying to get rebanded and getting put into a higher band (along with 40 of his neighbours). http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/edinburgh/Neighbours-get-bigger-bills-after.6546742.jp

lincroft1710

toxicpixie wrote: »

Thanks to Martin I have seen to have a very good case for appealing to Tunbridge Wells Borough Council again to lower my Band.

I should be in a Band B, according to the amount paid for the place when we bought it and subject to being in the same band as three other houses with more land and more square footage, the valuations are not remotely in the same pall-bark. I have been in a Band C for five years.

I appealed to them about 2 years ago, they flatly refused saying that I needed to have done this within a certain amount of time of moving in!.

I have sent them a letter today. The property next door (same band) sold for £50,000 above our current valuation last year (this is actually spanning TWO BANDS), so they really do need to visit our property and properly discuss!.

Also the time limit is bogus, we rented with Ashford Borough Council for a year and they wrote to us in 2007 (6 years after moving out) and gave us a rebate cheque because they told us we were in the wrong Band (E instead of D) we knew that anyway but the landlady/agent did not want to contest at the time we raised an enquiry with them.

Lets see if TWBC turn us down again this year and I will re-post.

It isn't your local council that allocates CT bands and deals with appeals it is the Valuation Office Agency (part of HMRC).

toxicpixie

lincroft1710 wrote: »

It isn't your local council that allocates CT bands and deals with appeals it is the Valuation Office Agency (part of HMRC).

I did deal with the Valuation Office about 2 years ago. They cited the six month rule as the reason to not look into it. I'm trying again why when a house next door is sold last year for £210,000 and mine is valued at £50K less and paying the same amount of council tax - the people who used to own this property next door also owned the house i lnow ive in at one time, She took the vast majority of the garden belonging to the house I live in sectioned it off and sold off the house next door to her without the garden space so the value is much less plus there isn't the same amount of square footage inside, I was say approx one third less space inside, mine is terraced, the one next door is the end of terrace.

The house next door managed to get themselves rebanded at some point from a Band D to a Band C, actually running through the calculator on this website, the current value of this house sits in Band D and the current value of mine sits in B but I can see what will happen here after the news today that Council Tax rebanding is not going to happen until after the next general election.

There are always going to be winners and losers just always seem to be one of the minority to lose out again.

toxicpixie

Did I mention both neighbours living either side of me work for the local council... hmmm so thanks for the link about the Edinburgh neighbour but I think I will take the risk!!!

toxicpixie

I wonder what will be said if they come and reband my house and determine that all the houses in the row are downgraded from Band C to Band B, which is not going to happen frankly but actyall more likely than my house (which you can't swing a cat it for hitting the walls) getting put up a Band from C to D...

toxicpixie

Some of the comments on page 2 of the edinburgh article people have posted are interesting.. have a butchers...


#3
So, basically, Mr Brodie is miffed because he's having to pay what he legally has to? Get a grip.

#2 has it right.

Of course, there is still a question over whether a valuation-based appraisal is an appropriate basis for council tax at all. A consumption-based bill would be more fair.

#4
So, these people are moaning because they're now starting to pay what they are actually supposed to pay after getting away with underpaying for many years, yes?
#7
He wouldn't have been slaughtering the neighbour had it resulted in a reduction in council tax!! He's lucky as mentioned that they haven't backdated any underpayment. He's only having to pay what the rest of us have to pay i.e the right amount!!

toxicpixie

I work in the private sector and therefore the lost revenue from Council tax revaluations that have been deferred until after the next general election will not affect my employment but presumably will have to be borne out by more public service cuts affecting us all I suppose.

Those that are underpaying can as far as I am concerned continue underpaying but
those that are due reductions in Council Tax should be allowed to pursue this course of action, I have not benefitted from a vastly rising house value, I bought in 2005 and have tried to sell so I can move somewhere which isn't quite so claustrophobic but am stuck so likely to be living in a tiny cottage for the foreseeable and probably until after the next general election...

BTW I don't work in the banking sector either!.

lincroft1710

toxicpixie wrote: »

I work in the private sector and therefore the lost revenue from Council tax revaluations that have been deferred until after the next general election will not affect my employment but presumably will have to be borne out by more public service cuts affecting us all I suppose.

Councils won't "lose" any revenue, their expenditure is met by central government grants, fees and charges paid for council services and income from council tax. Most councils increase CT annually to offset their increased costs

Those that are underpaying can as far as I am concerned continue underpaying but those that are due reductions in Council Tax should be allowed to pursue this course of action,

No one is stopping you, but you have to make a case to the VOA for them to investigate your band. Being outside the 6 month time limit only means that if you disagree with the VOA you have no recourse to an independent tribunal hearing.

I have not benefitted from a vastly rising house value,

Most people don't, especially those trading up.

I bought in 2005 and have tried to sell so I can move somewhere which isn't quite so claustrophobic but am stuck so likely to be living in a tiny cottage for the foreseeable and probably until after the next general election...

BTW I don't work in the banking sector either!.

Just write to VOA unemotionally, stating the facts and the reasons why you think your band should be reduced.