Council Tax Rebanding SUCCESS stories

Jellybeanio

Will probably give it another try then.


Thank you for your time Lincroft.

glasgowdan

Can I ask people's opinion on this response please? The assessor got back to me saying my neighbour is in a lower band because my house is 45m2 larger. This isn't true, our houses are the same size and I told her this. Perhaps hey we're sizing it using Google maps which would show the plastic car port roof!

I have also sent an email with this evidence and keen to hear anyone's thoughts. Is this likely to be enough? Do i need to get something else? We're currently in a house Band G, which we recently bought for £318000 and haven't done any building work.

. Following my last email, I have attached some evidence which I really do feel suggests our house should be a Band F.


A house plan taken from google maps showing our house and number 49. The red lines show the habitable space and as you can see, they are virtually identical.

A screenshot of the Nationwide price calculator suggesting our house was valued around £84000 in 1991.

A link to a very similarly-sized property currently for sale on the same street, valued on the home report at £385k, asking o/o £375k, which is in Band F

A house list of other bungalows in the area of higher value and size which are Band F. -12-15 houses that have sold for 350-450 since 2010

lincroft1710

Dan, that seems OK. It may be an idea to ask Assessor to visit your home and check the details they hold on your property.

glasgowdan

lincroft1710 wrote: »

Dan, that seems OK. It may be an idea to ask Assessor to visit your home and check the details they hold on your property.

Yes, she's suggested it so we're just organising a day. I'd be nervous she's coming with the aim of telling me all the reasons the band is correct and i wont be quick thinking enough to give my side properly!

lincroft1710

Write down all your points and if there is a discussion you can refer to them

ddks

Jellybeanio wrote: »

Hello,

I asked for a review of my council tax quite a few years ago due to the fact that 2 properties identical to my house which are just a few doors away from me were in a band lower. When I say identical, theirs are actually also larger plots. I was told that the 2 properties in the lower band were mistakes that would be rectified.

These properties are still today in a band lower than me. Do you have any experience of this scenario please? Would it be worth raising again?

Many thanks for any advice.

Yes, I've experienced this & was told the same! I raised this issue again several years later & they have confirmed the bigger properties are in the correct band!
I would appeal online, using those properties as a comparison. You will be sent an invalidity notice- based on that you can appeal to the VTS. Worst case your VTS appeal will be invalid due to the 6 month rule or they might settle before the VTS hear the case. A local resident went down the same route & they settled a few weeks before the case was heard. He'd purchased the house 4 years prior to challenging the band.
Good luck

lincroft1710

ddks wrote: »

Worst case your VTS appeal will be invalid due to the 6 month rule.

It will be invalid due to 6 month rule. Usually submitting an invalid appeal which you know to be invalid is wasting VOA time which could be better used in investigating the band.

Jellybeanio

Hi ddks,

Thank you for posting and sharing your experience.

I emailed to ask if they would consider a band review based on this and other evidence to which they agreed via a letter which, I received today.

I'm eagerly awaiting their decision now. Although, it can take up to 2 months. Will be very interesting to see what they say about these 2 properties. I wonder, would they try to increase their bands AGAIN?

Did you pursue your case any further after being told that you and the other properties were in the correct band? Such as, asking them to explain how they justified their decision.

Jellybeanio

ddks,


Sorry, just read your post again.


Regarding your local resident. Did he appeal due to a decision regarding another appeal in your area?

ddks

Jellybeanio wrote: »

Hi ddks,

Thank you for posting and sharing your experience.

I emailed to ask if they would consider a band review based on this and other evidence to which they agreed via a letter which, I received today.

I'm eagerly awaiting their decision now. Although, it can take up to 2 months. Will be very interesting to see what they say about these 2 properties. I wonder, would they try to increase their bands AGAIN?

Did you pursue your case any further after being told that you and the other properties were in the correct band? Such as, asking them to explain how they justified their decision.

Hi Jellybeanio,
Yes, I'm still pursuing it and they have said they can only go so far to explain the banding! Their reason being the other property has an integral garage and ours has a single detached garage.
They have confirmed the banding on the larger property is correct (Band D).
we had some works done to our property and the size of our property has reduced. We have submitted a review. Their decision was no, we stay in a Band E, an appeal has been submitted and we await a VTS date.
I had a look at previous VTS decisions and the properties used by the LO to determine a Band E. Two of the properties had double garages (although at VTS, they said they were single garages!) and the other 2 were infill plots on an established road (apparently in a letter from the LO, not comparable to ours 'estate development'). One of the infill plots was sold from 'new' & as per their manual - they should be cautious as new builds attract a premium, that won't be realised on the second hand market.
Good luck