Can council backdate tax if flat is rebanded?

al-cat101

My mother is 91 and has been disabled for about a year now and I'm her full-time carer.
I called the council to see if we could get some kind of help with the council tax situation. BIG mistake.
They now claim we have been paying the wrong amount of tax. We have been living here for 60 years and have paid them on time whatever they have asked us for.
Apparently even though we are in 2 flats ( one above the other) they have banded us as 1 flat....This was how it was figured out whenever it was ( I was away for 30 years and can't locate any of the paperwork and my mother doesn't remember anything ). One of the assessors is coming over in January. I'm pretty certain that from what he says that they will change the banding. I'm terrified that even though this is THEIR valuation is it possible they could backdate the whole thing for years which would mean we might owe THOUSANDS of £s. Can they do this and should I go to the Citizens Advice Bureau before the visit . ......
Does anyone have any guidance on this issue?.....
I'm really very worried.
al-cat

*Robin*

I am no expert and it sounds like your situation is very different - but yes, it is possible for a council to backdate a corrected CT bill.
In my case it worked out in my favour; thanks to MSE I found out how to check my neighbours' CT banding, and discovered I was paying the same as houses twice the size of my own - and had been since CT was introduced! The Assessor agreed it was incorrect; he re-banded my property and a cheque for the rebate arrived about eight weeks later (- thanks very much, Martin! ).

But it seems very odd that you never noticed one of your flats wasn't receiving a bill, so yes you need more advice although I've no idea whether CAB will be able to help - you can but ask. In my case I just spoke to the Assessor.
HTH.

poppysarah

2 flats and only 1 council tax bill?
Has your mother been paying it up til now?

al-cat101

Thank you for your replies.....Yes we have been paying the tax as requested by the council.
It has never occurred to anyone in my family that we should be getting two bills.
We are the only ones in the house other than a shop on the ground floor and basement. In 1952 it was 2 flats ...we lived in the top one. In 1956 the lower flat became vacant and my father rented it as well so we'd have a bit more room......we pay one rent, one gas bill and one electricity bill, have one boiler etc.
I'm having nightmares about getting billed for 20 years of incorrect billing on the part of the council ( Camden )......a Happy Christmas is not what I'm having.
I've trawled the net and all I find is when people are banded downwards rather than upwards......I'm hoping that the CAB are open before New Year since the assessor is coming on the 11th.
I wonder if anyone reading these forums has been upped rather than downed ?....

thanks everyone ...

pmlindyloo

I am not sure whether you are talking about 1 flat or 2 flats.

Are there 2 separate addresses?

Only one boiler? Have the 2 flats been converted into one dwelling? How many rooms? What rooms?

Is it possible that the flats were converted into one dwelling in 1956 hence the one council tax bill?

Can anyone give a link so that the OP can find out whether the home is registered as one dwelling or two?

*Robin*

al-cat101 wrote: »

We are the only ones in the house other than a shop on the ground floor and basement. In 1952 it was 2 flats ...we lived in the top one. In 1956 the lower flat became vacant and my father rented it as well so we'd have a bit more room......we pay one rent, one gas bill and one electricity bill, have one boiler etc.

..Do you have two front doors? Does each flat have it's own kitchen, bathroom etc?
It sounds like a very unusual situation. Can you check the land registry to see exactly how your landlord has registered the property (or ask him)?

I followed Martin's article, which gives links to find out about neighbouring / similar properties and takes you through the whole process of checking your banding (though it's aimed more at owners than tenants):

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/council-tax-bands-change

al-cat101

Thanks for your replies....It's a terraced townhouse. There is a shop on the ground floor and 3 floors above. The first floor flat was the one we took over in 1956. The top floors are a maisonette and are where we moved into in 1952. I have no idea if there was any proper paperwork done ... My Mother has dementia and can't remember anything at all. All she knows is that the council tax bill comes and we pay it.
I'm sure the Council will be able to argue a case that it could be converted back again and therefore should be taxed as 2 dwellings and even though it is not how we use it, I can deal with that going forward.... It will be a struggle financially it won't do completely flatten us.........
It's the backdating possibility that is haunting me. I've looked at other 1st floor flats on the street, 20 years of council tax could be around £35,000.
The CAB office opens on the 3rd. I'm trying to stay calm but it's not that easy.
thanks again for your thoughts.
alcat

pmlindyloo

OK

Let me see if I have it right.

You lived in the maisonette (top 2 floors) from 1952 and then took over the 1st floor flat as well in 1956?

The important thing is whether all 3 floors were converted to form one dwelling. That is why it is important to answer this question:

1. Does the 1st floor flat have its own front door and separate address?

We are trying to establish whether you are living in 2 separate properties or one.

Once established then we may be able to help with the council tax question.

al-cat101

Hi Robin,
I've checked the land registry ...it isn't listed . Originally built as a family house with a shop in 1690. The recent leaseholder purchased the property in 1987 for a song since it had us in it.

There is a gas pipe on the first floor that an oven could be attached to and a sort of kitchen sink. You could call it a kitchenette. Our proper kitchen is in the upper part of the building. There are 2 bathrooms and 3 bedrooms in the whole property. The upper flat is definitely self contained and does have a proper front door. The lower flat just has 2 regular doors off a landing that you would normally have going into rooms but they do have a locks on them. But as is true of a lot of houses, it could definitely be converted back to self contained without too much trouble.

alcat.

*Robin*

al-cat101 wrote: »

It's the backdating possibility that is haunting me. I've looked at other 1st floor flats on the street, 20 years of council tax could be around £35,000.
The CAB office opens on the 3rd. I'm trying to stay calm but it's not that easy.

Please try not to worry too much; sorry I can't give a link but I do remember that my council have a cut off point, which I think is eight years (I assume all English Councils follow the same rules?). That is if the discrepancy is found to be your responsibility for not giving the correct information. From what you have posted, I am wondering if in fact it was your landlord who made the mistake?

It's worth finding out as much as you can before visiting the CAB. And if they can't help, well, I found the Assessor to be a very pleasant, informative chap who worked with me to resolve the problem quickly (not someone to fear).

al-cat101

I keep sending a reply and finding a new question!. I really appreciate your help.
pmlindyloo.... the address is the same. There are 2 doors right next to each other they have the same street number but one comes into our hallway and the other goes into the shop and has different postcode!.

The other thing that complicates everything is that our stairwell can be accessed by the shop via a firedoor without a key or anything. I don't know what that means legally but it's not very reassuring when the shop girls leave the window open ( by mistake ) sometimes.