council band - 6 months South Lanarkshire

gilk3

i am looking for information regarding this 6 months rule i sent in my council band query to the valuation board in January and i have just received a letter saying that my claim if invalid due to this 6 months rule i am under south lanarkshire can anyone please give me some information regarding this 6 month ruling as i noticed that in the success stories that a lot of other people were also told this but they managed to overcome this.

jennifernil

You have a right to challenge your banding within 6 months of purchasing your house, you can provide your evidence of why you think it is wrong and they have to either provide evidence the other way or accept yours. If they refuse to agree with you it can go to a valuation tribunal which you should attend.
After the 6 month period I think you can only request that your banding be reviewed. If they review it (compare it with your neighbours and similar houses nearby) and still say it is correct I am not sure how you can proceed.
We got a reduction on our daughter's flat in Glasgow, but we were within the 6 months.
Have you asked the council what options are open to you? I think you would need very strong evidence of incorrect banding to succeed in a review.

Maisie

gilk3 wrote: »

i am looking for information regarding this 6 months rule i sent in my council band query to the valuation board in January and i have just received a letter saying that my claim if invalid due to this 6 months rule i am under south lanarkshire can anyone please give me some information regarding this 6 month ruling as i noticed that in the success stories that a lot of other people were also told this but they managed to overcome this.

Gilk Look at the 'council tax' discussion thread. Many posters are (and have been) in the same position as you and have found an answer on the thread. It's a common question and you need plenty of good evidence of 1991 prices.

Good luck

Maisie

moonrakerz

Just keep pegging away at them, the 6 month rule is the first thing they try to make you go away.

Write back and say you cannot accept their rejection under the 6 month rule and that you wish to appeal against it. Say something to the the effect that : it is unrealistic for house purchasers to check their Council Tax banding against all other properties in the area. Another good line is to say that you believe an error was made in the original valuation.

I did - I got £2,500 back, but it took five months.

Barebear

I am in South Lanarkshire and have just had that self same letter. I also applied around Jan/Feb time. They have said something like they will now go ahead and re-evaluate the banding as it is their responsibility to do this. It also says that it will take anothe 3 months to even look at my case.

I am also in need of advice on how to progress from this initial letter of apparent rejection.

Bloomcounty

I am also in exactly the same position as Glik and Barebear, same council, same letter. I have rejected their decision regarding the 6 month rule based on the points I have read through this and the other "cutting council tax thread" and "sucess stories". I think this and some other "things" such as the need to inform in writing within 4 weeks of the date of the letter and the anticipated time of 3 months to investigate any possibility of rebanding (due to the number of enquiries & staff resources) are all meant to put people off. I don't care how long it takes because I firmly believe I have a case, so I plan to pursue it all the way.

Good luck with your cases.

Blooms

gilk3

glad to hear other people from the same council are in the same boat
i am going to appeal against this decision before i did this i wanted to make sure that in my letter of appeal i use the wording and the correct terms for my appeal i just want them to come back to me and say in writing that they will revalue my old property and let me know immediately of any change of the banding for my old address so that i can then contact the Council tax office when i check the valuation website for the banding for my address nearly everyone on the street is band A i was charged at Band B which show this on their website it took me a few minutes to find this information so why does it that the valuation board 4/5 months

Maisie

gilk3 wrote: »

glad to hear other people from the same council are in the same boat
i am going to appeal against this decision before i did this i wanted to make sure that in my letter of appeal i use the wording and the correct terms for my appeal i just want them to come back to me and say in writing that they will revalue my old property and let me know immediately of any change of the banding for my old address so that i can then contact the Council tax office when i check the valuation website for the banding for my address nearly everyone on the street is band A i was charged at Band B which show this on their website it took me a few minutes to find this information so why does it that the valuation board 4/5 months

gilk It's a long drawn out process and the voa don't give in easily. Some of us have been trying to get a rebanding for 6 months.
You are talking about an 'old' property. You can't ask for a review once you have left there. If you can persuade the current occupiers to ask for a review and if they are successful you can apply for any rebanding and rebate due to you for the old property.
As you are not the present council tax payer for that property voa won't listen to you.
You can only apply for a review if you are paying the council tax on a property.

HTH maisie