VOA council tax band possible increase?

Milk_bottle

Hi

we received a letter stating that the VOA will be looking at our council tax and either put it up or keep it at its current level (band A). We got the letter on the 5th of November but have heard nothing since? our house is a 4 bed property (extension built 10-12 years ago), looking in the area the highest it goes to is a band B. How long do you have to wait to hear something?

Hoploz

Sounds like there's not much you can do but wait and see if they want to change it. I was under the impression that it could only be increased when the property is sold, although rules change so that might not be correct.

This website has guidance on how to check your band and challenge it if you disagree. Have a look on the main moneysavingexpert website

jennifernil

It would seem the OP has just recently purchased the property, so this is the VOA revaluing due to the extension.

Band A for a 4 bed house sounds far too low, so an increase is highly likely.

dancingfairy

If it's a 4 bed, then I would have thought you'd be looking at either a C or D. I assume that the one in your local area are either not extended like yours, or are still owned by the original owners who did the extension.
You can look on the council's website and find out how much they charge for each band. It would be wise to start putting extra money away (particularly if you are having your 2 month payment break from council tax in Feb,Mar).
In terms of how long it takes, I guess it depends on how staff cutbacks have affected your area and how many properties they have to reband. I wouldn't let it drag on too long as you may find they backdate it to the date of the letter so the sooner you find out the correct payment amount and start paying it the better (otherwise you may end up with a nasty surprise).
I am, of course assuming that previous owners extended the property and it had an improvement flag on it and you have just bought it. If this is the case, what did your solicitor tell you about the likely council tax band?
If you have not recently bought it then it would seem strange that the council have decided to reband it - something or someone would have brought it to their attention for some reason.
df

Better_Days

I applied to have the CT rebanded when we moved here.

I spoke to the lady at the VOA and she said that the main thing she looks at is the band of comparable properties nearby. So are there any 4 bed houses near you which are similar in terms of plot size, garage, detached/semi etc? You will then get an idea of the likely band that you will end up in and also you will have some ammunition handy if you decide to appeal.

In our case it took about 8 weeks, but how long it will take for you will depend on the workload at your particular VOA. You could just ring and ask.

I agree with other posters - band A is very low. Our 4 bed is now band D, when we moved in it was E. Our previous 3 bed bungalow was band D.

Milk_bottle

Thanks for the replies guys, we purchased the property in Sept but did not get the letter till the 5 of November, looking around the area and at the council website to check banding etc most are A's but there are 1 or 2 B's but not sure if its because they're detached and or still have the original owner living there. Sizing wise most houses have been extended to the point where I would guess they're either 3 or 4 bed's as the orginal configuration of the houses were either 2/3 beds.

oh and nothing was mentioned about the council tax from the solicitor

Would it hurt to contact the VOA or will it go against me?

MadelinesMum

Hi, I own a 4 bed which is a band D. It is usually when the property is sold, not when the extension is made, that the band is reassessed.

When mine was reassessed it was around 6 weeks from when I received the first letter and the decision.

jjlandlord

Milk_bottle wrote: »

oh and nothing was mentioned about the council tax from the solicitor

CT re-banding may be a consequence of the sale but is not related to the sale.
The solicitor probably did not tell you to get meter readings and to redirect your mail either.

Datatag

We bought our small 3-bed detached property in 2004 and it was Band D. In 2010 we noticed that similar properties on the estate were Band C so we appealed, and a Surveyor came out to carry out an internal and external survey.

The Surveyor agreed with us and our property was changed to Band C, meaning our Council Tax dropped by around £30/month and we got around £800 back from the local council.

That's not the end of the story however - in November 2014 we got a letter from the VOA stating that they had a duty to ensure that the properties were in the correct band and they were sending a surveyor out in December to check our property. I called the surveyor and asked if they needed access to check the property accommodation but I was told they only needed to do a quick check on the outside.

Perhaps unsurprisingly we then received a letter stating that we were being returned to a Band D effective from December 22nd - a bit of checking on the VOA website showed that the other similar Band C properties on the estate had been increased to Band D as well. I spoke to the other home-owners affected by this and it turns out that the surveyor simply did a quick external check on all the properties - and didn't actually visit any of them.

On receipt of the letter I called the surveyor again to discuss this but it turns out they're on leave and not due back until Jan 12th.... handy! To add insult to injury I then received a second letter from the VOA confirming the change, followed yesterday by a revised Council Tax bill requiring a one-off payment to cover the additional amount due for the period December 22nd to March 31st and increasing my payments by £45/month for the next year...!

I've dug out my notes and references from the 2010 re-banding and I've submitted a "Proposal", challenging their re-banding on 6 separate counts and that's gone in today.

I'm fairly sure the others are going to do the same so we'll see how things go and I'll update the forum.

phoebe1989seb

It is strange how Council Tax bands vary for similarly sized and similarly priced properties in different areas.....

Our last-but-one house (Essex) was a detached 4/5 bed of approximately 1600 sq ft - it was in band E. It had not been extended since (re)built in 1938.

Our last house (Wiltshire) was an attached 5/6 bed 200 year old house of approximately 2200 sq ft when we purchased it in 2011. It was in band C and had never previously been extended. We extended it to 2500 sq ft and the sale completed in December. Fwiw, the sold price was £135k more than we paid in 2011. I guess it will be reassessed some time in the near future.

The house we just purchased (West Midlands) is a detached 4 bed of approximately 2000 sq ft and is in band G. It hasn't been extended since 1924.

All three of these houses were valued within £50k of each other when we purchased, although there is a time lapse of seven years between first and last.

I haven't yet investigated what bands neighbouring houses are in, but when we were looking to buy I did think this band seemed rather high - our former family home of 3500 sq ft was *only* in band F (diff county again though) - and wondered if we could get it changed. Neighbouring houses are a mix of period (similar age to ours - 1850s) and mid-late 20th century. Most are mid-large detached homes.

Band A does seem surprisingly low though OP, and even B seems low for a 4 bed.

Definitely think the system is in need of an overhaul - poll tax anyone :eek:

Hoploz

Data tag, did they give a reason for the investigation and re-banding?

What are the 6 counts you are using for challenge?