Council tax on an un-adopted road

samuella_2

Hi,

I'll try and keep this short! I've been told that living on an un-adopted road gives you no right to reduced council tax, and that it's purely based on value in 1991. Oky doky, but the houses on my un-adopted street all have considerably lower historic values than other similar properties in the area. The VOA keeps asking for "like for like" properties in the area that can be used as evidence, but I am arguing there are no like for likes because none have the un-adopted variable which has historically meant we have lower values. It seems very unfair that my house is worth less, the council provides no services for me, and yet I get no reduction in value. Any advice? Thanks!

fed_up_and_stressed

samuella wrote: »

Hi,

I'll try and keep this short! I've been told that living on an un-adopted road gives you no right to reduced council tax, and that it's purely based on value in 1991.

It seems very unfair that my house is worth less, the council provides no services for me, and yet I get no reduction in value. Any advice? Thanks!

Surely you benefitted from the lower purchase price when you bought ?

What you don't use the pavements in all the roads in the borough, street lights, roads, refuse services, police or fire brigade which council tax pays for ? How does that work then ?

samuella_2

I didn't say I didn't think I should pay any tax, I suppose I shouldn't have used the word "no services", but thanks for your helpful reply.

We don't have streetlights, and we can't get our road resurfaced for example, so we do have reduced services. But this is besides the point, if council tax is based on house value, and ours is lower because of a particular variable, how do I prove that particular variable's influence.

agrinnall

I don't really understand your argument, if the value in 1991 was lower than similar properties then you may already be in a lower band. There's no reason why it should be lowered any further.

lincroft1710

You prove the variable's influence by showing that a house of a similar type and size on an adopted road sold for more than a house on your road. There surely must be plenty of sold houses on adopted roads you could use for your comparison.

However there is no guarantee of a reduced tax band. For example if houses on adopted roads were selling for 10% more in April 1991 than similar houses on your road, then if the house on the adopted road sold for £80,000 then yours would be worth £72,000 and still within Band D (England £68,001 to £88,000).

But I would doubt the differential would be anywhere near as high as 10%.

fed_up_and_stressed

samuella wrote: »

I didn't say I didn't think I should pay any tax, I suppose I shouldn't have used the word "no services", but thanks for your helpful reply.

We don't have streetlights, and we can't get our road resurfaced for example, so we do have reduced services. But this is besides the point, if council tax is based on house value, and ours is lower because of a particular variable, how do I prove that particular variable's influence.

My house has never burnt down do you think because i get reduced services from the fire brigade (i've never had a bunch of fire engines round my house) from my council tax compared to the poor so and sos whose house got burnt to a crisp i should get a rebate ?

Council tax pays for communal services - personal usage of *some* of those community services is irrelevant to your liability to pay for them.

samuella_2

Hi, no that's the point despite the lower value in 1991, I am not on a lower band.

samuella_2

OK point taken but I was still asking for advice on like for like comparisons of value where they're not like for like, do you have any advice on that question, and my follow up reiteration?

fed_up_and_stressed

samuella wrote: »

OK point taken but I was still asking for advice on like for like comparisons of value where they're not like for like, do you have any advice on that question, and my follow up reiteration?

Get as much evidence as you can for evidence as to what your property was worth compared to adopted properties in April 1991 as has been mentioned.

It could be an option to get an opinion from a chartered surveyor but it no guarantee of success.

CIS

Apart from the specific precepts on the council tax charge then council tax doesn't pay for services anyway - it pays towards the running of the council, one function of which is to provide services (which are funded partially from monies collected by council tax).

antrobus

samuella wrote: »

OK point taken but I was still asking for advice on like for like comparisons of value where they're not like for like, do you have any advice on that question, and my follow up reiteration?

I'm confused.

You originally said that "houses on my un-adopted street all have considerably lower historic values than other similar properties in the area", now you are saying that there are no comparisons of value that are like for like.

Either you have evidence that the houses in your street were worth less than similar properties in the area or you don't.