Council tax Improvement indicator

inzellhsw

Good morning All!

We are looking to make an offer on a property. Its council tax band is currently E. When I checked on the government website, there’s an Improvement indicator against it. I think the current owner added an extra room on 1st floor – it’s not a traditional type of house, it’s like a bungalow but with very high pitch roof, only two bedrooms on 1st floor.

If only looking at the size of the house and the plot, this house is relatively small on the same road – there are quite a few bigger houses with larger plots. And they are all Band E.

This property was priced £114,000 in 1997.

How likely would the council tax band go up?

Thanks for your comments in advance

Doozergirl

None of us can tell you that. I've previously had a house with a small second storey extension that didn't raise the band when we moved in.

Fact is, if it's big enough to go up another band then most property you look at to buy will fall into a similar band. If you're saying it's smaller than the neighbours then you have a good argument if it was banded up.

Presuming a house worth £114k in 97 is worth a fair whack more these days! Considering the amount you spend and all the other requirements, the council tax band falls pretty low down the decision making scale when buying a house.

inzellhsw

Doozergirl wrote: »

None of us can tell you that. I've previously had a house with a small second storey extension that didn't raise the band when we moved in.

Fact is, if it's big enough to go up another band then most property you look at to buy will fall into a similar band. If you're saying it's smaller than the neighbours then you have a good argument if it was banded up.

Presuming a house worth £114k in 97 is worth a fair whack more these days! Considering the amount you spend and all the other requirements, the council tax band falls pretty low down the decision making scale when buying a house.

We are in North West. This house is marketed at 310K. The houses we've been looking at are between 300 - 325K. And they are all Band E. So I don't feel right to buy it at band F.

The difference between Band E and F in council tax is around £400 a year, which can be a nice weekend away :rotfl:

AdrianC

<shrug> How long is a piece of string?

The VOA know what the nominal 1991-equivalent value (assuming England) of the property was before the work, and based the old CT band on that. They then look at properties that are comparable to the extended property to calculate the 1991-equivalent value with the work, and base any rebanding on that. If they think it falls into the same band, then it won't be rebanded. If you don't like the result, you can appeal it, and they'll show their working.

Band E is £88-120k nominal 1991 value. If it was £114k in 1997, then it was probably towards the lower end of that band, so it may well stay within the same band.

The CT amount payable is based on 9ths of the Band D rate. E is 11/9ths, F is 13/9ths. So for the difference between E and F to be £400, Band D would be around £1,800 - the national average is around £1,600.

inzellhsw

And we are only a 3-person household. Already feel unfair paying band D council tax at the moment which is around £2000 a year.

inzellhsw

AdrianC wrote: »

<shrug> How long is a piece of string?

The VOA know what the nominal 1991-equivalent value (assuming England) of the property was before the work, and based the old CT band on that. They then look at properties that are comparable to the extended property to calculate the 1991-equivalent value with the work, and base any rebanding on that. If they think it falls into the same band, then it won't be rebanded. If you don't like the result, you can appeal it, and they'll show their working.

Band E is £88-112k nominal 1991 value. If it was £114k in 1997, then it was probably towards the lower end of that band, so it may well stay within the same band.

The CT amount payable is based on 9ths of the Band D rate. E is 11/9ths, F is 13/9ths. So for the difference between E and F to be £400, Band D would be around £1,800 - the national average is around £1,600.

Thank you!

Got below from Gov.uk -

Council Tax bands in England (based on 1 April 1991 values)
Band Value at 1 April 1991
A up to £40,000
B £40,001 to £52,000
C £52,001 to £68,000
D £68,001 to £88,000
E £88,001 to £120,000
F £120,001 to £160,000
G £160,001 to £320,000
H more than £320,000

Council tax in NW is a hell lot more than the south unfortunately!
Band E £2091.39
Band F £2471.63

Doozergirl

inzellhsw wrote: »

And we are only a 3-person household. Already feel unfair paying band D council tax at the moment which is around £2000 a year.

It's based on the size/value of your house. If it were based on people it would probably be more - if you remember the Community Charge days!

AdrianC

Doozergirl wrote: »

It's based on the size/value of your house. If it were based on people it would probably be more - if you remember the Community Charge days!

Quite. People moaned at the "poll tax", priced per head... No scheme is ever going to suit everybody.

Tom99

The Valuation Office figures show that 20% of properties with an improvement indicator result in a Band increase when the time comes to review them.

AdrianC

Tom99 wrote: »

The Valuation Office figures show that 20% of properties with an improvement indicator result in a Band increase when the time comes to review them.

...so 80% don't...

inzellhsw

Doozergirl wrote: »

It's based on the size/value of your house. If it were based on people it would probably be more - if you remember the Community Charge days!

One reason why I feel unfair is we are given a smaller bin because we have less than 4 people in the household! In my opinion, council tax is used for waste disposal / school / police / fire etc. Compared to larger household, we produce less waste, not needing school places, not making troubles..............

I'm just moaning :eek: