Council Tax overpayment since 2009?

StarryTowers

Our ground floor flat was graded *B*. In 2009 we purchased the graded *A* upstairs flat and converted the 2 into one house. A Council Tax assessor visited over the years and advised the house was still two flats despite us living in the building as one house (with a connecting interior staircase, outside stairs to upstairs flat removed, outside door to upstairs flat replaced by window, kitchen removed from upstairs flat). Over these years we were entitled to a 10% discount on the *A* flat and I always assumed the assessor was doing us a favour with his assessment of the building remaining as two flats. Now with the removal of the 10% on second homes, and as the original assessor has retired, a different assessor has visited and assessed the building as one house and banded it *D*. This is saving us (if my sums are right) £710.77 this year as *D* is £1599.24, *A* £1066.16 and *B* £1243.85. Now it occurs to me that since 2009 when we began using the house as one building, even with the 10% discount on *A* we've perhaps paid thousands too much. I can't find information on what the band costs were over the years since 2009 till now. Do people here think it likely that I have paid well over the odds from 2009 till now and what are my rights in reclaiming this money?

00ec25

so you need to make an appeal for a retrospective rebanding. The fact it appears to have been given a D now is a start point, but the council are quite correct that they charge what band applies when it applies, and yours is not (apparently) retrospective

if that appeal succeeds (you do it with the Valuation Office Agency , not with "the council") then your individual council will have no option but to apply that banding from the date the VOA says it applies. If that is retrospective then you will get a refund. If not, you won't

StarryTowers

Thanks for that. I have photographic evidence of the work in progress, and can therefore prove the structural changes were made when I say they were made. I suppose I'm just worried that band D was actually higher than band A with a 10% discount plus band B in previous years. I've searched my council website for information on the banding costs from previous years but can only find the current and the last years information. Am I quite safe in assuming it's always been proportionate and if it's cheaper now it would've been cheaper every year since 2009?

p00hsticks

StarryTowers wrote: »

Thanks for that. I have photographic evidence of the work in progress, and can therefore prove the structural changes were made when I say they were made. I suppose I'm just worried that band D was actually higher than band A with a 10% discount plus band B in previous years. I've searched my council website for information on the banding costs from previous years but can only find the current and the last years information. Am I quite safe in assuming it's always been proportionate and if it's cheaper now it would've been cheaper every year since 2009?

The charge for each band is determined as a propertion of the charge set for Band D - so Band A is set as 6/9ths of Band D, and Band B as 7/9ths.



So even with a 10% discount on the Band B valuation, the sum of the two will be more than a single Band D charge.

StarryTowers

Ahhh...thank you. I'll have to speak to the assessor again, I think I've been done out of a sizeable sum.

CIS

Are you in England, Wales or Scotland ?

StarryTowers

I'm in Scotland.

lincroft1710

What is the effective date of the change to a single dwelling and on what date were you formally notified of the change.

StarryTowers

We made the structural changes and started living in the building as one house in 2009. It's now finally been assessed as one building on 20th September 2018. Letters of notifiction dated 26th and 27th September 2018. The change has been backdated to 1st April 2018.

lincroft1710

I would appeal against the effective date

StarryTowers

Just a thank you to everyone who commented on this thread, it was all supportive and very much appreciated. Turns out the assessor has been just as supportive and helpful. We've already received a refund of £640 for this year. The assessor has played fair, he's changed the effective date to April 2008* and we'll be receiving all the money they owe us as soon as the paperwork is all signed off. Thanks again folks, this is a great website/forum for all monetary questions, contributors always do a great job.

*April 2008, because when I first posted my question I was guesstimating, we actually purchased upstairs in November 2007, started living in it as one house in December 2007 and I have the digital photographic evidence of that, was when I dug out the photos that realised the correct dates.