Reclaim overpaid council tax

lincroft1710

Smart_Alex said:

Sadly this time I was unsuccessful.  I did not try and reclaim overpaid council tax until I realised many years later that I was paying the same as the houses either side of me which are 5 bed/double garaged.

Just because larger houses are in the same band it does not automatically mean your house is in the wrong band   

 The council would not let me go to tribunal

The council do not deal with CT banding, that is the responsibility of the Valuation Office Agency (part of HMRC). Unless you appealed your house's CT band within 6 months of becoming the occupier, there is no recourse to a Tribunal hearing.


so I saw my MP’s office instead who did all they could to help as they knew staffing at the top of the tree so to speak.

Which wouldn't help as banding and banding reviews are carried out by staff nearer the bottom of the tree

 My house is mirror imagine to the house at the back of mine.  Sq footage etc identical

But in a lower band?

but the council came back each time with an excuses like mine was better in quality and dearer to purchase.

Is this an opinion or are they correct?

In the end the MP’s office was told no more could be done and that was the end of the matter.

MPs rarely pursue CT matters once they are told the band is correct

So after being ripped off by the council for 10 years we are moving.

The council have to charge on the band appearing in the Valuation List. The VOA do not gain financially by not reducing bands. If you are moving just because your CT band hasn't been reduced, then this is a rather drastic step to take 

 It is good to hear of the success stories mind you and wish mine was one of them but sadly not.

As most CT bands are correct, it follows that not all requests for a lower CT band will be successful

.................

Chipstix_2

Hi All, I am hoping for some advice please.
On Christmas Eve (thanks Cotswold District Council Happy Christmas to you too!), My family and I received a 
Notice of Alteration to an existing entry in the valuation list

• This takes us from Band E to Band G and will cost us £70 more per month.
• The reason is "The Property has been sold and the improvements that were made to the property prior to the sale have affected the council tax banding"
• It is true that the previous owners made extensive development to the property since they bought it. We purchased the property in July 2018, so I am thankful that the council are not asking for 30 months of backdating.
• Our house is a unique one off build (previous owners were a married Architect couple) on our road so there is no direct comparison possible, however clearly the purchase price we paid in 2018 is known.

That said my questions are
1) Is there any point in trying to challenge this decision, as we are jumping by 2 bands and there is not mathematical/ justification calculations to explain how the VOA work backwards to deduce a 1991 value from the range £88k-£120k up to the new band of £160k to £320k? I would propose to go up by one band to Band F.
2) Given that this is not a reassessment request, if I were to challenge it, is there any risk that they could propose an even higher band? The only band left is the top band H. I.e. is there anything to lose by trying - including any risk of backdating request?
3) If it is suggested that I try to challenge for only a single band increase rather than two bands, do you have any further suggestions or advice that I should include in my "formal proposal"

Thanks in advance for your thoughts, Chris

Chipstix_2

I realised that this probably wasn't the right thread for my question so have moved it to a fresh thread. Apologies.

peter120

Hi I live in a 3 bedroom house, one of the bedrooms is only 2meters x 2meters which is not used as a bedroom, can I get the house change to a two bed house thanks

p00hsticks

peter120 said:

Hi I live in a 3 bedroom house, one of the bedrooms is only 2meters x 2meters which is not used as a bedroom, can I get the house change to a two bed house thanks

In general. Council tax bands weren't determined just by how many rooms the property has or what use they are put to, so whether you choose to call it a two or three  bedroom house won't make any difference to the council tax band.

lincroft1710

peter120 said:

Hi I live in a 3 bedroom house, one of the bedrooms is only 2meters x 2meters which is not used as a bedroom, can I get the house change to a two bed house thanks

 Plenty of 3 bed houses with tiny 3rd bedroom. VOA tend to use overall size of dwelling rather than accommodation when arriving at CT band.

citty

I want to challenge my council tax band. I am in Band G and am the only house on the street (bar one) which is in G everyone else is in F. My house is not larger, infact smaller than many. I have done both valuation checks (using the purchase price in 2010 when i bough it) valuation for 1991 comes in at 173,148.. but I have a moderate case as everyone else is in a band lower.. Shall i challenge it? Do I have a good case?

lincroft1710

citty said:

I want to challenge my council tax band. I am in Band G and am the only house on the street (bar one) which is in G everyone else is in F. My house is not larger, infact smaller than many. I have done both valuation checks (using the purchase price in 2010 when i bough it) valuation for 1991 comes in at 173,148.. but I have a moderate case as everyone else is in a band lower.. Shall i challenge it? Do I have a good case?

House price indices tend to undervalue 1991 prices, so there is a very good chance your home was worth more than £173K in 1991 and thus well into Band G. You could ask for a band review based on the fact that it seems smaller than neighbouring houses in Band F, but there may be good reason why they are in Band F or worse they could be underbanded and thus their bands could be increased. Your case is not particularly strong

citty

lincroft1710 said:

citty said:

I want to challenge my council tax band. I am in Band G and am the only house on the street (bar one) which is in G everyone else is in F. My house is not larger, infact smaller than many. I have done both valuation checks (using the purchase price in 2010 when i bough it) valuation for 1991 comes in at 173,148.. but I have a moderate case as everyone else is in a band lower.. Shall i challenge it? Do I have a good case?

House price indices tend to undervalue 1991 prices, so there is a very good chance your home was worth more than £173K in 1991 and thus well into Band G. You could ask for a band review based on the fact that it seems smaller than neighbouring houses in Band F, but there may be good reason why they are in Band F or worse they could be underbanded and thus their bands could be increased. Your case is not particularly strong

I have done a valuation check on neighbours houses and using sale prices from as recent as 2020.. they all are valued at around 173K in 1991 but are still in Band F.. 

lincroft1710

citty said:

lincroft1710 said:

citty said:

I want to challenge my council tax band. I am in Band G and am the only house on the street (bar one) which is in G everyone else is in F. My house is not larger, infact smaller than many. I have done both valuation checks (using the purchase price in 2010 when i bough it) valuation for 1991 comes in at 173,148.. but I have a moderate case as everyone else is in a band lower.. Shall i challenge it? Do I have a good case?

House price indices tend to undervalue 1991 prices, so there is a very good chance your home was worth more than £173K in 1991 and thus well into Band G. You could ask for a band review based on the fact that it seems smaller than neighbouring houses in Band F, but there may be good reason why they are in Band F or worse they could be underbanded and thus their bands could be increased. Your case is not particularly strong

I have done a valuation check on neighbours houses and using sale prices from as recent as 2020.. they all are valued at around 173K in 1991 but are still in Band F.. 

Well it sounds as if they are underbanded