Council Tax Reassessment - Rejected

ricey420

Hi all,


I really hope someone can help. I read the article on Council Tax re-evaluations (https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/council-tax-bands-change/).


I submitted the online form to the SAA as I thought I had a decent case. Although my neighbours are also the same band as me (Band G). I checked the value of my home at last sale, the price I bought it for, and the top end estimate from Zoopla. The top end estimate for Zoopla was the highest of these three, so I used that.



The 1991 equivalent (according to Nationwide's calculator) of the value of my home is £95,107. This is well within the Band F for Scotland which is £80,001 - £106,000.


The Valuation Joint Board wrote to me saying the proposal is not valid as it was not submitted within the first 6 months. Please tell me this isn't where it dies. I had no idea I could challenge my band.


They also say at the bottom of the letter "the band for your property has been checked and I am satisfied that the band is fair and reasonable". So what other criteria is used to decide bandings?



It is a newbuild development where the first owner moved in 2015 and I moved in August 2016.


Any help would be greatly appreciated. I live alone and need to make reductions to all my bills to remain sustainable. I am hoping and praying for some good news

CIS

The Valuation Joint Board wrote to me saying the proposal is not valid as it was not submitted within the first 6 months. Please tell me this isn't where it dies. I had no idea I could challenge my band.

Appeals have to be within the 6 months otherwise it's reduced to just asking the Assessors to check and determine the banding, without any right to appeal.

ricey420

CIS wrote: »

Appeals have to be within the 6 months otherwise it's reduced to just asking the Assessors to check and determine the banding, without any right to appeal.

I have been told I have four weeks to appeal though, so I imagine that it's different in Scotland. The problem is, what form should an appeal take and what liklihood is there of success?


I am really dismayed

etienneg

The problem with calculators (such as the Nationwide one), particularly over such a long period going back to 1991, is that they are necessarily quite general. Valuation of a particular house (or group of similar houses in a particular location) can be rather different from the average for a region, which in your case is the whole of Scotland. I'd guess that there's quite a difference in the movement of house prices between (say) Edinburgh and The Shetland Isles!

Personally I wouldn't put much faith in the result being correct to a particular council tax band. I would be surprised if it had given Band D or even Band E, but to be just one band different doesn't surprise me at all. I don't think you have much chance of success in getting re-banded, particularly as you say your neighbours (I'm assuming similar properties) are in the same band as you.

I don't mean this to sound harsh, but you need to be realistic. Band G is high, particularly for someone living alone, which is fine if you can afford it. But at least there is scope for moving to a smaller (or less expensive) property if that is necessary for sustainability. What were you planning on doing before you read the article?

lincroft1710

ricey420 wrote: »

I have been told I have four weeks to appeal though, so I imagine that it's different in Scotland. The problem is, what form should an appeal take and what liklihood is there of success?


I am really dismayed

Basically you will get nowhere with an appeal as you did not submit the online form within the statutory 6 month time limit and that is the end of the matter. You cannot use the excuse of not being aware you could challenge your CT band.

sheramber

Have you looked at the appeals form

https://www.saa.gov.uk/non-domestic-valuation/valuation-appeals/

To lodge an appeal use the Rateable Values search on the Home Page (or your local Assessor’s Page) to identify the individual property concerned. (Use the link in the More Information column on the Street Search Results page). Click on the “Make an appeal” button at the right hand corner of the page to bring up the Online Valuation Roll Appeals page where the appeal form and further detailed guidance to help you through the process can be found.

lincroft1710

sheramber wrote: »

Have you looked at the appeals form

https://www.saa.gov.uk/non-domestic-valuation/valuation-appeals/

That is for non domestic properties, not houses and flats.

The OP tried to appeal their CT band but were outside the 6 month time limit, so it was rejected. Although there is a process for appealing the rejection, there is no way it will succeed when the original appeal was out of time by being submitted more than 6 months from date of first occupation

Goldenyears

A friend sold her house and the buyers appealed their band within the 6 months. They were successful and got their band reduced, but my friend got the refund backdated in her case to 1991, which got me thinking. We bought our present house in 1992. We had always thought band G was too high since we paid £140,000 and band G was £160,000 up. Time went on and we did nothing until our friend told us of her refund.

Clearly 23 years later we couldn't use the standard appeal form. I just appealed by letter with the evidence of actual purchase price in 1992 and we were successful with 23 years of refunds. Our situation was not the same as the OP since we did not have to estimate purchase price, nevertheless it was not true to say all hope is lost if you are outside the 6 month limit.

CIS

Clearly 23 years later we couldn't use the standard appeal form. I just appealed by letter with the evidence of actual purchase price in 1992 and we were successful with 23 years of refunds. Our situation was not the same as the OP since we did not have to estimate purchase price, nevertheless it was not true to say all hope is lost if you are outside the 6 month limit.

That would be on the basis of the Valuation Officer/Assessor using their discretion to change the band outside of a valid appeal period. In the OP's case any discretion has not been used and they have rejected the request as a formal proposal as it's outside of 6 months.

lincroft1710

Goldenyears wrote: »

A friend sold her house and the buyers appealed their band within the 6 months. They were successful and got their band reduced, but my friend got the refund backdated in her case to 1991, which got me thinking. We bought our present house in 1992. We had always thought band G was too high since we paid £140,000 and band G was £160,000 up. Time went on and we did nothing until our friend told us of her refund.

Clearly 23 years later we couldn't use the standard appeal form. I just appealed by letter with the evidence of actual purchase price in 1992 and we were successful with 23 years of refunds. Our situation was not the same as the OP since we did not have to estimate purchase price, nevertheless it was not true to say all hope is lost if you are outside the 6 month limit.

The refund would actually only be back to 1993 as that is when Council Tax first came into force.

In the OP's case the Assessor had already decided that the band was correct, so for them all hope probably is lost. Outside of the 6 month time limit, a band reduction is possible but if the VOA (Eng and Wales) or Assessor (Scot) say no, that it is more or less it.