Council Tax Banding

tbarnacle

Hi, advice needed if possible
We moved into our home in 2003 and immediately contested the CT band and got moved from an F to an E, we spoke to our neighbours who did the same and they all got moved to an E also.
In 2017, my husband had a spell in hospital and we claimed benefits for 4 months including CT benefit, this may not have anything to do with the problem, but immediately after coming off CT benefit we had a letter saying they were putting us back up to an F !!  but they didn't do the neighbours they are all still on E !!
Within 6 months I contested the change but they wouldn't budge.  It's just starting to annoy me and with CT going up in budget (most likely) it's nearly £3,000 per year, which is becoming unaffordable.  How can I prove the house wasn't worth above £120,000 in 1991 ?   On Zoopla our home sold in Dec 1998 for £102,500, from all inflation stats I've seen online that wouldn't make our home above £120,000 in 1991 ??
Any advice appreciated.

lincroft1710

When you contested the increase, did your appeal go to a Valuation Tribunal hearing? Did the VOA say why the band was increased? If the appeal went to VT then the VOA will just say there was a VT decision, matter closed. Even if you withdrew your appeal, they'll probably say the band was fully investigated and there is no reason for a further investigation.

It is doubtful if claiming benefits would directly lead to the band being increased. Zoopla figures are not reliable. The budget does not include CT amounts, although if funding to councils is cut, that may affect CT amounts. 

Try to find the bands of as many similar houses as you can in the neighbourhood. I have in the past suggested trying to find archived newspaper ads of houses for sale in 1991, but I don't know if this is still possible and in any case they would only show asking prices.