Council tax

Mollzipops

Just wondering if anyone can advise me would be most grateful. I applied to VOA to reduce my council tax as my property wasn’t worth the amount they said in 1991 and wasn’t worth the value till at least 6 years later. Got my reply after many weeks of waiting and they refused to change my council tax band still stating it was worth over 40 thousand in 1991. I’m in a two bedroomed property and been here since 1989. There are 4 bedroomed house with 3 levels in our road that are also B band and there semi detached also some other 3 bedroomed that are semi detached B band. Mines a two bedroom terraced. I don’t understand why ours is a B when there also a B. Can anyone give me advice of how to appeal this decision they have made and if I do appeal do I mention these other house that are B. I would be most grateful for any help. Thankyou so much x

lincroft1710

You can quote the other houses, worst scenario would be that their bands are increased. Your best bet would be to try and find a 2 bed terrace of similar age and size in the locality which is in Band A. I'm ex VOA and in my area, house prices recovered to 1991 levels by 1997/8 so your home may well have been worth more than £40K in 1991

Mollzipops

Hi hun no they have specifically said it was valued over 40 thousand in 1991. I gave them 4 house that were bigger than ours in A band but are terraced houses like ours. I have been in them and the only difference is is that there kitchen is double size of ours and there an A. They haven’t said why they haven’t taken them houses into consideration in the email. I’m just not understanding any of this to be honest hun Thankyou for advice though x

p00hsticks

Mollzipops said:

Hi hun no they have specifically said it was valued over 40 thousand in 1991. I gave them 4 house that were bigger than ours in A band but are terraced houses like ours. I have been in them and the only difference is is that there kitchen is double size of ours and there an A. They haven’t said why they haven’t taken them houses into consideration in the email. I’m just not understanding any of this to be honest hun Thankyou for advice though x

I think the point lincroft is making is generally prices dropped between 1991, when the valuations were done, and the middle of that decade. So as you say in your original post that six years later the value would match the band you are actually in, that would suggest it was probably put into the correct band in 1991.

Did you purchase the property on the open market in 1989, and if so what band would it have been put in then ?

Unfortunately as you've been in the property for more than six months you don't have an automatic right to appeal the decision,

although if you quoted the nearby band A properties as comparables in your original request I'd say it's got to be worth going bakc to ask them the reason why they were not taken into consideration.

Out of interest, why did you not appeal the band when it was first allocated in 1991 ? There was a lot of publicity about it at the time and I succesfully got both the property I was moving from and to downgraded that year.

lincroft1710

Are the Band A houses built by the council or a housing association?

There is a possibility that the VOA actually have 1991 sales information on your house type.