Council tax banding

lincroft1710

TheJP said:

lincroft1710 said:

TheJP said:

lincroft1710 said:

TheJP said:

lincroft1710 said:

TheJP said:

lincroft1710 said:

TheJP said:

lincroft1710 said:

TheJP said:

lincroft1710 said:

TheJP said:

lincroft1710 said:

TheJP said:

lincroft1710 said:

TheJP said:

lincroft1710 said:

TheJP said:

Kuga247 said:

So when you viewed property it was in a band now you moved in it as gone up a band due to works carried by previous owner so which band was property in when you viewed and now it is which band 

Yes when we viewed the house it was in band C, when we moved in it was moved to band D now less than 12 months on they have moved us to band F. I have used the Gov website to challenge them.

Going from a Band C to a Band F,suggests one of 3 things.

1. The original band was too low to start with.

2. There has been an exceptionally large extension, which for some reason was underbanded on the first increase to Band D.

3. There has been an error on the part of the VOA in increasing the band a second time..


Usually (but not always) if 1 or 2 happen, the VOA would send an accompanying explanatory letter.

The original band was right per the same house being on that band. The previous owners made an extension making the house a 4 bed with another room downstairs. The band was increased to E as its the same size as the two neighbouring properties. There is only 1 other house in the street that is F and its much bigger than all the houses in the street.

The VOA never sent out any communication when they increased from D-E (i meant D in my last post) when we bought in March 2021 (there was an improvement indicator against my property on the gov website. We then had a letter in February stating that they believe the property was modified by the previous owners and will assess the banding. A week ago we get a new council tax bill stating our band has changed to F and the amount adjusted that we need to pay. We haven't received any explanatory letter for either change.

The VOA have made a mistake here, I've challenged it via the gov website process and will await the feedback.

Was it an actual CT bill or was it a Notice of Alteration of Valuation List from the VOA to increase to Band F, as you should have had a Notice before the CT bill. You also should have had a Notice when it went from D to E.

It was a CT bill from my local authority. We had the bill for band E but then out of nowhere an adjustment letter for band F. We haven't had a notice of alteration either time the band was changed.

There is something very wrong as you should have had a Notice on both occasions.If you haven't received either Notice theoretically you cannot appeal them. I suggest you ask the VOA for copies.


Have you checked your band on the Government CT website? If so what is it and what is the effective date please?

Just received the notice in the post today.

We didn't have any notice letter first time they changed it last March. There is a number i can call and speak to a named contact which ill try.

What is the effective date of the band change, please?

20th March 2022.

So it seems the Notice was either sent out slightly late or was delayed in the post. Definitely try and speak to the named contact.

My worry is the lack of notice for the first change in March 2021

Check the history of your band on the Govt CT website. When you speak to the named contact, emphasise you never received the March 2021 Notice.

Just checked the history and it was band E however the same style house a few doors down is band D, another same style house further down the street is band E. All built at the same time. I spoke to someone on the phone, who confirmed it was a band E and now F and they haven't received my challenge yet as i did it over the weekend. The person was quite rude on the phone when i stated the neighbours properties being the same size are band E, almost was saying I'm lying. Ill let the process run its course and take it to tribunal if needs be.

He said an assessor may or may not come look at the properties. Surely they have to in order to make the right decision. 

So we are no further forward on why there were 2 separate band increases a year apart, or why you did not receive a Notice for the first one?


It would be quite possible for the caseworker to make a decision based on the information they have about your home without a site visit. But it will depend on the dwelling and expertise/knowledge of the caseworker.

Sorry maybe i wasn't very clear, having chatted to the VOA rep and looked at the gov history of the bands for my property it was always an E. The seller told me it was a D hence why i thought it had gone up in March 2021.

However the band shouldn't have changed even with the alteration as its still in line with other 4 bed detached properties in the street. 

Is your home the same size as other 4 beds in the street as the VOA work on size rather than number of beds to arrive at the band.

Visually yes. I'm limited by what i can see what's on the inside of the properties if the current owners have owned it since they bought it. Ill just have to see how the process pans out, although seeing the same houses be on different bandings doesn't leave me with much confidence in the VOAs decision making. Even a difference in some band D and E houses that are exactly the same, built in the same year with no alterations 2 houses apart!

I don't think this is what you intended to say.


It is worth checking the CT histories of the Band D houses to see if any have been reduced from Band E, or if any in Band E have been increased from Band D


Your appeal may lead to the apparent banding anomalies.being corrected, but only the VOA will know which should be the correct one, unless there have been previous band reductions

Yes sorry i meant i can only view the inside of properties if they have previously been sold via Rightmove etc. The houses that have the same owners since it was built some don't have any detail available.

1 or 2 houses were a band E and gone to D and some were F and now E.

Thanks for your help, really appreciate it.

Sounds as if the VOA failed to apply the band reductions to the rest of the estate. Or had second thoughts and decided that the band reductions weren't warranted, but didn't reinstate the original bands of the reduced houses

Purlain

Just updating my previous posts, the VOA has come out to remeasure my house today and a few hours later I had a call from them saying they have agreed to drop the band from E to D due to the incorrect size of the original measurement. It was a really pleasant surprise because I was not sure if the extension we had done couple of year ago would increase the size and keep it in band E. Luckily, they confirmed that unless there has been a sale after the extension, it would not be included in the total size for the band appeal. So after nearly 10 months of wait, finally justice has been done and I have got the correct decision. 
Great thanks to everyone on the forum who has offered invaluable advice completely free of charge. It has benefited me tremendously in presenting the correct evidence to the VOA. 

Kuga247

With regards to time scale from VOA why is it I am still waiting for their evidence when the adjourned tribunal set a late which is past by 2 week’s anybody had similar experience thanks 

lincroft1710

Kuga247 said:

With regards to time scale from VOA why is it I am still waiting for their evidence when the adjourned tribunal set a late which is past by 2 week’s anybody had similar experience thanks 

You need to inform both the Tribunal and the VOA if the VOA evidence has not been submitted in time, unless it had been submitted prior to the date of the earlier tribunal. Only the VOA will know why the evidence wasn't submitted on time

Kuga247

Sounds like they are a law unto their selves 

lincroft1710

Kuga247 said:

Sounds like they are a law unto their selves 

No, they are supposed to keep to time limits with regard to submitting evidence. It will be interesting to hear what the the VTS have to say.

Kuga247

Haven’t got a tribunal date as of now it was previously adjourned because case worker had not returned information we needed he ask for adjournment 

lincroft1710

Kuga247 said:

Haven’t got a tribunal date as of now it was previously adjourned because case worker had not returned information we needed he ask for adjournment 

Well if you haven't got a Tribunal date then the VOA haven't got a date by which they have to submit their evidence. I do not know if it is still the case but the VOA couldn't submit evidence before a case had been given a hearing date. But if you are referring to the information which the VOA is supposed to have provided, then as that is not evidence, they have broken no rules. 

Kuga247

The tribunal sent me a date when I should of received the VOA  submission is that not the same if the tribunal set a submission date 

lincroft1710

Kuga247 said:

The tribunal sent me a date when I should of received the VOA  submission is that not the same if the tribunal set a submission date 

The VTS guidance notes say that the VOA should send its evidence to the appellant CT payer at least 6 weeks prior to the hearing date. There have been many procedural changes since I was in the VOA, thus I never encountered the VT saying the VOA should make their submission by a certain date, without there being a hearing date.


Could you possibly post a redacted copy of the letter they sent you? Also it would be useful to know exactly what information you needed from the VOA which their inability to supply led to the original hearing being adjourned