Am I too late to appeal a Council Tax Band increase? 8 September 2022 at 4:28PM edited 8 September 2022 at 4:38PM in Reclaiming mortgage fees, council tax, etc 4 replies 99 views

daveb99

Hopefully someone can advise me on here, I'd be really grateful for some help.   In November 2020 I received a letter stating that our Band was changing from F to G, I received a letter at the time stating that the coded reason for the alteration was 9  (‘Other reason’).    

At the time I presumed this was due to a previous extension/alterations to our property, and thus did not check the exact reason and appeal against the band change.   However, I have subsequently discovered that the council tax band is based on the value of the property on 1st April 1991.  The extension/alterations to our property took place several years after this date, in 2008.  

According to checks I have carried out, including comparison with other properties in our street, the value of our property on 1st April 1991 was approximately £140,000, which equates to Band F.   I used the MSE calculator for this (Nationwide I believe).  

In total there are 35 houses in our street, many of them (more than 5) are of a similar size and design, several of which have also had extensions and alterations.  Our property is the only one in Band G, and for the above reasons, I believe this to be incorrect.  

The letter I received stated that the appeal was supposed to be lodged within 6 months.   Am I too late to do anything about this?   If not, any tips on how to approach it would be very gratefully received - I believe I need to challenge our band using the Gov.uk site, but any guidance on how to word it and evidence etc would be great.

Every other property in our street is Band F or lower - all modern 3/4 bed houses built in 1988/89, all similar design and size.   We are paying £500 per year more than we should be, in my view - there must be a way to put this right, despite the passing of time since the band was changed?

Many thanks in advance!

lincroft1710

Yes you are too late to formally appeal the increase.


If the alterations took place in 2008 and prior to your ownership then they can be reflected in the CT band. Alterations carried out after 1 April 1993 and by the the current owner of a dwelling cannot be reflected in the band.  So that may be the reason the similar houses are in Band F, or their bands may be too low. The VOA tend not to increase bands without good reason or supporting evidence. You can use these houses as a reason you believe your band is wrong, but the worst scenario would be your neighbours' bands are increased.


All house price indices are inaccurate and the VOA will not accept this as evidence for a band reduction. 


I would suggest you look at other similar houses in nearby streets and see if you can find any in Band F

daveb99

Thanks for the reply.   When you say look for similar houses in Band F, do you mean houses that have been extended?  I don't think I need to look beyond our street - there are 34 other houses in our street and around 10 of them, when built in 1988, were a similar size/design in terms of sq. footage.   Some of these, around 6 or 7, have been extended also.    But they are all in Band F.     Some of these are now occupied by new owners, as they have been sold since the extension work was done.

So what is my best course of action?

MalMonroe

Hi,

You can challenge it, yes of course.

There's info in this link - https://www.gov.uk/challenge-council-tax-band

Of course challenging doesn't mean that you'll be successful but there's no harm in trying. It won't cost you anything and you might gain.

The info in the link also tells you what evidence you will need and how to apply. I'd do that before taking a trip to look at similar houses anywhere. 

lincroft1710

daveb99 said:

Thanks for the reply.   When you say look for similar houses in Band F, do you mean houses that have been extended?  I don't think I need to look beyond our street - there are 34 other houses in our street and around 10 of them, when built in 1988, were a similar size/design in terms of sq. footage.   Some of these, around 6 or 7, have been extended also.    But they are all in Band F.     Some of these are now occupied by new owners, as they have been sold since the extension work was done.

So what is my best course of action?

You obviously need to look at houses that you believe are the same size as yours when you bought it, whether extended or originally built at that size. Ignore MalMonroe's comments about not looking at other houses (her "advice" on these boards is often incorrect), because the more evidence you can find to support your case, the better. There are many posts on this board of the VOA either digging their heels in or just refuting the CT payers evidence and even (as I previously stated) suggesting your neighbours' bands are wrong and could be increased, so if you can show similar houses in other streets are Band F, you stand more chance of them listening to you. Of course if all you find in other streets are Band G then it may explain why yours is in Band G.


As pre 1994 house prices are not in the public domain, then you will struggle to find relevant sales evidence and sales of unextended houses in your road will be of little use. Also as the houses were built in 1988/89 the extensions were probably carried out before 1994 and well before a sale happened.


Finally it may be worthwhile initially contacting the VOA and asking them exactly why your band was increased.