Declined Council Tax appeals - where to next?

debstheleo

I bought my new build home in June 2020 and was put into Band E, the same as my next door neighbour's 4 bedroomed detached house which sold for £75,000 more than my house. I appealed this in October 2020 but this was declined as it was compared to properties built in the 1980's and 1990's. As I was only the 7th house on the new estate to be sold, I had nothing to compare it to. I was also up to my neck in substantial issues with my new home which took over 13 months to fix after hundreds of phone calls, emails and workmen visits during Covid and whilst I was trying to work full-time from home, all of which lead to a breakdown, so I was not in a fit state to take this any further at the time.

April 2022 I realised that as I was in Band E I was not eligible for the £150 energy rebate. I started to research properties that had been completed on my estate and others in the town. I found several houses of the same type as mine that were band D and semi-detached versions in Band C - these had all been built, sold and banded since my purchase completed in June 2020, highlighting an inconsistent approach to the banding of properties.

I tried to appeal against the decision in July 2022, but because it was outside the 3 month appeal period (where the above houses had not been built), my appeal was refused. I appealed this and was advised that despite the new evidence submitted my only option was to go to the High Court and I had 4 weeks to lodge my application. I was advised to seek legal advice. I went through my home insurance who advised me that on the final day I was allowed to lodge my application with the High Court that they were unable to help me. I was also overseas at this point too and not in a position to do anything else at such a late stage in the process.

I'd also copied on the Valuations Office Agency to my request of an appeal and supplied them with all the evidence and they said they would conduct an informal review. Today they have declined my request and made no reference to any of the evidence that I'd submitted.

Where do I go from here? 

lincroft1710

You could try making an official complaint


https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/valuation-office-agency-code-of-practice-for-complaints/valuation-office-agency-code-of-pratice-for-complaints

but I have no idea if it will give you the result you want


I am surprised you considered going to the High Court as it is extremely expensive, more especially if you lose! I don't know if the rules have changed, but it used to be that you could only appeal to the HC on a point of law and not on the correctness of the actual CT band

macman

How much will this save you per year, plus the one-off CT rebate of £150?
Compared to the potential bill if you lose in the High Court?

Exodi

debstheleo said:

I bought my new build home in June 2020 and was put into Band E, the same as my next door neighbour's 4 bedroomed detached house which sold for £75,000 more than my house. I appealed this in October 2020 but this was declined as it was compared to properties built in the 1980's and 1990's. As I was only the 7th house on the new estate to be sold, I had nothing to compare it to. I was also up to my neck in substantial issues with my new home which took over 13 months to fix after hundreds of phone calls, emails and workmen visits during Covid and whilst I was trying to work full-time from home, all of which lead to a breakdown, so I was not in a fit state to take this any further at the time.

April 2022 I realised that as I was in Band E I was not eligible for the £150 energy rebate. I started to research properties that had been completed on my estate and others in the town. I found several houses of the same type as mine that were band D and semi-detached versions in Band C - these had all been built, sold and banded since my purchase completed in June 2020, highlighting an inconsistent approach to the banding of properties.

I tried to appeal against the decision in July 2022, but because it was outside the 3 month appeal period (where the above houses had not been built), my appeal was refused. I appealed this and was advised that despite the new evidence submitted my only option was to go to the High Court and I had 4 weeks to lodge my application. I was advised to seek legal advice. I went through my home insurance who advised me that on the final day I was allowed to lodge my application with the High Court that they were unable to help me. I was also overseas at this point too and not in a position to do anything else at such a late stage in the process.

I'd also copied on the Valuations Office Agency to my request of an appeal and supplied them with all the evidence and they said they would conduct an informal review. Today they have declined my request and made no reference to any of the evidence that I'd submitted.

Where do I go from here? 

I have relatively similar circumstances to you, so hopefully I can give some insight into this.

My house is also band E, detatched 3 bed built in 2008, I purchased it for £290k in 2019. Band E also seemed (in my opinion) high, considering virtually all the other similar houses on the road were D's and I submitted a review when I first moved in and received the decision that they believed the band to be correct.

Fast forward a year and we notice the house opposite us - a bigger 4 bed detatched with a much larger garden - was on the market for £525k and was a band D.

So I call up the valuation office and was informed that while we are not entitled to request an appeal, we are still entitled to challenge our band at whim with evidence. So I put this property to them, but unfortuantely informed that as the house was of a different age, it could not be used as a comparable. In a way, like you my house is unique in the sense that it was built much later than most of the houses in the borough.

After a few rounds of this, I was told that for a house to be considered a comparable it has to be:

A) of similar age (mine was the decade around it being built - but they should confirm what age range they can consider)
of similar type (e.g. detatched 2 story house)
C) of similar size (floor area)

Frustratingly I began to realise that the odds are definitely stacked against you here as it's not easy to know what the specific age of floor area of a house is. I did use the EPC register and I did find a few sites that has estimates of property age, but nothing official. Then tabbing out to compare to council tax bands... yeah it takes forever.

When I spoke to the VoA representative on the phone, about their not really being any properties of a similar age within the immediate vicinity, he said they could consider further out. He also stated that while they commonly request multiple houses to look into challenge a band, only one was needed if it ticked the boxes.

Fast forward a few more months and I accepted defeat - I realised that all of the newer builds that were detatched that I was forced to compare to were almost always E... it was weird that 3 bed detatched new builds were generally coming up as band E but 3 bed detatched houses built in 70s/80s/90s were band C-D. I guess you could objectively argue they're worth less even if they are identical due to wear and tear?

If you've got this far, I guess the takeaway is -

The VoA don't listen to 'emotional' arguments, believe me, I was very frustrated that a house was listed for hundreds of thousands of pounds more than mine, all while paying lower council tax and receiving a council tax rebate to boot. I pointed out the total madness of this situation to no avail.

They only reason with data, and you need to keep your appeal to:

Here is a property of similar age, type and size which is a lower council tax band.

If you can't find one, then it probably indicates you're in the right band.

Good luck.

debstheleo

Thank you @lincroft1710 I will look into making a complaint via the link you have provided.

I wasn't 100% sure I was going to go down the High Court route, which is why I took advice. The legal cover with my home insurance asked for further information several times which I'd (wrongly) assumed they'd taken on the case until they told me on the last day I was allowed to lodge an application that this wasn't the case, thereby invalidating this option for me.

@macman the difference between the bands is £442 this year and I'm in my 3rd year of paying. 

@Exodi I'm sorry to hear of your situation, that is very, very frustrating. The houses that I've used as evidence have been built, sold and banded since June 2020, which highlights a huge inconsistency with the banding in the town. They are all 3 bed detached, 2 bathroom properties. 

The rejection letter states that that they've looked at properties banded in 1991. This is irrelevant when brand new homes the same as mine are banded lower than mine - no one seems to be acknowledging this. This is an excert from thier letter:

You referred to similar properties that are in lower bands. There are several reasons why

apparently similar properties could have lower bandings.

• They may have been extended to a similar size to your own property but have not

subsequently sold. A banding cannot be increased to reflect improvements before

there has been a sale.

• They may have been lowered following an Appeal. But when this happens, I also

consider whether this means that other properties in the area should have their

banding lowered too.

• Properties may be in a lower band as a result of an error, but this is rare.

As all the properties are NEW therefore none of the above reasons are relevant! 

macman

You could easily run up 10 years banding difference in the High Court in fees and costs if you lose: the VoA barristers are unlikely to be less than £300 an hour. 

Exodi

debstheleo said:

The houses that I've used as evidence have been built, sold and banded since June 2020, which highlights a huge inconsistency with the banding in the town. They are all 3 bed detached, 2 bathroom properties. 

The rejection letter states that that they've looked at properties banded in 1991. This is irrelevant when brand new homes the same as mine are banded lower than mine - no one seems to be acknowledging this. This is an excert from thier letter:

You referred to similar properties that are in lower bands. There are several reasons why

apparently similar properties could have lower bandings.

• They may have been extended to a similar size to your own property but have not

subsequently sold. A banding cannot be increased to reflect improvements before

there has been a sale.

• They may have been lowered following an Appeal. But when this happens, I also

consider whether this means that other properties in the area should have their

banding lowered too.

• Properties may be in a lower band as a result of an error, but this is rare.

As all the properties are NEW therefore none of the above reasons are relevant! 

There must be more to this, otherwise I'm somewhat confused. I'd move away from this written review/appeal process and just call the VoA up on 03000 501 501, stating that you'd like to challenge your council tax band and you have some properties you'd like to use as evidence for them to check. Then put all the 3 bed detatched similar properties you mention above to them.

They will then either agree or give you reasons for why they may not consider these as comparables.

I found the telephone line very helpful and the advisors are very useful in understanding the process. I think it's very unlikely that you would find a property they agree is a comparable, but they still refuse to consider it.

I would completely forget about the high court stuff. They will reduce your council tax banding if they believe there are grounds to, they don't have vendettas against certain houses (though as always I'd encourage you to be polite on the phone).