Council Tax Rebanding 17 March at 7:31PM edited 23 March at 10:52AM in Reclaiming mortgage fees, council tax, etc 4 replies 100 views

Halfordk

Hello
I am at a dead end! My current 3 bedroom detached house was built in 2018 and following various purchase failures I became the first purchaser/occupier in Aug 2020. 
The house is a one off, built in a disused pub carpark in a rural area of Worcestershire.
There are no comparative properties at all as the property is bespoke. The Council has decided my house is Band E without justification. I have appealed but to no avail. Although I know it can only be used as guidance, the Nationwide 1991 valuation for West Midlands is estimated at 84k which is Band D.  Based on other 3 bedroom detached properties within a mile with garage (which mine doesn't), they are all Band D. 
As there are no immediate comparisons to provide as evidence how can i pursue a request for rebanding? The Council refuse to consider my query in any shape or form.

lincroft1710

The Valuation Office Agency (part of HMRC) deal with CT banding not the council. What reason have they given for rejecting the evidence of other 3 bed detached Band D houses.


The West Midlands is a very diverse area, so it would be folly to expect similar sized 3 bed detached houses in say, Inkberrow, Dudley, Malvern, Winson Green and Castle Bromwich to be worth the same in 1991 

Halfordk

Thank you for the response. They just replied saying the 3 bedroom detached properties I referenced weren't comparable. This is my issue, if my house is a one off, how and on what basis was mine banded on. The only other properties Band E and above are a mixture of detached, semi-detached and bungalows. Majority considerably older (very few new builds in this area), but all those different style properties are much larger. I know my property is banded too high, but there doesn't seem to be a mechanism to challenge if there isn't any available evidence

gwynlas

They are very reluctant to admit that they might be wrong. You could look at comparables in terms of square footage but do include number of bathrooms as traditionally houses might have had only one but new builds tend to have en suites and a downstairs toilet

lincroft1710

Halfordk said:

Thank you for the response. They just replied saying the 3 bedroom detached properties I referenced weren't comparable. This is my issue, if my house is a one off, how and on what basis was mine banded on. The only other properties Band E and above are a mixture of detached, semi-detached and bungalows. Majority considerably older (very few new builds in this area), but all those different style properties are much larger. I know my property is banded too high, but there doesn't seem to be a mechanism to challenge if there isn't any available evidence

This is the problem. You can say "my property is banded too high" but you must have evidence to back up your theory. But if you think that something is wrong, you would usually be expected to prove it. Were the Band D houses you quoted really comparable with yours (garages are of little importance these days as long as there is off road parking).