Council Tax increase - Annex was here when we moved in

ButterCheese

Hi all, we moved into our property in Dec 2023.  Now in Sep 2024 we have received a letter from the Valuation Office Agency stating that the property had an Annex extension and we need to provide details (measurements, photos etc).  For info, the previous owner converted the garage and side passageway into a bedroom and utility room.

My question is - should this not already have been reported to the Council when the previous owners were granted planning permission?  And if not, should this not have been picked up by the agents and/or the mortgage company when the sale went through?

Jude57

ButterCheese said:

Hi all, we moved into our property in Dec 2023.  Now in Sep 2024 we have received a letter from the Valuation Office Agency stating that the property had an Annex extension and we need to provide details (measurements, photos etc).  For info, the previous owner converted the garage and side passageway into a bedroom and utility room.

My question is - should this not already have been reported to the Council when the previous owners were granted planning permission?  And if not, should this not have been picked up by the agents and/or the mortgage company when the sale went through?

Under Council Tax legislation, which is separate from Planning legislation, an extension or annexe being built doesn't trigger a re-valuation for Council Tax purposes. It's only when the property is sold that the re-valuation is triggered. @lincroft1710 can confirm. 

In my experience, most estate agents, mortgage companies and solicitors have very little knowledge about how Council Tax works and, to be fair, it's a highly specialised area. I'm sorry to say that, unfortunately, this falls under 'caveat emptor' in that it was your responsibility to satisfy yourself that there would be no impact resulting from the building of the extension or annexe or that you were still happy to proceed in any event.

ButterCheese

ok thank you!  Just another surprise we weren't expecting!  Out of interest, had we paid the (£1000ish) for a proper survey, rather than the free one, would that have brought this up do you think?

Jude57

ButterCheese said:

ok thank you!  Just another surprise we weren't expecting!  Out of interest, had we paid the (£1000ish) for a proper survey, rather than the free one, would that have brought this up do you think?

No, I really don't think it would. The surveyor at whatever level of survey you pay for is looking for physical defects in the property which could affect its value so that you aren't paying over the odds for something that you'll need to spend further money renovating or that won't cover the mortgage amount borrowed if it's repossessed. Surveyors have even less of a clue about Council Tax than estate agents and solicitors. 

p00hsticks

ButterCheese said:

ok thank you!  Just another surprise we weren't expecting!  Out of interest, had we paid the (£1000ish) for a proper survey, rather than the free one, would that have brought this up do you think?

Lesson learned, but it would have been easy enough to check the band yourself and see if there was an 'improvement indicator' next to it to say that there would be a revaluation when sold. 
Check your Council Tax band - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

lincroft1710

As @Jude57 has stated, if a property is extended the band cannot be reviewed until after the next sale. EAs, solicitors and surveyors do not usually check the CT band of a property.


Not all extensions result in a band increase