Council Tax Band Changed Suddenly

PostingOccasionally

Hello,
I had a letter from the council on May 13th 2024 informing that our council tax was now being changed from a B to a C. The band has been a B since the house was built in the early 1980s and we bought the property in 2014. No changes have been made to the property since we have owned it. 
We challenged the change and gave all the details we have and eventually received a letter on October 25, 2024 stating they were looking into it and that we should receive a final ruling within four months of the letter. 
It is now 6 months since the above mentioned letter so we tried calling to see what was happening, told to wait another two weeks and still no answers on why it was raised or on what the outcome of the challenge was.

Just to give some more context about our property...

Its a 3 Bed Link detached and all the other properties in our postcode of the same style are still rated Band B and the houses either side of us, which are semi detached, are Band C as they always have been.

We are at a bit of a loss as to where to go from here as every time we call the Valuation office they either don't seem to know anything or they kick the can down the road.

We have been paying as a Band C now for a year now.

Thought about getting the local MP involved. Happy to provide more info if I have forgotten anything. We are really stuck as to where to go from here. Any help or advice is appreciated.

Yours Sincerely

Jude57

PostingOccasionally said:

Hello,
I had a letter from the council on May 13th 2024 informing that our council tax was now being changed from a B to a C. The band has been a B since the house was built in the early 1980s and we bought the property in 2014. No changes have been made to the property since we have owned it. 
We challenged the change and gave all the details we have and eventually received a letter on October 25, 2024 stating they were looking into it and that we should receive a final ruling within four months of the letter. 
It is now 6 months since the above mentioned letter so we tried calling to see what was happening, told to wait another two weeks and still no answers on why it was raised or on what the outcome of the challenge was.

Just to give some more context about our property...

Its a 3 Bed Link detached and all the other properties in our postcode of the same style are still rated Band B and the houses either side of us, which are semi detached, are Band C as they always have been.

We are at a bit of a loss as to where to go from here as every time we call the Valuation office they either don't seem to know anything or they kick the can down the road.

We have been paying as a Band C now for a year now.

Thought about getting the local MP involved. Happy to provide more info if I have forgotten anything. We are really stuck as to where to go from here. Any help or advice is appreciated.

Yours Sincerely

It's possible that a neighbour has appealed their Banding and when looking at comparable properties the VOA has increased yours and possibly others. It's also possible that there was an Improvement Marker on the property when you bought it which would have lifted it into Band C but which wasn't, for some reason, actioned at the time you bought the house. If that WAS the case, I'd have expected the Council to be backdating the change and billing you for at least some of the intervening years. As you'll probably know, an Improvement Marker is applied when a property is altered or extended to such a degree that it goes into the next Band up but the actual Banding doesn't actually change until the property is sold. 

I know the VOA have a massive backlog of appeals at the moment so perhaps the other properties you refer to haven't yet been notified or the records haven't been fully updated yet. In any event the Council, as you know, can only charge you based on the Banding set by the VOA so unfortunately their hands are tied and they can't get involved in Banding disputes.

However, that's not to say you can't involve your local Councillor to get some information on your behalf and I'd try that first if you can. Although the local elections aren't fully finalised, if you're in a Ward where elections have been held, within a few days the Council's website will be updated with contact information for your local Councillor. They might get some information that the Council Tax team won't give you, such as whether other householders are similarly affected.

Something else you should consider is a formal, written complaint to the VOA about its handling of your query. It's frustrating that they don't seem able to give you any answers and I think you've been very patient so far. The VOA has strict timescales for dealing with complaints and penalties for failing to meet them. See here for more information:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/valuation-office-agency/about/complaints-procedure

If all this STILL doesn't resolve the problem, which could of course mean being told that the uplifted Band is correct, I'd say that would be the time to contact your MP.

Finally, can I just applaud you for paying your Council Tax as billed. Most people would be trying to avoid paying the increase and would likely end up being pursued for it via the Magistrates Court. You're doing the right thing (albeit perhaps through gritted teeth!) and that deserves recognition. I worked in Council Tax recovery so I know more about that side. I hope respected poster @lincroft1710 sees this and can help further. They were VOA so know how it works.

Very best of luck with it all.

lincroft1710

If your home is link detached and has similar size semi detached properties in Band C either side, then Band C seems more appropriate than Band B. I wouldn't bother contacting your councillor as they have no teeth when it comes to dealing with the VOA as it is part of central government. To be frank even an MP's letter to the VOA will just be given a more or less boiler plate reply unless there is a serious wrong doing by the VOA, which at the moment this appears not to be.


Responsibility for staffing levels in the VOA is probably now at a very high level, so a complaint to the VOA about the delay in dealing with your case might in the long run give ammunition for asking for more staff. It won't advance your case to the top of the pile however,


I know it has been almost a year, but I can only suggest you to remain patient, as your appeal will be dealt with, but given what you have posted, it may not be a favourable outcome.

PostingOccasionally

Thank You both for your very concise replies. A lot of helpful info to digest there. I think we are classed as a link detached although I am not certain. Our property is set between two other properties attached at both sides. The garage was converted into another room long before we purchased the house. The other properties I mentioned which are still on Band B two of those have the same conversion but remain at Band B and the others that haven't are also Band B. I am not sure if I have missed any details but I can keep you updated.

Jude57

PostingOccasionally said:

Thank You both for your very concise replies. A lot of helpful info to digest there. I think we are classed as a link detached although I am not certain. Our property is set between two other properties attached at both sides. The garage was converted into another room long before we purchased the house. The other properties I mentioned which are still on Band B two of those have the same conversion but remain at Band B and the others that haven't are also Band B. I am not sure if I have missed any details but I can keep you updated.

It's still guesswork from me but it seems that the interior usable space of your house was increased at some point before you bought it. The Improvement Marker would have been placed on the property at that time and then activated when the change of ownership to you was notified to the VOA who in turn notified the Council Tax team of the uplift to Band C. I note that the same conversion of the other two properties still in Band B was done at some point but the key thing is whether those properties have been sold after the conversion was done because that's the trigger for the Improvement Marker to be activated. If they haven't been sold since the conversion work was done, there's your answer. If they have been sold since conversion and the sales were within, say, the past year, their Band change could be pending due to the VOA backlog. If they were sold several years ago, it's possible that the required Building Control approvals weren't obtained and that no 'official' notifications of the conversions was made. It's impossible to say definitively but if it's the latter, your querying your own Band change will trigger an investigation and that will take time so that could be why it's taking so long to give you a response.

I hope you get an answer soon, whatever the outcome.

lincroft1710

Jude57 said:

PostingOccasionally said:

Thank You both for your very concise replies. A lot of helpful info to digest there. I think we are classed as a link detached although I am not certain. Our property is set between two other properties attached at both sides. The garage was converted into another room long before we purchased the house. The other properties I mentioned which are still on Band B two of those have the same conversion but remain at Band B and the others that haven't are also Band B. I am not sure if I have missed any details but I can keep you updated.

It's still guesswork from me but it seems that the interior usable space of your house was increased at some point before you bought it. The Improvement Marker would have been placed on the property at that time and then activated when the change of ownership to you was notified to the VOA who in turn notified the Council Tax team of the uplift to Band C. I note that the same conversion of the other two properties still in Band B was done at some point but the key thing is whether those properties have been sold after the conversion was done because that's the trigger for the Improvement Marker to be activated. If they haven't been sold since the conversion work was done, there's your answer. If they have been sold since conversion and the sales were within, say, the past year, their Band change could be pending due to the VOA backlog. If they were sold several years ago, it's possible that the required Building Control approvals weren't obtained and that no 'official' notifications of the conversions was made. It's impossible to say definitively but if it's the latter, your querying your own Band change will trigger an investigation and that will take time so that could be why it's taking so long to give you a response.

I hope you get an answer soon, whatever the outcome.

I think the above sums up the situation perfectly