Council tax challenge

Conquerclub

Its almost impossible to challenge your council tax rating, because they make it so complicated.. This is the reply I got when I sent off a challenge citing five properties where I live, all of which have a lower rating.. what a joke.

Thank you for your email dated 6 May 2026 which we received on 6 May 2026.

 You have not provided enough evidence in your email to allow us to undertake a review.

 You may provide the address and details of up to 5 similar properties in a lower Council Tax band as evidence.

 Our records show that the list of properties you provided differ to your own.  Considering all the evidence available, we cannot consider these properties as comparable.

 Comparable properties must be the same type of property as your own. A house must always be compared with a house, never bungalows or flats. Bungalows must always be compared with bungalows, and flats with flats. Flats and maisonettes are not comparable with each other.

 If your property is detached, your comparable property should be too. Semi-detached properties may be compared to end-terrace properties if they are the same in all other ways.

 Comparable properties should also be of a similar size to your own, built at a similar time and be similar in kerbside appearance.

 The evidence we need may include any of the following:

 • Evidence of identical, or very similar properties to yours, in your locality (within 1/4 mile of your property, this can be extended to ten miles for rural areas) which are in a lower band, please provide full address(es) including the postcode(s) of your comparable(s)

and/or

 • Sales evidence in your locality, very close to the valuation date of 1 April 1991 (no more than two years either side of this date), which suggests your property might be incorrectly banded,

and/or

 • Evidence that an error was made when your property was banded.

 If you choose to submit sales evidence to support your challenge, your evidence must show that a sale took place between 1 April 1989 and 31 March 1993. We will accept certificates of sale, Land Registry title deeds, or copies of solicitor’s conveyancing documents relating to an actual sales transaction between these dates.

 We are unable to accept evidence of sales completed outside of these dates, or evidence that does not include the price a property was sold for.

Any sale used as evidence must be an open market sale. We cannot accept evidence of an ‘arm’s length’ sale, in which buyers and sellers have a relationship with each other that may affect the price.

 If you have been the council taxpayer for longer than six months, you must provide enough evidence for us to undertake a review of your band.

 Reference to average house price indices is not sufficient evidence for us to raise a review. House price indices cover wide geographic areas which have different property types. These indices only show general trends in house prices. A house price index is not an accurate indicator of value for a specific property and is of very little help in arriving at a Council Tax band.

 We will investigate the band if you are able to provide more compelling evidence to suggest your property has been incorrectly banded.