What to write when appealing council tax

gabyjane

Ok I need a few questions answered please..
for my evidence i have 4 roads worth of houses/flats ALL Band A or B except give or take 3 or 4 which are Band C..i am guessing around over 100 houses..up to 70 already! but will count them all up. They LOOK similar just older! but some are flats. We have a garage and drive will that add a lot as others don't...

They are either majority 2 or 3 beds.

Going on the current VOA site and putting postcodes in these are the bands they are bringing up..are these now or back years ago? as it doesn't say..although one i have done which is a new build like ours has come up band B and is the same size and one is 3 bed so bigger does it matter as they are still banded lower!! (we are a C).

Also other than banging on doors i cannot be entirely sure that they are all 2 beds or more! how do you check this?

Also the houses surrounding us are all council or ex council...does this make a difference?

And last but not least...the library, what am i looking for if i try and get actual prices in 1991..is that it?

So i have to appeal when the form arrives and am not sure how to word it without rambling! what points do i make? i have printed the badings off the VOA site of all the houses so far and not sure if there is anything else we can do..
Thankyou for any replies..just want to get this done now!

vivatifosi

Ok I need a few questions answered please..
for my evidence i have 4 roads worth of houses/flats ALL Band A or B except give or take 3 or 4 which are Band C..i am guessing around over 100 houses..up to 70 already! but will count them all up. They LOOK similar just older! but some are flats. We have a garage and drive will that add a lot as others don't...

They are either majority 2 or 3 beds.

All evidence is useful, but try to focus on those that are the most similar to yours.

Going on the current VOA site and putting postcodes in these are the bands they are bringing up..are these now or back years ago? as it doesn't say..although one i have done which is a new build like ours has come up band B and is the same size and one is 3 bed so bigger does it matter as they are still banded lower!! (we are a C).

All bands are current, but if you click on the house you can view the history. If there is a letter V by any property that means it has been challenged at tribunal and changed - useful evidence for you.

Also other than banging on doors i cannot be entirely sure that they are all 2 beds or more! how do you check this?

If they are council properties it is very unusual to find a row of houses that are all different. You should be able to see by the front of the property and the window configuration which houses are the same, so once you identify similar properties that should help. If yours isn't a flat then those will be less use.

Also the houses surrounding us are all council or ex council...does this make a difference?

It will potentially make a difference if yours is not council or ex-council, as that may imply a higher value for your property in 1991 (difficult to say without knowing where you are).

And last but not least...the library, what am i looking for if i try and get actual prices in 1991..is that it?

Ask the librarian for the archive of the local newspapers. These are normally held on microfilm and they may need to show you how to use the reader machines. The house price adverts are often in the back or in separate sections. If you have hard copy papers to look at, then I would turn to these sections, if you are using microfilm then you need to scan through to find the right bit in each paper. Take photos of the houses local to you so you are not committing to memory which are which. Look for those houses in the paper, on your local estate (or as near as possible). As the prices are asking prices, they are likely to be higher than the price that the houses went for. Remember, the top end of band B was £52,000 in 1991, so you are looking for houses that would have cost that amount or less.

So i have to appeal when the form arrives and am not sure how to word it without rambling! what points do i make?

Gather your evidence first, then come back to us once you know what your case is. We'll help you word it the best way possible. You are doing all the right things though. You need primary evidence from 1991 to make a good case and you are getting that. Good luck!

i have printed the badings off the VOA site of all the houses so far and not sure if there is anything else we can do..
Thankyou for any replies..just want to get this done now!

gabyjane

They are either majority 2 or 3 beds.

All evidence is useful, but try to focus on those that are the most similar to yours.

Ok well size wise i would say it is prob half and half, also half are prob houses and the other half flats BUT they are still 2 beds.

All bands are current, but if you click on the house you can view the history. If there is a letter V by any property that means it has been challenged at tribunal and changed - useful evidence for you.

Ok i think a couple have been changed as they have dates next to them..this doesn't really mean it is good though does it, could they have lost and been put up a band? it doesnt say what they were before?

If they are council properties it is very unusual to find a row of houses that are all different. You should be able to see by the front of the property and the window configuration which houses are the same, so once you identify similar properties that should help. If yours isn't a flat then those will be less use.

Well one row is exactly the same properties, the only reason i thought they were council as an ex boyfriends mum used to have one and his 2 sisiters in the same rd, BUT there are a few sold so maybe not, df's sister also owns one so they are obviously half and half..does it really matter they are council as they are still payable for tax surely..


It will potentially make a difference if yours is not council or ex-council, as that may imply a higher value for your property in 1991 (difficult to say without knowing where you are).

No ours isn't council, it's a new build on a big estate which was previously a holiday park, we are in Torbay and shared ownership.

Ask the librarian for the archive of the local newspapers. These are normally held on microfilm and they may need to show you how to use the reader machines. The house price adverts are often in the back or in separate sections. If you have hard copy papers to look at, then I would turn to these sections, if you are using microfilm then you need to scan through to find the right bit in each paper. Take photos of the houses local to you so you are not committing to memory which are which. Look for those houses in the paper, on your local estate (or as near as possible). As the prices are asking prices, they are likely to be higher than the price that the houses went for. Remember, the top end of band B was £52,000 in 1991, so you are looking for houses that would have cost that amount or less.

Well rung my local library and they only hold the last 2 years which is hopeless, the woman said to go on the digital times archive but that doesnt seem to come up and it only mentions papers which aren't our local one...

Gather your evidence first, then come back to us once you know what your case is. We'll help you word it the best way possible. You are doing all the right things though. You need primary evidence from 1991 to make a good case and you are getting that. Good luck!

Hmm well i have a fair amount but nothing actually from 1991, the house sale website i go on has sales recently and they are very cheap in the region of under £52k which means they fall under band C and should be in band B..i may have to just send my info off at this rate and hope for the best..the only thing that concerns me are the 2 properties that are showing band D, these were changed in 1993 and 2002, would this mean work was done to them...aaaaaaaahhhh going round in circles!!
Also last thing where do i find the online appeals bit as i can only find it against addresses already on there and ours isn't!!

vivatifosi

Hi gabyjane,

I won't answer the questions in the text again in case it all goes a bit multicolour swapshop, but here goes...

If the flats are in a lower band you are in danger of the VOA saying "well flats are worth less than houses", so its best to have evidence on as close a property to yours as possible.

You can check whether bands have changed on the VOA website. Call up your street and then click on the property you are interested in. That will bring up the current banding info. If you then click on "view banding history" then you will be able to see whether bands have changed up or down. If the "view banding history" option does not appear, then the band has not changed.

If you can't get local papers call the British Museum and find out if they have archive copies. Not suggesting a trip to London as that would be overkill, but they may be able to help. Also ask the local paper if they keep an archive and whether you would be allowed to look.

As the property was built in 2002 also try finding other houses built around the same time and their sales prices. Then check their bandings. If you have trouble getting their details from the papers, their prices will be on the house price sales engines. Did you remember seeing other developments going up at the time yours was being built?

Hope this is useful.

gabyjane

Hi vivatifosi thankyou very much for your reply.

Ok well i will ignore the flats then as yes i guess room wise ours is bigger and we have a garage so they could always use that against us i guess..going onto the houses walking past some of them yesterday i figure they are as big as ours but again no garage or drive..will this matter?

In my other thread when i called the council yesterday as from April they will be reducing our payments by £50 per month as we have had to overpay due to us moving and them wanting to cram it into the end of the year..they never told us this and the numerous times i have rung i have not been told why they are high so i figured we were set for the high payments.

And your bit where it says the property built in 2002 i think i may have confused matters there..what i meant was the bandings on the properties were changed to D and next to them it says 2002, they weren't built in 2002 to my knowledge but if there were im guessing they are big houses as they have posh names!! i will try and check them out in the propert sales site..if not im guessing they have had some kind of work done? ours was only built a year ago if that and we cannot check any of the new builds as they are not registered (not even ours!) the only one that is showing is this one behind us which is a 3 bed and paying a Band B which is really annoying me..

So to appeal or not, if we stay a C fine if we drop Fab, if we go up im not going to be happy but seeing as there are the only 2 D bands around for quite a way is there much danger of this?

Have to do it asap though so....

vivatifosi

Hi gabyjane,

In terms of the garage is it in a block or attached to the house? If it isn't part of your plot on your deeds (what the VOA would call "within the curtilage") then its value should be taken away from that of your house for the purpose of council tax.

Where I live we have had good success appealing on garages being included in the price so that's definitely something else to consider.

I'd also ask the VOA why the bands were reduced in 2002 on the other properties. That may help with your case. If a band was reduced recently, rather than backdated to the Council Tax introduction in 1993, that generally means that there has been either:

* A change in the fabric of the house that has materially reduced its value (eg knocking a bit of it down), or
* A change in the location that has materially reduced the value of the house (eg a big supermarket built in a quiet area, road widening, etc).

gabyjane

vivatifosi wrote: »

Hi gabyjane,

In terms of the garage is it in a block or attached to the house? If it isn't part of your plot on your deeds (what the VOA would call "within the curtilage") then its value should be taken away from that of your house for the purpose of council tax.

Hi our garage is part of the house it is a town house so underneath it.

Where I live we have had good success appealing on garages being included in the price so that's definitely something else to consider.

I'd also ask the VOA why the bands were reduced in 2002 on the other properties. That may help with your case. If a band was reduced recently, rather than backdated to the Council Tax introduction in 1993, that generally means that there has been either:

* A change in the fabric of the house that has materially reduced its value (eg knocking a bit of it down), or
* A change in the location that has materially reduced the value of the house (eg a big supermarket built in a quiet area, road widening, etc).

Well i have had the appeal form through today and really umming and ahhing wether to do it, i keep looking at the house opposite and wondering why they pay less!! that' not going to do much good though is it in my appeal! really worried they will increase it!

gabyjane

ok last question i promise!! Just managed to track our address down so walked round and got the numbers of the hosues that are exactly the same as ours, as i was running through most were C (our type and rd) or B which i think are the flats..BUT then i got to the ones like ours round the corner and they are a band B, really annoyed now..can i put this in the appeal?

As for the others with amendments in other roads older houses..they have band C effective from either nov 06 or jan 07, does this mean they may have appealed and lost, there are a few together seems odd to me and not like they can have all had work done?..

vivatifosi

He he,

I did laugh when I saw your house was a townhouse. That's definitely one argument that won't work in your case then.

If you aren't sure about whether to appeal, you can still phone the VOA and ask them why the bands were reduced before making the decision to appeal.
Also, have you asked the neighbour how they got their band reduced? That may get you access to some more info for your file.

Good luck!

gabyjane

vivatifosi wrote: »

He he,

I did laugh when I saw your house was a townhouse. That's definitely one argument that won't work in your case then.

If you aren't sure about whether to appeal, you can still phone the VOA and ask them why the bands were reduced before making the decision to appeal.
Also, have you asked the neighbour how they got their band reduced? That may get you access to some more info for your file.

Good luck!

Hi well there are definatly 6 houses identical to ours that are showing up as band B effective from sept 06 running through to nov..they were built before ours...then there is the 3 bed..i will ring tommorow and ask but guess i will just be told to appeal! its really not fair (stamps feet lol)

vivatifosi

gabyjane wrote: »

ok last question i promise!! Just managed to track our address down so walked round and got the numbers of the hosues that are exactly the same as ours, as i was running through most were C (our type and rd) or B which i think are the flats..BUT then i got to the ones like ours round the corner and they are a band B, really annoyed now..can i put this in the appeal?

As for the others with amendments in other roads older houses..they have band C effective from either nov 06 or jan 07, does this mean they may have appealed and lost, there are a few together seems odd to me and not like they can have all had work done?..

Blimey, you managed to get another one in while I was answering the last one! I'm going home now!

If you think the houses are a fair comparison round the corner, stick em in! So you know, the street I am in are nearly all the same band, so I used the same house model in the next street to win my rebanding. If its the same house and in say the same estate, it is perfectly valid evidence.

The band C houses, did the banding go up or down? If it went up then you will probably find if you go on one of the house price checkers that the house also changed hands then. That means that the VOA knew that there had been work on the house and changed the banding when the house was sold. If it went down, why and can you use that as evidence?

Am going home now to lie down. All this question answering has worn me out!