Council Tax. Are You Paying More Than Your Neighbours? Check It Out

Maisie

halloweenqueen wrote:

I've lived there for years and just found out both my neighbours are in a lower band, I'm livid - I've fired off an appeal, if theres a six month rule I'm going to challenge it as when do you ever ask neighbours you don't really have anything to do with their council tax payments?

Go for it Halloweenqueen. I'd be livid too. Good luck.

Well done to Musey too. Bet you're the most popular guy in the street after getting a refund for yourself and neighbours.

Keep pushing for your rights everyone.

Maisie OP

hancdw

When I moved to my bungalow 30 years ago there was a Grammar school exactly opposite me. Students always well-behaved and in uniforms. Several years ago it changed to comprehensive and it's just the opposite -scruffy students, loads of litter and a lot of foul language.
The area has changed completely and I wouldn't dream of moving to this area. Local houses are not selling due to this problem - one has been on sale for many weeks but despite dropping the price by £10K there are still no takers.
Are these grounds for being downgraded ?

nuttytart_2

Hi

Just reading all this with interest - don't think I can appeal as been in house for 4 years, but wondered if there was a way of finding out what various neighbours houses were worth in '91 when the bandings were set?
There are loads of other 4 bed houses (same as ours) that are a band lower and there's no way they were worth over 30k less than ours at the time of assessment.
Thanks

CTP_2

Hi Just found the link. Did you know that a proposal can be served on the listing officer when there has been a material change in the circumstances in the area? This can be the building of new property whether domestic or commercial, whether there has been a change in the use of a neighbouring property that would affect the value of your property or a number of other aspects of an area that were not physically there when the bands were set in 1993.

Maisie

CTP wrote:

Hi Just found the link. Did you know that a proposal can be served on the listing officer when there has been a material change in the circumstances in the area? This can be the building of new property whether domestic or commercial, whether there has been a change in the use of a neighbouring property that would affect the value of your property or a number of other aspects of an area that were not physically there when the bands were set in 1993.

Thanks for that CTP. It's a long shot but I'm going to look into the 'change of a neighbouring property' bit as there are now 3 recently rented out(private) houses on our small green and the occupants are letting the gardens/hedges get overgrown and often loud music. The houses look scruffy and we're not used to this. Other neighbours have complained but it's diffiult getting anyone to take notice.

Thanks again Maisie OP

bizzylizzy3

Hi all! I've just discovered this discussion about Council tax bands. My house was originally in band C, but 3 years ago it was mysteriously rebanded by the VOA as a Band D. When i complained, i was told that there were 6 houses on the estate of the same design, and 4 were in Band D and only 2 in band C. That was their reason for rebanding mine. I tried to appeal against the rebanding, but i was expected to provide written eveidence of the house's actual value on a certain date when the banding was originally introduced, which is virtually impossible to do unless the house was actually sold at that time. I was advised by the VOA that i had no chance of winning the appeal, as if i did win, they would have to reband the 4 Band D houses down to band C, as all 6 had to be in the same band. I gave up my fight the day before the appeal was due to be heard, largely because i couldn't face what seemed to be a considerable "force to be reckoned with". Reading that various people have been successful in achieving lower bands makes me wonder if I should have persevered. I was told there was going to be a general rebanding, so it wouldn't matter anyway....but that hasn't happened after all. Is ther anyway I could reinstate my original appeal? Any help greatly appreciated. Thanks.

derry_kerry

I have just searched for my parents house successfully. However, when I put in my own postcode a message came up telling me that a billing authority could not be found for my postcode. Does this mean I need an extremely hefty refund for the past 11 years from Manchester City Council. If I don't exist then I shouldn't have to pay council tax.;)

chapatti_batty

I've just bought a house in Leeds and tried to check the Council Tax band and it doesn't come up at all - looks like I may have a similar problem to Derry Kerry! Is this normal, or do our houses not actually exist?? Can anyone help?

GW65

nuttytart wrote:

Hi

Just reading all this with interest - don't think I can appeal as been in house for 4 years, but wondered if there was a way of finding out what various neighbours houses were worth in '91 when the bandings were set?
There are loads of other 4 bed houses (same as ours) that are a band lower and there's no way they were worth over 30k less than ours at the time of assessment.
Thanks

The reality seems to be rather more flexible than the published rules on the VOA web-site....so I'd go ahead and try it if I were you. The VOA web-site shows the bands and history - you don't really need to worry about what the houses were worth in 1991, just what your band is relative to your neighbours with similar houses.

I'd been in my house for nearly 4 years but appealed when I found out most of my neighbours were a band lower. The VOA very quickly agreed that my house must have been incorrectly banded so lowered it back-dated to 1994 when it was built. Took a few months for my local authority to actually refund the overpayment, but I'm now a grand better off and saving £250 a year.

vikk

My council tax band valuation depends on the open market value of the property. But as I am a sitting tenant, this should surely be far lower than identical owner-occupied property. To buy my property would involve buying me out (unless I and my wife died), or accepting that the property had a sitting tenant on a regulated rent. This fact ought to reduce hugely the value of my home on the open market - the buyout premium is pretty well whatever I ask as I am a statutory tenant -- so it would merely be the value according to the income from a regulated tenancy, which is well below the market rent in my area (possibly elsewhere too). This has not figured in the Valuation Office's calculation of anyone's Council Tax band as far as I know. Can anyone supply information on this, as I'd love a whacking rebate in this expensive area?