Council Tax Cost Cutting: reduce your band and grab any discounts Discussion Area
Comments
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Auders - VOA can reinstate original band if there is good reason that the reduction should not have been applied. However increased band should not be backdated. You do of course have a right of appeal and I would suggest that at the very least you ask VOA why they now believe original band was correct.
MR.R - Band increase in such circumstances should not be backdated.If you are querying your Council Tax band would you please state whether you are in England, Scotland or Wales0 -
HI First post so be kind i have checked with saa for my tax band and in the band its says im a c but ive been a d since i moved into house in 2001 please help do i contact council or leave well alone due to house prices going through roof
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Hi Stuart,
Welcome first time poster!
First, don't worry too much about house price rises since 2001, these are rarely of importance in council tax decisions as it is the 1991 price you need to get to.
Second, the point of contact for challenging your band is the VOA, not the council.
As you have lived in your house since 2001 you probably don't have a right to tribunal, so its important to make a complelling case to the VOA from the start.
When you look around your street are there other houses the same as yours that are banded C on the VOA website? If there are, ask around and try and find out why. Were they banded differently initially, or have they been rebanded since? You'll be able to tell by looking on the VOA's website, if the house has been rebanded it will have a "banding history" link.
If there's a banding history, try and find out more about why they were rebanded. Speak to the neighbours and check on the Valuation Tribunal Service website to find out whether there has been a formal decision to reduce the band (this will also show as a "V" next to a house on the VOA site).
If there is no banding history button and there are two different bands, this means the houses were banded differently at the time that CT was set. In that case try and find out what the selling price evidence from the time was, you can do this by checking local newspapers from late 1990 and early 1991 or speaking to the neighbours.
If you find that all houses are banded the same, then getting a reband is very hard. This isn't to say it can't be done (I've done it for some residents where I live), however you need to have a right to tribunal as the VOA is unlikely to agree with you. As I've mentioned you probably won't have a right to a tribunal, but this is sometimes possible if you can link to another relevant and timely decision (don't worry about that at this stage).
If you have a good read back through this thread there is plenty of information about the mechanics of getting a reband that will help you further.Please stay safe in the sun and learn the A-E of melanoma: A = asymmetry, B = irregular borders, C= different colours, D= diameter, larger than 6mm, E = evolving, is your mole changing? Most moles are not cancerous, any doubts, please check next time you visit your GP.
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hi, i am just asking for some advice about my band, i got in touch with the voa some time last year to be told that my band was staying the same, i did do some reasearch before i contacted them, i live on a small estate all the property are in the same band which i could understand if they were all the same, i live in a 2 bedroom terrace, i think it is a semi detached but!! i look around my estate there are two bedroom, three bedroom semis and also three bedroom detached all the three bedroom houses also have a garage i just can not see how all the property in this estate are in the same band, i also looked at the netpriceprices and i can only go back to 2000 and some of the property was sold for less the 40,000, so is there anything i can do? thanks0
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Poundshopbrown - Can you tell me
1) Is your estate private or council/housing assoc?
2) What band are you in?
3) Whereabouts in the country are you?
It does seem odd that all the houses are in same band, but sometimes plot numbering gets confused and house types are wrongly identified. Banding was sometimes done from builders site plan and sales brochure and mistakes can happen.
Stuart - I have an idea you live in Scotland, so it will be the assessor you need to contact. BUT what band are you actually in C or D?If you are querying your Council Tax band would you please state whether you are in England, Scotland or Wales0 -
Hi, have just started looking into all this and have discovered to my suprise that I am in Band B where as all my neighbours(end terrace) in row of 6 terraces all the same style and size and in Band A. I have rang to ask about being re-assed but wondered if anyone can tell why is says on the VAO valuation list that it was taken to court and changed to Band B in 1993? does that mean the council changed it or previous owners got it changed and if so I still dont understand why everyone else is on Band A and we are the only house out of 8 identical ones in Band B?:mad: Does anyone know if this means I wont be able to get it changed again?DFW no.630!
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Daisy - If there was a decision by the Valuation Tribunal to increase to Band B, my opinion would be that the taxpayer at time asked for a band increase. Not common but did happpen. Some taxpayers mistakenly believed that getting a higher band would make their home worth more money. If yours is end terrace then it would probably be worth a bit more than inner terrace and it may be that 1991 value for ET was £41K but IT £40K thus one Band B, other Band A.
Tribunal decisions are binding but if the VOA now believes that there should have been a reduction or should not have been an increase, Tribunal will usually agree to its decision being overturned. HOWEVER in most circumstances VOA will say Tribunal has made decision based on case put forward and matter has already been fully investigated, end of story.
I presume you're out of time to make formal appeal so you should ask VOA why band was increased and if in hindsight they believe the increase was justified and why the other houses are in Band A.If you are querying your Council Tax band would you please state whether you are in England, Scotland or Wales0 -
Hi Daisydoll,
When you say that 'it was taken to court and changed to Band B in 1993' is this because it has a letter C or V against it? Is there a "banding history" button when you look at the house's full details? If it has a "banding history" then that means the VOA has changed the banding of the house (presumably upwards). If there is no banding history, that would suggest that the house has stayed in the same band and that the former owners were unsuccessful in getting the banding realigned.
It is undoubtedly harder to get a banding overturned that has already been accepted by a tribunal. It is possible - we've done it here - but you do need to get the VOA's Listing Officer on side and for them to re-present info to the tribunal and ask for the original decision to be overturned.
I think if I were in your position I would try and find out if there has been a tribunal and get a copy of the tribunal decision. Currently you can get these on line, but I don't honestly know what to do with a decision that old. I think I would telephone the Valuation Tribunal Service and ask them.
I would like to think that there is some reason that your house is a B and the others are an A if it has gone all the way to tribunal - your plot could be bigger, it could have been extended, etc. But if you really think that none of these is the case, then I would certainly be looking to speak to the VOA/VTS and find out more.Please stay safe in the sun and learn the A-E of melanoma: A = asymmetry, B = irregular borders, C= different colours, D= diameter, larger than 6mm, E = evolving, is your mole changing? Most moles are not cancerous, any doubts, please check next time you visit your GP.
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Sorry Lincroft, didn't realise you were posting the same time. Bored with what's on TV tonight as well?Please stay safe in the sun and learn the A-E of melanoma: A = asymmetry, B = irregular borders, C= different colours, D= diameter, larger than 6mm, E = evolving, is your mole changing? Most moles are not cancerous, any doubts, please check next time you visit your GP.
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lincroft....I am in scotland so I contacted the assessor who said they believe that the person who dealt with my original appeal made a mistake....but admitted they are only doing something about it because other neighbours appealed too! I am still appealing it though as I live in a semi and other houses on my street are detached but still the same band as me! Seems to me that they are choosing to change me and another neighbour back rather than change everyones down a band!! They are not backdating the increased band thankfully!0
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