Council Tax Cost Cutting: reduce your band and grab any discounts Discussion Area
Comments
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My Cottage was valued at £85,000 in 1990. I complained to the valuation officer
that I should be band D, not E as I have been since 1990. I was told by the
valuation officer that as the cottage was not sold in 1990 it does not apply.
I said to him that on the Martin Lewis programme he said it was the value
in 1990 that it was based on. The valuation officer said , (wait for it) Martin Lewis is wrong !!
I would like to hear Martin's reply to that0 -
Robert_Hornby wrote: »My Cottage was valued at £85,000 in 1990. I complained to the valuation officer
that I should be band D, not E as I have been since 1990. I was told by the
valuation officer that as the cottage was not sold in 1990 it does not apply.
I said to him that on the Martin Lewis programme he said it was the value
in 1990 that it was based on. The valuation officer said , (wait for it) Martin Lewis is wrong !!
I would like to hear Martin's reply to that
Value is as at 01 April 1991 in England and Scotland.
The fact it wasn't sold at that time doesn't alter the banding, it just makes it far more difficult to argue the banding is wrong without any evidence.
(Martin Lewis isn't infallible, I've some heard him say some right rubbish in the past that was plainly wrong...)I no longer work in Council Tax Recovery but instead work as a specialist Council Tax paralegal assisting landlords and Council Tax payers with council tax disputes and valuation tribunals. My views are my own reading of the law and you should always check with the local authority in question.0 -
From Which:
"Council tax bands are calculated based on the value of the property at a specific point in time. For instance, in England your council tax band is based on what the value of your property would have been on 1 April 1991."0 -
Robert_Hornby wrote: »My Cottage was valued at £85,000 in 1990. I complained to the valuation officer
that I should be band D, not E as I have been since 1990. I was told by the
valuation officer that as the cottage was not sold in 1990 it does not apply.
I said to him that on the Martin Lewis programme he said it was the value
in 1990 that it was based on. The valuation officer said , (wait for it) Martin Lewis is wrong !!
I would like to hear Martin's reply to that
Valued for what purpose and which month in 1990? For example, an insurance valuation and remortgage valuation would be two completely different amounts
Council Tax came into force on 1 April 1993, bands being based on a dwelling's open market value as at 1 April 1991, but taking into account the physical state of the dwelling as at 1 April 1993.
Why have you waited 25 years to complain about your CT band?
Martin Lewis sold this site some years ago, so it is extremely unlikely he will see your post.If you are querying your Council Tax band would you please state whether you are in England, Scotland or Wales0 -
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lincroft1710 wrote: »England and Scotland, Wales is 1 April 2003
Oops - typo on my part that I hadn't noticed.I no longer work in Council Tax Recovery but instead work as a specialist Council Tax paralegal assisting landlords and Council Tax payers with council tax disputes and valuation tribunals. My views are my own reading of the law and you should always check with the local authority in question.0 -
Hello! I was wondering if somebody could help.
We moved into our house 6months ago and upon moving in were surprised by the Council Tax band. We believe it's at least one band too high. I did all the checks on this website which confirmed my belief, so was backed by this information before making an application.
Sadly our request to be re-evaluated has been declined as they believe it is correct. I strongly believe we are in the wrong band and will appeal, but wanted to ask any advice on what I need to include to strengthen / support my case.
To give a bit of background- our current home - a 3bed end of terrace, in a small cul-de-sac is an E. We have rented 2 other properties in the village in recent years - a 3bed semi-detached, down a quiet / private road which was a D band (2015-16), and then a mid-terrace 3bed, on a quiet crescent which was a C (2016-17). Nearly all E+ properties in the village are 4beds and / or detached properties.
Our current home was built only last year, so how do we gauge / prove it's worth in 1991?
Ironically, the first place we lived in in the village (the D band property) sold for 70k MORE (2016) than we bought our place last year (2017). We believe our last property (the C band one) has more similarities with our current home, but the Valuation Office dismissed this point saying that they were different sizes (having LIVED in both properties, the difference is very slight!), so along with the info from the checks on here - Iam trying to get a D band rather than a C.
Reason for the rejection - the Valuation Office found one example of a v small pool of similar properties in the village on the same E band and used this example (there are plenty the other way) then adding that because we have a small ensuite that would justify the band. The thing is new properties these days can include ensuite bathroom in the plans, but in 1991 these were less popular, so really it's not comparing the same, we are either looking at 1991 valuations or we are not! And really to pay 2 bands higher for an extra loo is a ridiculous (some nearly £100pm difference!)
So any advice what I need to do to put in a really strong, articulate appeal would be greatly appreciated!!
P.S. Some of my new neighbours are also appealing. Others aren't (the downsizers) as they are already making a saving in their eyes.0 -
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My Cottage was purchased in May 1998 for £81,000I had it valued in 1990 for £85,000.
I contacted the valuation officer as I am in band E, and on the valuation I asked for a
review to lower it to band D. He told me that as it was not sold in 1990 it does not count.
He said that "Martin Lewis got it wrong" can you believe it ?0 -
Robert_Hornby wrote: »My Cottage was purchased in May 1998 for £81,000I had it valued in 1990 for £85,000.
I contacted the valuation officer as I am in band E, and on the valuation I asked for a
review to lower it to band D. He told me that as it was not sold in 1990 it does not count.
He said that "Martin Lewis got it wrong" can you believe it ?
You have already stated most of this in your previous post. Was the date of purchase May 1988 rather than May 1998. Also can you please answer the question I asked you following your first post, what was the 1990 valuation for?If you are querying your Council Tax band would you please state whether you are in England, Scotland or Wales0
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