Council Valuation

[TLC]

I let out my sons' bedrooms while they are at university on a "holiday let" basis, for a week here and there and the odd overnight. These rooms are on the top of my house and are accessed through the house. The utilities to these rooms are not separate to the main house.They share a bathroom and I have put a kitchen up there because I thought it would be easier than sharing my kitchen. I advertised through my local tourist board and I thought this would count under the "rent a room" scheme the government introduced.

My local council saw the ad and came to "inspect" the property. They said that, because the rooms had their own kitchen and bathroom they are counted as a separate property and have valued it as a separate flat for council tax purposes. Even though they are accessed through my main house and do not have independent heating/gas/electricity etc.

I have been told I can appeal against this and have found their site on the internet but I feel I need someone to help me with this. Are there lawyers who specialise in this kind of thing? Does anyone know who I should contact for help? Has anyone fought the council and won who could guide me?

I would appreciate any help anyone can give me. The additional council tax they are charging me is horrendous - much more than any profit I have gained from renting my sons' rooms out - and they haven't reduced the tax on my main house either!

Thanks for any help.
Tina