Council Tax Band Change

[mhu]

Good Morning All

I purchased a house in September 2018, and it is a Band F.
All other houses on the same street are a Band E. Mine is a 4 Bed Detached but others which are 5 Bed are also a Band E.

I did raise this with the council who rejected it so i did an appeal.
I now have an Appeal Hearing in June, but i am unsure how best i can build my case.

has anyone got experience of doing this?

I could pay someone a couple hundred pounds and they would deal with it all.. but i thought i would check online first to see if i can do the case my self and attend the hearing my self

[ploddertom]

The salient point of your post is when you bought - September 2018 - had it been altered in shape or form since it was originally built. The VOA are the organisation who provide your Council with the Banding details, have you checked on their site as it may also give historical data of any previous changes. If can appeal yourself to the VOA and this is free to do, you do not have to pay anyone to do it for you.

[mhu]

The shape or size of the house has not been changed since it was built .. it was built in 1980s

What is the website for the VOA? I did check on the gov website and it is showing as F.
I have done the appeal my self already .. it is the hearing i do not want to go to really..

As i dont know exactly what i would say .. i can see the obvious that all other houses are E and for no obvious reason mine is F!

[ploddertom]

Have a look at this https://www.gov.uk/guidance/understa...s-are-assessed

[Jinxer]

I didn't have to go to a hearing when I got my banding changed. It was all done over the phone with a single phone call. I was asked for an address of a house that was comparable to my own which was in the lower band and that was all it took to get mine dropped.

[lgfa92]

The shape or size of the house has not been changed since it was built .. it was built in 1980s

What is the website for the VOA? I did check on the gov website and it is showing as F.
I have done the appeal my self already .. it is the hearing i do not want to go to really..

As i dont know exactly what i would say .. i can see the obvious that all other houses are E and for no obvious reason mine is F!

Valuation Tribunal appeals can be a pain - I regularly draft appeals for the Council Tax side rather than the banding side but there's no real difference overall in how it's done (In most cases the banding side will be more evidence and less legal argument based). It's a case of presenting the evidence as best you can, in a way that gets the argument across correctly with the correct evidence. The tribunal need convincing on the balance of probabilities that you are correct and the VOA are wrong.

Make sure that all time-limits are complied with in the process otherwise you will potentially miss out on service of our evidence.

[mhu]

Valuation Tribunal appeals can be a pain - I regularly draft appeals for the Council Tax side rather than the banding side but there's no real difference overall in how it's done (In most cases the banding side will be more evidence and less legal argument based). It's a case of presenting the evidence as best you can, in a way that gets the argument across correctly with the correct evidence. The tribunal need convincing on the balance of probabilities that you are correct and the VOA are wrong.

Make sure that all time-limits are complied with in the process otherwise you will potentially miss out on service of our evidence.

Thank .. in terms of arguments it is comparing to other houses on my estate .. and mine is the only F, and rest E..

[lgfa92]

Thank .. in terms of arguments it is comparing to other houses on my estate .. and mine is the only F, and rest E..

It may be - it depends on the exact specifics of the properties in question.