Council Tax may be in wrong band

[Justpassingtime1]

According to April 1991 I should be in Band B but am in Band C.
They say it is calculated on the market price.
Would that be the same price as I paid?
If I challenge it I presume it is only wef now not retrospective?

[sparklesandmoresparkles]

www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/council-tax-bands-change/

This is probably the best place to look.

[Witchlight]

I challenged my council tax band. I have lived in the same house since council tax started and only challenged it when they published the data on-line. I was rated at 2 bands higher than my neighbours of similar sized properties and at the same rate as the house twice the size next door.

It was a very cut and dried case and they gave back a lot of money. It is really simple to do. I used the money savings link above.

The best way to judge your band is to look at equivalent houses, but remember that any extension will cause an adjustment for the subsequent owner.

[Timeforanotherusername]

When did you buy the house.

If it was after 91 then I am not sure you would get anywhere.

If prior to 81 and your neighbours are a B with a similar house then you have a good claim.

[Timeforanotherusername]

Prior to 91

[Bollss]

It doesn't matter when you bought the house. You just need to be able to prove that the banding is wrong. I did it at our old house. They wanted comparisons so same house on same street. I gave them comparisons and they refunded me the difference between what I'd paid and what I should have paid for the entire time I'd lived there. They also sent letters to the previous occupants (I know this because someone wrongly sent them to our address!) To refund them too.

[LooseMooseHoose]

I think you can only challenge your band if you have lived there less than 6 months.

[Bollss]

@LooseMooseHoose

I think you can only challenge your band if you have lived there less than 6 months.

This must be a recent change as I'd been living in my house a few years.

[thegcatsmother]

It was the original legislation (LGFA 1992 iirc) that mandated the 6 month rule.

[Bollss]

Well I'm not sure how I managed to claim mine back then but I did

[Witchlight]

I think the 6 month rule only applies to those who moved in after the data was made available to the public. I challenged mine after reading about it on Moneysavingsexpert - I was completely oblivious before then. I got £12k back after they had taken that entire year’s tax upfront.

[Bollss]

I moved in after the data was available and still got money back. It's worth a try anyway isn't it!!

[Roselilly36]

Not sure have many challenges are successful to be honest. My understanding is that if a neighbour asks for revaluation the neighbouring properties are also revalued. One of our neighbours must have requested this, as we didn’t, we were revalued, we were a band E & still in band E.

[thegcatsmother]

I challenged mine within the six months...and I was a CTax Officer at the time. The original banding stood, sadly.

[Justpassingtime1]

Thanks I went on Money Saving Expert which was helpful.
I thought that you could challenge on the basis of the value pre 1991.
That is not the case.
It helps as a second check only.
It seems to be ok if you have several similar properties in the street
to compare it with but if they are different it is harder.

[2catsand2kids]

You can challenge the council tax band anytime, the 6 month rule is for challenging your band if you have been rebanded. It’s definitely worth a try as you could potentially get back thousands.