Council tax bands rebanding

If you look online you can find instructions for appealing against the banding of your home.

When I first lived in this house it was a BTL which I later bought. I discovered it was the same banding as the house next door which was a lot bigger, so I appealed. It took a lot of effort but I eventually got the house switched to a lower band and all my excess council tax refunded. I used the money to put in a high fence just inside my property so that my wingeing NDN could no longer see into my garden or hijack me by looking over the fence.

I moved from a house that had a low council tax band, into another house in the same area and exactly the same footprint with a CT band 2 grades higher. I appealed; provided like for like comparisons and not only my house, but all the other houses in the row, had their CT reduced and back dated. Some of my neighbours got thousands of pounds back because they'd lived their for decades. It's always worth appealing if you think its not right.

Thanks for this post, it’s something that didn’t enter my head but does make a lot of sense when owners are extending etc and new owners then purchase

When Council Tax banding came first came in, just went round the streets & did it that way, while you are still living there, will remain in the same band, although when it is sold re banded, as no doubt lots of houses were put in the wrong band from day one, apologies if I am wrong

Hi Truman. We have faced this issue when we bought our current home. You need to appeal v Council with documentation of 5 other similar properties in nearby location. I have found out that the council tax is based on some 1960-ish evaluations made by people who never checked the properties, just drove by. Now the interesting bit is that the council tax is set by an organism who has a direct link into Rightmove. So check the surface of the advert - it will often include All the surfaces, incl garage, sheds and any sloped roof rooms. Check the Regulation documents- there are strict rules of what square meters really count for tax. It takes some digging but they are quick and fair and you will get correct banding and your money back. Sorry not to give you the links but it was a few years ago. But start digging from the Gov.uk website. Good luck

They don't get rebanded automatically. If you want the valuation office to review the band you should ask them within six months of buying the property unless you have made any alterations.

Mine got rebanded upwards after I bought. There had been no improvement marker on it, to show it was at risk of being rebanded. I appealed and lost. A few years later the house next door changed hands but their council tax band did not.

I got hold of a copy of their deeds which included a sale of the house in 1991 which proved the banding of that house. I contacted the council with a copy. Three times the council came back and said I wasn't comparing like with like. My husband took photos of both houses which proved they would have been identical originally. The house next door had been extended. Ours had not.

I sent photos to the council and this time they agreed to come out and look. I finally got the original banding back again and was refunded the overpaid council tax.

A house banding can be changed after a sale if, prior to that sale, the house has been extended/or otherwise relevantly improved. I got caught by this after a house move 10 years ago. My solicitor didn’t warn me that the banding would be reviewed and could go up ..which it did. It can in some circumstances be reviewed and adjusted without a sale triggering the review.
This link explains www.gov.uk/guidance/council-tax-band-changes.

They probably ought to be though. I’m sure that after various alterations and extensions, many properties are nothing like what they were when the original council tax bands were established.

Not in my experience, I’ve not heard that.