Buying, selling or running a home – everything you need to know about your home and garden!

Council tax house valuations

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Gosia writes:

I would like to know if I’m in the right council tax band, don’t know where to find out how much my house was worth in 1991. Thank you.

Gosia, this seems to be a popular question just now; I can’t do any better than refer you to the advice given to Darran last week. You’ll find it in this posting:
History of house prices

You don’t mention whether you’ve only just moved into the property. If you first became the council tax payer for the house within the last six months and think the valuation’s wrong, then you can make a “formal proposal” (sometimes called an appeal) to have the council tax valuation list altered—as long as a previous occupier hasn’t already made a challenge based on the same facts.

There are a few other clearly defined cases where you can make a formal proposal:

  1. If part of your property has been demolished (for example a garage or an extension), unless it’s to build a new extension.
  2. If your property has been adapted to make it suitable for use by a physically disabled person.
  3. If there have been physical changes in your area which could affect the value of your property.
  4. If your property has been converted into flats.
  5. If you have bought a property, or been granted a lease on a property for seven years or more, and the property’s value has increased because it was extended by the previous occupier.
  6. If your property becomes, or ceases to be, a “composite” property (in other words, one which is partly non-domestic, such as a shop or pub with living accommodation) or if the domestic part of it is made bigger or smaller (for example, a domestic living room is converted for use as an extension to the bar area in a public house).
  7. If the Listing Officer has altered the entry for your property in the Council Tax Valuation List, you have six months to make a proposal if you disagree with the change.
  8. If the Valuation Tribunal or High Court has made a decision relevant to your property, you may make a proposal, within six months of the date of that decision, to claim that the Listing Officer has not reflected that decision in the valuation band of your property.

You can also make a challenge for any of these cases if you’re a landlord who is not the council tax payer and the tenancy of your property is for less than six months.

You can also make a proposal to enter your property in the valuation list if it is not shown (for example, a newly built dwelling or a conversion) or to delete a property if it no longer exists or if you think it should no longer be liable for council tax.

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