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Council Tax - Appeals

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What can you Appeal about?

Property Banding Appeals

Domestic dwellings are valued in one of eight property bands for Council Tax purposes and these are allocated according to the capital value that would have applied to the property at 1st April 1991. Council Tax payers have a general right of appeal against the band allocated to their property, but fluctuating changes in house prices do not constitute suitable grounds for a property re-banding.

The owner or occupier of a dwelling can appeal against the valuation banding of their property, but must do so within 6 months of becoming liable for Council Tax on the property. In the case of newly built homes an appeal can be made within 6 months of the date from when the property is entered in the valuation list for Council Tax purposes.

A person who has lived in a property for more than six months can only appeal against what they consider to be an 'incorrect' banding if:

the physical state of the area in which the house is situated has changed, and this has affected the property value.
part of the property has been demolished leading to a material reduction in value.
material alterations have been made to make the property suitable for use by a disabled person and it's value has decreased.
the property has been converted from a single dwelling into flats or vice versa.
there has been an increase in the part of the property which is valued for use for business purposes eg. the whole or part of a flat above a shop is converted for use as a storeroom.

Improvements and alterations carried out, such as adding building extensions and conservatories which could otherwise increase the value of the property, will only be taken into consideration for Council Tax purposes if the property is sold thereafter. In such cases the new owner would become liable for the increased charge if the property were rebanded. Such alterations would also be taken into consideration if a compete rebanding of properties took place for Council Tax purposes.

Completion Notice Appeals

The Council may issue a Completion Notice if it considers that the work on a new or converted building is close to completion or could reasonably be expected to be completed within three months of the date of the issue of the notice.

The Completion Notice sets a completion date from which a six month exemption period for new, unoccupied, dwellings would begin to run. A full 100% charge would apply to the property at the end of that period if it remained unoccupied.

A person disagreeing with a completion notice must initially appeal to the Council to discuss an alternative completion date or, if this cannot be agreed, they can apply to the Valuation Tribunal within four weeks of a notice being sent.

Council Tax Liability Appeals

Council Tax payers are entitled to appeal about a decision made about their Council Tax liability if they:

disagree that they are the person liable to pay Council Tax.
think their property should be exempt from Council Tax.
consider they are entitled to a disabled person's reduction.

think they should be entitled to a personal discount.

A person disagreeing with a decision made by the Council must first appeal to the Council Tax Section, providing their name and address, Council Tax reference number and the reason(s) for the appeal. Any person who is not satisfied with the outcome of the appeal, or has not received a response to the appeal within two months of making the appeal, can then make a further appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.

Where an appeal is pending payments must continue to be made in accordance with the Council Tax banding currently in force.If an appeal is successful any overpaid Council Tax will be refunded on request.

The procedures are different if a disagreement is about the amount of Council Tax Benefit allowed. For more information see Council Tax Benefit - Appeals.

Who can appeal?

Those who can appeal include:

The person liable to pay Council Tax.
The owner of (or person entitled to) the property including individuals, housing bodies and other companies.
The Council (as the billing authority).

Appeals Procedure

The Valuation Office Agency's Listing Officer is responsible for considering, effecting and proviiding notification of any alteration to the bandings contained in the Valuation List. Appeals against the property banding must be made to:

The Listing Officer
Valuation Office Agency
Cathedral Court
2nd Floor
1 Vicar Lane
Sheffield
S1 1HD

Payments must continue to be made in accordance with the Council Tax banding currently in force whilst any appeal is pending.

Where the outcome of an appeal is successful, and a reduction in banding is implemented, the Council will issue an amended bill charging the property on the revised band. Any overpaid Council Tax will be refunded on request.

Where the Listing Officer cannot agree with the proposal for a reduction in the banding of a property the matter may have to be referred to the Valuation Tribunal

The Valuation Tribunal

The Valuation Tribunals is wholly independent of the Council and Valuation Office Agency's Listings Officer, although members of the Tribunal are experienced in hearing Council Tax appeals.

The Tribunal has jurisdiction to consider:

appeals against the valuatiion band issued by the Valuation Office Listing Officer.
whether the person determined by the billing authority (the Council) is responsible for the payment of Council Tax.
whether the dwelling should be exempt.
the calculation of the amout payable, including entitlement to discount and disabled persons reductions.
appeals against completion notices issued by the billing authority.

The Tribunal will arrange the hearing and consider cases put forward by both parties before making a decision. Cases can, if both parties agree, be dealt with by written representation without the applicant having need to personally attend the hearing.

The Listing Officer will notify the appellant if the matter is referred to the Valuation Tribunal.

The Valuation Tribunal's decision is normally final though either party can appeal to the High Court, but only on a point of law.

Appeals are dealt with by:

The Clerk to the South Yorkshire Valuation Tribunal
Hepworth House
1 Trafford Court
Doncaster
South Yorkshire
DN1 1PN

How you can help

You must inform the Council or the Valuation Office Agency's Listing Officer (whichever is applicable) as soon as possible if there are any circumstances which may warrant an appeal against a decision that has been made. Supporting evidence should be made available where possible.

Payments must continue to be made in accordance with the Council Tax banding currently in force whilst any appeal is pending. If an appeal is successful any overpaid Council Tax will be refunded on request.