Council tax increase

[Bert Coules]

Only peripherally to do with DIY, I'm afraid...

Last year I had a loft conversion done on my bungalow: it was a long and messy job and I moved out for nearly six months. I decided to remove the property from the valuation register to avoid paying council tax while I wasn't living there.

The property went back on the register in January, and naturally I started paying tax again. Now, I've just received notification that the banding has been increased from C to D - removing the bungalow from the register apparently allows them to revalue it when it goes back on.

If I'd realised that, I would have continued paying at the old rate while the work was being done. Saving six months worth of council tax will cost me several thousand pounds in the future.

Which is annoying.

[T i m]

Like vehicle insurance where if it's not kept 'continuous' you risk losing NCB (or did). At least with NCB you hope to build it back up over time ... not easy to undo a loft conversion ... ?

Cheers, T i m

[Graeme]

In message , Bert Coules writes

Would the bungalow not have been revalued due to the loft conversion, whether or not it was temporarily removed from the register?

[John Rumm]

Adding a loft conversion could also shift you up a band if you were close to the threshold previously - so you may have had the same problem anyway.

[Bert Coules]

My impression (which might well be wrong) is that unless a property is removed from the register and then replaced, council tax banding is fixed until a property is sold.

Curiously, the notification letter of the increase says,

"This band [ie D, the new rating] is based on the estimated open market value of the property at 1st April 1991."

on which date, band C was very definitely the correct banding.

[Bert Coules]

My impression was that improvements don't affect the banding until the property passes to new owners. But from what you and Graeme say, I was mistaken.

[Robin]

No, you are right. Improvement/extension (or indeed partial demolition!) doesn't usually* change the banding until there is a sale if the property remains banded.

As a general rule* it's only the those who have the property taken of the list while it's being rebuilt who get an increased band.

*there's at least one exception I can't be arsed to look up at the moment

[Dave Liquorice]

Correct.

Well you can contest the valuation but IIRC you don't have long after a revaluation to do so.

Pretty sure that it is a "valuation" of the property in its current state (ie with added loft conversion) at 1991 prices not a valuation of the property in its 1991 state at 1991 prices. So the loft conversion could bump you from C to D anyway. Also pretty sure if you do contest the revaluation whatever decision they come to is final with no right of appeal.

[Bert Coules]

Thanks. I wish I'd known that a year ago!

[Bert Coules]

Yes, that does make sense (I'm sorry to say); thanks.

[tim...]

yes

but the new rate only becomes applicable on change of ownership

[tim...]

no, you aren't

tim

[John Rumm]

Keep in mind I last did one over ten years ago now, so the situation could well be different.

At the time I contacted the council and asked the question. They responded and said they had assessed it and decided there was no change.

[Bert Coules]

John, that's interesting, thanks. Two other properties in my street have done similar work: a loft conversion and a small rear extension. I must check and see what band they're on.

[Jim GM4DHJ ...]

I thought your NCB could be used up to two years dorment ? ......

[Robin]

You are very probably right too.

It all depends on the precise question the council were answering - which was not necessarily the precise one you asked ;)

Eg if your question was "will my council tax change" they might have answered on the basis that you hadn't done something that can trigger an immediate change[1] so the answer was clearly no.

If OTOH your question was "might this change affect the council tax on the house in the future" they were wrong as it *might* have done on a sale. And the VOA don't decide if an improvement requires a change ion the banding until there is such a transaction. So when buying a house it may be worth asking the VOA if any improvements they know of are reflected in the band shown in the list or are "logged" awaiting a relevant transaction. The valuation list may have an "improvement indicator" but that's not always up to date.

[1] eg created a self-contained flat: I've cribbed now :)

[Andy Burns]

Ah, one of those things that I thought "everybody knew".

Also they can get re-valued at change of hands, so beware if buying a property that the estate agent says is e.g. band B, if it has the "improvement indicator" on this website, it could move up a band when you buy it ...

[Andy Burns]

Only on next sale, I thought ...

[Brian Gaff]

Not as annoying probably as the secret deal with Google to revalue properties using their metrics and pictures will be. Brian

[Brian Gaff]

He could appeal and say the loft was always usable but it needed a revamp. Brian