If you think your Council Tax band is wrong, you may be able to challenge it. There are two types of challenge, and different rules apply for each.

A proposal is a formal challenge. You can only make a proposal in certain circumstances, such as if you’ve been paying Council Tax on your property for less than six months. When you make a proposal, by law the VOA must review your band.

A band review is an informal challenge. Anyone who has been paying Council Tax on their property for more than six months can request a band review, but the same legal rights don’t apply. The VOA will only look at your case if you provide strong evidence which suggests your band is wrong.

There is clear guidance of when and how to challenge your band on the Valuation Office Agency website. You can contact the Valuation Office Agency yourself and do not need to appoint an agent or company to do this on your behalf.

It is the responsibility of the Listings Officer to maintain the Council Tax bands. This officer works for the Valuation Office Agency and NOT the Council.

Challenge your Council Tax band.

Please note: Whilst any appeal is outstanding, the current charges remain due and payable. Should you be successful in securing a reduction, then any overpayment will be refunded or credited to you.

Requesting a deletion from the Council Tax list

In limited circumstances it may delete a property’s Council Tax band. When this happens, the property will be removed from the Council Tax list and will not be liable for Council Tax.

A property must be fully demolished, truly derelict or undergoing major renovation for the VOA to delete its Council Tax band.

To check if you could request your property to be removed from the Council Tax list please check the Valuation Office Guide.

Backdated band changes

If the Valuation Office Agency decides to change the banding of your property and you are due a refund :

• if you are the current occupier and pay by direct debit we will refund back to your bank account listed on the account, or send you a form to complete if you pay by another means.
• if you are a previous occupier we will attempt to contact you if we hold a current address for you and ask you to complete a refund form.
• if we dont hold any information for you;  you can contact us directly to request your refund. If we dont hold full records for your old account in order to calculate your refund, we will ask for some evidence to prove residency dates.

You can do all this directly with the Council and you do not need to use an agent or a company to do it on your behalf.