Step 1. Compare your band to your neighbours'
We
need to see if your house is correctly banded in comparison to other
similar properties; of course you could do it by just asking the
neighbours, but you’d be surprised how few people know their banding. Luckily it can all be done on the web.
IMPORTANT UPDATE NOTE FROM MARTIN
The two sites below are struggling with massive demand after all the
press coverage for this system. If you can't get through now, join the
free weekly email's distribution list and I'll include a reminder once they're back up and speedy.
First, enter your own postcode and double check your band. Then
check any neighbours' bands, ensuring you’re looking at properties that
are as similar as possible to yours, for an accurate comparison.
STEP 2. Check house price values for free
The second search method is even more revealing. Go to Nethouseprices, which gives a free search of the prices of all houses sold in your street since 2000.
We want to find the most recent sale price of a similar property to yours, in your street. Find the closest match and then note down both the price and the time of sale
STEP 3: Calculate your house value at 1991 levels
Now we need to take the details from STEP 2, and use it to work out what your house would’ve been worth in 1991. This is because the bands are decided by your 1991 house price value, so it's a good second check.
To do this go to the Nationwide House Price Calculator. This
is actually designed for people to put in their house price when they
bought it, and work out what it's worth now. Yet it is possible to use
it in reverse to get a rough value back in 1991.
How to get the calculator to do it
- Scroll down the page to the calculator
- In ‘Property value’ note the sales price as from Step 2
- In ‘Valuation date 1’ enter the sales date from Step 2 (and make sure you put down which quarter of the year it was).
- In Valuation date 2’ enter 1991, and Q2
Then click calculate, the results (rather strangely) appear just above the calculator. You should now have a very rough idea of your house price value in 1991; compare this to the actual bandings, to see what banding you should be in.
| Council Tax Bands at 1991 Property Value |
| Band | ENGLAND
1991 Property Value | SCOTLAND
1991 Property Value |
| A | All properties under £40,000 | All properties under £27,000 |
| B | £40,001 - £52,000 | £27,001 - £35,000 |
| C | £52,001 - £68,000 | £35,001 - £45,000 |
| D | £68,001 - £88,000 | £45,001 - £58,000 |
| E | £88,001 - £120,000 | £58,001 - £80,000 |
| F | £120,001 - £160,000 | £80,001 - £106,000 |
| G | £160,001 - £320,000 | £106,001 - £212,000 |
| H | over £320,000 | Over £212,000 |
IF you can't be asre to do this then you might be losing out on £1000 of pounds!
