How to Appeal

INTRODUCTION
PROPOSALS TO CHANGE VALUATION BANDS AND VALUATION ENTRIES
What is a valuation band?
How are dwellings banded?
What is a "proposal" to alter the valuation list?
What are the grounds for making a proposal?
Who can make a proposal?
When can I make a proposal?
Proposals
What is a material increase or reduction in value?
How do I make a proposal?
Acknowledgement of proposals
Invalid proposals
Withdrawal of proposal by proposer
Disagreement as to proposed alteration
APPEALS AGAINST COMPLETION NOTICES
APPEALS AGAINST ACTIONS OF LEVYING AUTHORITIES
What are the grounds for appeal?
How do I appeal?
Appeal to Valuation Appeal Committee
APPEALS AGAINST PENALTIES
VALUATION APPEAL COMMITTEES
TRANSITIONAL REDUCTION CALCULATIONS
BENEFIT CALCULATIONS
How can I find out more?

Introduction

On 1 April 1993 the council tax replaced the community charge (or "poll tax") as the way people contribute to the cost of local services.

This is one of a series of leaflets about the council tax. It explains what decisions, made by the local Assessor or councils, you can appeal against, and how to make such an appeal in Scotland. General information about the council tax is given in the leaflet 'Council Tax - A Guide'

There are five main areas of council tax administration against which appeals are possible.

• valuation bands and valuation list entries
• completion notices
• actions of levying authorities
• penalties
• benefit calculations

The procedures for appealing against each of these are different. This leaflet explains the different procedures.

You cannot however appeal against the levels of council tax set each year by councils, and you must continue to pay your original council tax bill whilst your appeal is outstanding.

Proposals to Change Valuation Bands and Valuation List Entries

What is a valuation band?

Each dwelling is placed on a valuation list in one of eight broad valuation bands, ranging from A to H as set out in law. The list will show only the band to which your house has been allocated and a precise value will not be given. The responsibility for compiling the valuation list for your area lies with the local Assessor who is appointed by the council.

The valuation list is effective from 1 April 1993.

How are dwellings banded?

The local Assessor decides which valuation band should apply to each dwelling in the area. Valuations are based on the amount which dwellings might have reasonably been expected to realise in the open market if sold on 1 April 1991. This procedure will be the same for all dwellings.

The valuation bands for Scotland are:

More information on banding and the valuation assumptions is given in the leaflet 'Valuation and Banding' which can be obtained free of charge from your council or from the address given at the end of this leaflet.

What is a "proposal" to alter the valuation list?

In certain circumstances, if you disagree with the banding of your dwelling, you can make a proposal for the valuation list to be altered to show what you think should be the correct banding. This is the first stage in making an appeal against the banding of your property. If you and the Assessor cannot reach agreement your proposal may be referred as an appeal to a valuation appeal committee. Similarly you can make a proposal to have the list altered to delete an entry altogether or have a new entry made (if your house has been left out). These are handled in the same way.

What are the grounds for making a proposal?

You may make a proposal to alter the list if:

• you disagree with the banding of your house
• you believe your property should be shown on the list
• you believe your property should not be shown on the list.

Who can make a proposal?

You may make a proposal to alter the list if you:

• are liable to pay council tax in respect of the dwelling, for example, if you are the resident owner or the resident tenant
• would be liable to pay council tax if the dwelling were not exempt
• are the owner of the dwelling.

You may appoint someone else to act on your behalf.

When can I make a proposal?

The valuation list which shows the bands allocated to individual dwellings is effective from 1 April 1993. If you disagree with the banding of your house in that valuation list you can lodge a proposal to alter the list with the Assessor's Department.

Proposals

You may make a proposal to alter the list:

• within six months of first becoming the liable person in respect of your property
• if you consider that there has been a material reduction in the value of your dwelling
• if you consider that there has been a material increase in the value of your dwelling and it, or any part of it, has subsequently been sold
• if the balance between domestic and business use changes
• within six months of receiving notification of an alteration made by the Assessor to the banding shown on the list
• within six months of an appeal decision being made which concerns a dwelling comparable to yours and which gives you reasonable grounds for contending that the valuation band shown for your dwelling should be changed.

You can also make a proposal at any time if you think that your property should be included in or excluded from the valuation list.

What is a material increase or reduction in value?

A material increase in value may result from building, engineering or other work carried out on the dwelling. In these cases if the changes result in rebanding of the property that rebanding will take effect only after a sale of the dwelling or part of it. The banding of the dwelling will only change if the increase in value takes the value of the property outwith the value range of the band to which it is currently allocated.

A material reduction in value may result from the demolition of any part of the dwelling, any change in the physical state of the dwelling's locality or any adaptation of the dwelling to make it suitable for use by a person who is physically disabled. The banding of the dwelling will only change however if the reduction in value takes the value of property outwith the value range of the band to which it is currently allocated.

How do I make a proposal?

If you think the banding of your property is wrong you should write to the Assessor for your area stating:

• your name and address
• the capacity in which you are making the proposal, for example owner or tenant
• the address of the dwelling
• why you believe the banding is wrong and how it should be altered
• the date from which you believe the alteration should take place.

Standard proposal forms and explanatory notes which you may find useful are available in the offices of local Assessors.

Remember, you can make a proposal only if you are the person liable to pay the council tax, or who would be liable if the dwelling were not exempt, or the owner of the dwelling, (or if you were such a person in respect of a period to which the proposal relates).

Acknowledgement of proposals

The Assessor should notify you within 14 days of its receipt that he has received your proposal to alter the list. With that notification the Assessor will provide information as to what happens:

• if an appeal is withdrawn by a proposer
• if another person, from among those with a right to make a proposal themselves, wishes to support the proposal
• if the Assessor decides to alter the entry on the list
• if the Assessor disagrees with the proposal.

If the Assessor agrees with your proposal he will notify you that he intends to alter the valuation list. Within six weeks of notifying you he will alter the list. The levying authority will then revise your council tax bill.

If after considering your proposal, the Assessor does not agree with it, he may offer to discuss it with you. This may lead to agreement as to whether a change is required or not. If agreement is not reached by the end of six months from the date of receipt of your proposal the Assessor must refer your proposal to the local valuation appeal committee as a formal appeal. Information about valuation appeal committees.

Invalid Proposals

If the Assessor considers that the person making the proposal is not entitled to do so he may so inform the proposer within six weeks of receiving the proposal. The proposer may appeal against this decision within four weeks of notification being given. If the proposer does not appeal in time no further action will be taken and the Assessor will be entitled to treat the proposal as invalid.

If you do not provide the Assessor with the information which he requires to consider your proposal, he may within six weeks of receiving your proposal ask you to provide the necessary information within four weeks. If you neither provide the required information nor appeal within that period against the Assessor's decision that you have not provided all the necessary information, the Assessor will be entitled to treat your proposal as invalidly made.

If you appeal as mentioned in either of the two preceding paragraphs and the Assessor does not withdraw his objection to the validity of your proposal he will refer your appeal to the local valuation appeal committee within four weeks of receiving it, together with details of the proposal and his reasons for considering it invalid.

Withdrawal of proposal by proposer

If you wish to withdraw a proposal you should write to the Assessor to this effect. If the Assessor believes that the person seeking to withdraw the proposal is not currently a taxpayer in respect of the dwelling concerned he will then notify at least one of the taxpayers in respect of the dwelling of the proposed withdrawal. Within six weeks of that date anyone who is a taxpayer in respect of the dwelling or its owner may inform the Assessor that he or she wishes to adopt the proposal.

Disagreement as to proposed alteration

If the Assessor does not think that your proposal is well founded and you do not withdraw it he will refer the disagreement as an appeal to the local valuation appeal committee together with the following information:

• the proposed alteration of the list
• the date the proposal was served
• the name and address of the proposer
• the grounds on which the proposal was made.

He will do this within a period of six months from the date on which the proposal was served. Information about valuation appeal committees.

Appeals Against Completion Notices

Where the local Assessor considers that the erection of a dwelling has been completed or that the work to be done is such that it will be completed in three months he may serve a notice, known as a completion notice, on the owner, stating the date from which the building is to be treated as completed. Although you may raise the matter with the local Assessor if you disagree with his decision you must lodge an appeal with the valuation appeal committee within 21 days from receipt of the notice of completion. You must do this by serving a written notice of appeal on the Assessor stating the grounds on which you are appealing and enclose a copy of the relevant completion notice.

The Assessor will pass this to the Secretary of the relevant valuation appeal committee.

Appeals Against Actions of Levying Authorities

Council tax is payable in respect of "chargeable dwellings" but not in respect of dwellings which are exempt.

The liable person will normally be the owner-occupier or resident tenant (including council tenant). If the property is unoccupied the non-resident owner is liable unless there is a non-resident tenant or a non-resident sub-tenant either of whom have a lease of six months or more. People who are joint owners or joint tenants are jointly responsible for paying the council tax bill. Husbands and wives of liable people will also be jointly responsible for paying the bill provided they are living together in the property, whether or not they are joint owners or joint tenants. This also applies to a man and woman living together as husband and wife. Where one of these jointly liable people is severely mentally impaired that person will not be jointly liable unless they are the sole owner or the sole tenant in which case they will remain liable.

The full council tax bill assumes that there are two adults (persons of 18 and over) living in a dwelling. If only one adult lives in a dwelling the council tax bill will be reduced by a quarter (25 per cent). If a dwelling is no-one's main home the bill will be reduced by a half (50 per cent). Certain groups of people are not counted when looking at the number of adults resident in a dwelling.

More information on the rules covering liability and exemption is given in a separate leaflet 'Liability (including Discounts and Exemptions)' . Further detailed information about the liability of certain groups of people such as students and those with disabilities is given in other leaflets 'A Guide for Students, Student Nurses, Apprentices, Youth Training Trainees and School Leavers' and 'A Guide for People who have Special Needs and their Carers' which are available free of charge from your council or from the address at the end of this leaflet

What are the grounds for appeal?

You can appeal:

• if you disagree with the levying authority's decision that your dwelling is chargeable,
• if you disagree with the levying authority's decision that you are liable to pay the council tax in respect of a particular dwelling, or
• if you disagree with the calculation of your bill (for instance, because a discount has not been awarded or no reduction for disability given), but see the section about benefit calculations.

How do I appeal?

• You must write to your council (the address will be on the bill which you receive) saying which decision you do not agree with and your reasons for disagreeing. The council may ask for further information.

• The council will have two months in which to consider your representations. If, within this period the council rejects your arguments, or makes some change with which you are not satisfied or does not reach a decision within the period you will be able to appeal to a valuation appeal committee.

Appeal to Valuation Appeal Committee

Any appeal must be made by notifying the council within the period of four months of the date on which you first raised your grievance in writing with them. You must give your reasons for appealing and also state the date on which you wrote to the council. The council will pass your appeal to the Secretary of the relevant local valuation appeal committee.

You must continue to pay your original council tax bill whilst your appeal is outstanding.

Appeals Against Penalties

Councils are responsible for administering the council tax. They may impose penalties where a person, who is required by law to provide information, either fails to do so or provides information which the person knows is false. The information sought, for example, will be to enable the council to determine who should be liable for council tax. The council may impose a fine of £50 and continued failure to provide the information requested or the provision of false information may lead to a further penalty of £200 being imposed each time the request is made and ignored. You may appeal to a valuation appeal committee against a fine imposed by writing to your council explaining your reasons for appealing and giving the date on which the penalty was imposed. You must do this within two months of the penalty being imposed. The council must pass your appeal to the committee.

You should also inform the council within 21 days if you believe that a particular dwelling has ceased to be an exempt dwelling, or that a discount awarded is incorrect. Failure to do so may lead to a penalty of £50 being imposed. You can appeal in the same way if you believe this penalty has been wrongly imposed.

Valuation Appeal Committees

Valuation appeal committees, who must consider all the types of appeal described so far, are independent tribunals whose members are experienced in hearing appeals. The committee's decision is final subject to an appeal to the Court of Session on a point of law only. If a valuation appeal committee upholds your appeal in respect of the valuation list or completion notices the valuation list will be altered and your bill amended as appropriate. If your appeal in respect of action taken by the levying authority is upheld your bill will be amended as appropriate. Penalties imposed may be set aside.

A separate leaflet gives details of the procedures for hearings before valuation appeal committees.

Benefit Calculations

If you have to pay the council tax, and you are on a low income, you may be able to get help towards what you pay. This help is called Council Tax Benefit.

If you want to know how your benefit has been calculated you can ask your council for a statement of reasons, explaining how they reached their decision.

If you disagree with the way your benefit has been worked out, you can ask your council to look at it again. Then, if you still disagree you can have the decision reviewed by a local Review Board. The council will tell you how to get in touch with the Board.

More information about Council Tax Benefit is given in 'Help with your Council Tax - A Basic Guide to Benefit' (Leaflet GL17), issued by the Department for Work and Pensions. The leaflet is available free of charge from councils, post offices and all local Benefit Offices.

Since appeals against the amounts of council tax benefit awarded are heard by Review Boards they cannot be heard by valuation appeal committees along with other appeals.

How can I find out more?

This leaflet covers the main areas of appeal in the council tax system. It is intended to help you understand how you are affected. It does not cover every detail and should not be regarded as a comprehensive statement of law.

If you need further information you should contact your council.

If you have general enquiries about the council tax you can write to:-

Council Tax Enquiries
The Scottish Executive
Area 3-J
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh
EH6 6QQ

Last Updated January 2003