Farmers and rural business owners could be able to recover thousands of pounds in over-paid Council Tax due to houses being valued incorrectly, particularly on houses associated with mixed use developments, such as farms, fisheries and rural business parks, which can often be overvalued. The owners and occupiers of these properties often have no idea they are overpaying tax to their Local Authority – and they can claim it back.

Properties under the banding system for Council Tax are assigned a band based on what their property was worth in 1991.Of course, this can lead to some widely inaccurate valuations that local authorities have not had the capacity to check or update. However, Fisher German is able to check properties to see if they are in an unfairly-high band with a few simple questions.

If we find evidence that a property has been overvalued, we will take this to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), who will then send their findings to the Local Authority who will calculate the difference and refund the person named on the account. This saving is then backdated to whenever the occupier moved in. For example, a band reduction from G to F, backdated to April 1993, could mean a refund of around £6,000.The amount of money refunded could be substantial depending on the property, the initial banding and how long you have been the billpayer..

We have been successful in reducing several farmhouse Council Tax bands in the first half of 2020, due to us proving that they were overvalued in the first place. Brief details of each are:

Knutsford, Cheshire. Band G reduced to Band E. Refunded over £11,000

Glastonbury, Somerset. Band G reduced to Band E, and Band G reduced to Band F. Combined refund expected of over £16,000.

Okehampton, Devon. Band F reduced to Band D. Refund expected over £6,000.

To discuss this in more details, please call Stephen Buckingham on 07733 124553.