Council tax banding/deletion

The Valuation Office Agency sets your council tax band and decides if your property should be shown in the valuation list at all. If you have asked the Valuation Office Agency to change your band or delete the property so that no council tax is paid, and you are unhappy with their decision, you may be able to appeal. This is a free service.

This page explains how the appeal process works and provides resources for each stage.

Please note: before you appeal you must have made a request to the Valuation Office Agency to change your band.

The appeal process

If you would like to appeal the decision made by the Valuation Office Agency, please first review the step-by-step process below.

There are also some helpful Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) beneath the appeal process.

Understand what an appeal involves

To make an appeal you’ll first need to complete an appeal form and provide information and evidence to support your case. You’ll find details on how to do this below.

If you want to appeal, you must do it within 3 months of the date of your decision notice.

If your case is accepted, you will then be expected to attend an appeal hearing to present your case to the Valuation Tribunal, who will make the final decision.

The appeal process currently takes about 9 months, from submission of an appeal form to final decision.

The Tribunal is happy to arrange for you to observe a hearing prior to your own. Please use the appeals search to find a suitable hearing and email your request to observe to  appeals@valuationtribunal.gov.uk (including the hearing date and appeal number of the appeal you wish to observe and we will ensure you are added to the invitation list).

What can I appeal?

You can appeal if you disagree with the VOA’s decision about the following:

  • You think your property is in the wrong council tax band.
  • You think your property should be removed from the council tax list.
  • You think the information on your property in the council tax list should be changed.

If you have been issued with an invalidity notice, click here.

Find out more

Complete the appeal form

If you want to appeal, please complete an appeal form. In the appeal form you should explain why you think the VOA’s decision is wrong.

The form needs to be completed in one session (there is no option to save a part-completed form).

You will also need to attach a copy of the VOA’s decision to the appeal form.

When completing the appeal form, please be advised after thirty minutes of inactivity, you will be required to restart the form from the beginning as progress cannot be saved.

Appeal registration

We will register your appeal within 10 working days and send you a Notice of Receipt to confirm this has been done. Please read this carefully as it will contain directions confirming what you need to do next.

At this point in the process, we’ll also send you guidance booklets about the appeals process and how to prepare your evidence.

Prepare your evidence

Once your appeal has been registered, both you and the Valuation Office Agency will receive a Notice of Acknowledgement.

Once your appeal has been allocated to a hearing (usually about 6 months or so from us receiving your appeal) a Notice of Hearing will be sent to you. We aim to send this about 10 weeks before the hearing. This notice will tell you when to send your evidence to the Valuation Office Agency.

The exchange of evidence normally works to the following times:-

  • 6 weeks before the hearing the Valuation Office Agency will send its evidence to you.
  • 4 weeks before the hearing you must send your evidence to the Valuation Office Agency.
  • 2 weeks before the hearing the Valuation Office Agency will send its evidence and your evidence to the Tribunal.

Attend the hearing

Appeals are decided by the Valuation Tribunal panel at the appeal hearing. At the current time, all hearings are conducted remotely using online/audio visual conferencing software.

The tribunal is impartial and independent. The tribunal will listen to both sides before making a decision.

During the hearing:

  • The panel will ask you and the VOA to present your cases.
  • You will be able to ask questions.
  • You may be asked questions.

We try to make the hearing as informal as we can, and we will try put everyone at ease. However, these are judicial proceedings, so there is some formality.

More detail

The decision

The panel will make its decision on the evidence and arguments, bearing in mind what the law (legislation and case law) allows.

Our decision is not normally given at the hearing.

We will send you a decision notice (with reasons) within 1 month of the hearing by your preferred method of communication.  If this period is likely to be exceeded, then the clerk to the hearing will contact you with information on when you can expect your decision.

Frequently asked questions

  • You will need to contact the Valuation Office Agency to make a proposal. The VOA will send you their decision after reviewing the proposal. If you disagree with the decision, you can appeal against it to the Valuation Tribunal.

  • Exceptions for late appeals can be made for extenuating circumstances. When you complete the appeal form, you will need to provide an explanation for why is it late.

  • For council tax appeals, the hearing is a free service.

  • No, the Tribunal cannot award costs. People making an appeal have to meet their own costs.

  • The appellant (and/or their representative), a Valuation Office Agency representative, and usually a panel of two (the senior member and a member), but sometimes a senior member will sit alone. A clerk will also be present.

  • Please click here to view our upcoming hearings. Next, please email appeals@valuationtribunal.gov.uk with the hearing(s) you want to observe. A Tribunal Support Officer will respond to you with more information.

  • If you are unhappy with the decision the tribunal has reached, you can make an appeal to the High Court but only on a point of law. Further information can be found in the decision guidance booklet.

  • The Valuation Tribunal will send a copy of the decision notice to the Valuation Office Agency to change the list. The Valuation Office Agency will alter the list accordingly. The Valuation Office Agency then notifies the council who will update their records and issue an amended council tax demand showing the changes following the Valuation Tribunal decision.

    Please note that the notice of decision to receiving an amended bill could be further delayed if the Valuation Office Agency disagrees with the decision of the Valuation Tribunal and submits an appeal to the High Court. If this is the case, you will have to continue to pay your council tax bill at the higher band until the outcome of the High Court appeal is made.

    It is important that you continue to pay your council tax bill on the higher council tax band charge whilst you are waiting for banding of your property to be reduced following the decision of the Valuation Tribunal. Your payments will be adjusted to the lower council tax band once the notification has been received by your council. Please note that your council cannot amend your band until the official notification has been received from the Valuation Office Agency.

    Your council will issue a refund where necessary if an overpayment of council tax has arisen because of the reduction in banding.

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