General FAQs for appeals and hearings
Animated Guidance Videos
General FAQs
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You can email appeals@valuationtribunal.gov.uk to request that a hardcopy appeal form be posted to you.
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No, you should continue to pay your council tax or rates bill. If the tribunal decides your appeal in your favour, any overpayment you have made should be taken into account when your bill is re-calculated.
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There are two alternatives to attending the hearing,
1) the appeal is heard in your absence, and
2) the decision is made without a hearing.
If you would like further information about these, please contact us.
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Yes. You can come to the hearing or you can choose a representative, for example, a friend or a professional adviser to speak for you. You can also bring someone along as a witness or just to provide moral support.
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If you have any extra needs, please tell us as soon as possible and we will do our best to help. This help could include, for example, reasonable assistance for your sight, hearing and communication (such as a signer/interpreter). We will meet the costs of providing this help.
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Yes. You can withdraw your appeal at any time before the hearing date. For council tax appeals and business rates appeals against the 2017 list, you can email us or fill in a withdrawal form. You can also withdraw an appeal orally at a hearing, but the panel must agree to this.
For business rates appeals against earlier rating lists, you must contact the Valuation Office Agency to withdraw your appeal.
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The type of evidence to be provided differs for each type of appeal.
Information on the type of evidence you should provide can be found within the relevant guidance booklet.
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Yes, you can watch any of our hearings. Please click here to see our upcoming hearings.
Please email appeals@valuationtribunal.gov.uk and we will send you an invitation to your chosen hearing.
Please make sure that both your camera and microphone are turned off. You must not speak or disrupt during the hearing, or you may be removed.
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There are usually two members of the Tribunal present (the panel), the clerk, you/or your representative, a representative for the council or the Valuation Office Agency and possibly members of the public.
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If you are unhappy with the decision the tribunal has reached, you can make an appeal to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber). Further information can be found in the decision guidance booklet.
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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.
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Yes, providing that one of the grounds for review applies. Further information can be found in the decision guidance booklet.
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Yes.
You will need to provide reasons why your appeal should be reinstated. For further information, please read the Consolidated Practice Statement link on reinstatements and lifting of a bar.
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We cannot be involved in matters about collection of rates or council tax, lease/rent disputes, housing benefit or a parking penalty. We also cannot deal with disputes around how the council have treated you. You should contact the relevant organisation for advice and more information.
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No. Please contact your council for more information about appealing a housing benefit dispute. If you have a dispute about both housing benefit and council tax reduction, you can only appeal about the council tax reduction with us.
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We are not involved in the collection of council tax or rates. If you are experiencing financial hardship, or if you want to discuss paying the bills, then please contact your council. The council will be able to give advice and discuss payment methods with you.
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No. These organisations have their own complaints procedures that you will need to follow.
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Please check whether we already publish what you need, under our Publication Scheme. Much of the information listed in our scheme is available on this website. If it is not, or if you require information that you think we hold but is not listed there, please email your request to foi@valuationtribunal.gov.uk.
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If you have a complaint about the way our staff have handled your case (not the panel members or their decision), you should first write to us. There is a form on the website you can use for a formal administrative complaint.
Click here to see our Customer Charter and Complaints Policy.
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Complaints in relation to the conduct of the Members of the Valuation Tribunal for England (VTE), who hear and decide appeals is a matter for the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office. Such matters include:
- the members’ personal conduct in and outside the hearing room
- comments made by a member in the course of proceedings which are not directly integral to the judicial decision or underlying reasoning, and which might lower public confidence in the judiciary.
Information on making such complaints can be found on www.complaints.judicialconduct.gov.uk/makeacomplaint/.
A complaint must be made within three months of the matter complained of.