Just had my first council tax bill for a one bedroom flat in the centre of Bristol, it has been assessed as Band C – £1393.21 pa. The flat has one bedroom, bathroom and a kitchen/living room, no parking/garage and is on the 5th floor of a block.

Before I appeal does Band C seem reasonable?

cheers

Seems pricey to me, but then you said you were in the centre. 3 bed flat just off Chessel street (BS3) is band B (£1219).

Depends what you mean by central Bristol. Clifton, St Pauls, Barton Hill? Sounds a bit steep, though.

Can't you get a discount for being the sole occupant (assuming you are)

Jolsa, Given a 3 bed flat close by is band B I will appeal

nickjb, I am in a block of flats close to Cabots Circus (BS1).

unsponsored, single occupant discount forms on their way to me, worth a 25% discount

all about value isnt it …

fwiw my single bedroom flat in aberdeen is band a – get a single occupants discount as missus is a student – 800 smackers a year.

My local council office never sent me the forms out I just e-mailed them confirming I was single occupant and they readdressed the bill with the 25% discount.

Is theis a new build flat ? Or has it previously been assessed at that band?

Kuco – Bristol Council wants a form to give me the 25%, not a problem

Jeremy – new build finsihed in late 2009, so this is the first assessment

Has it actually been banded by the Valuation Office or is it an assumed band by the council?

monksie,

not sure – does it matter?

Yes, very definitely. Assumed band is applied to propertes if the VOA haven't had chance to band it yet. Anything you pay obvously goes to the balance of the charge and any overpayment can be refunded to you.
If it s assumed bandng, you can contact the council and have it changed if you like but, say for example you ask for it to be given an assumed band B and then VOA come along and say it's band C and they do this in January, you only have untl 31st March maximum to make up the shortfall.
If it's confirmed banding, give VOA a ring and get an appeal in if you don't agree with it but you best be quick. If I remember correctly, you only get 6 months from its banding date to appeal.
I work in the c/tax dept. for Stockport council two and a bit days per week.
Ps. It will say "Assumed" very clearly on the bill if it is. If it doesn't, it's been fixed banded. VOA will sort you out, they're pretty efficient.

I challenged the banding on my house and won even after they said it was correct , they do not visit the location so you need photos,plans etc of similar properties that are in the same location as you and in a lower band than yours. The Bristol office were good to deal with.

Oh and I had been in the house for years, they have a legal obligation for the valuation to be correct.

The bill doesn't say "assumed" so I presume the VOA have valued the flat but based on a 3 bed flat in BS3 being Band B I will appeal, although it will be tight to get the paperwork before the 6 month cut-off, although I was only notified of the banding a week ago when the bill turned up!

I do feel a little more knowledgeable before I call Bristol Council tomorrow

So cheers guys

Hmmm, I'm doubtng myself and the 6 month rule now. Any valuaton queries get referred straght to them (part of the IR).
The area in which you live (which will efect the value of the property) has a bearing as well. The exact property in a poorer area will be a lower band than yours.
Good luck Kona.

There a calculator on the Nationwide website I believe that you can use as a rough guide to see if it's worth appealling.

There's whole section on this and the process on moneysavingexpert.com as well:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/council-tax-bands-change

We got a year of almost free Council Tax after our house was rebanded after we'd lived there for 9 years over overpaying. Paying £4 a month Council Tax is ace 🙂