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The Council Tax
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Introduction
Council Tax replaced the Community Charge (Poll Tax)
on 1 April 1993 as the way households contribute to the cost of local
authority services.
The amount of the tax is set by local councils and
charged according to valuation
bands.
Statistics for the three local councils, showing the
number of properties in each valuation band can be accessed by clicking
on the appropriate link, Analysed
by GVJB Division or Analysed
by Local Authority Area.
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Valuation of Domestic Property
The Assessor is responsible for the preparation and
maintenance of the Council Tax Valuation List, which places each
domestic property ("dwelling") in one of eight valuation
bands. The band reflects the Assessor’s opinion of the property’s
open market value as at 1 April 1991, but taking account of its physical
state and its locality as at 1 April 1993 (or, for new dwellings, the
date of valuation) and subject to a number of important statutory
assumptions.
Prior to the introduction of Council Tax (and before the Poll Tax) the Assessor was responsible for domestic property rating and maintained a detailed data base of information about houses in the whole of Grampian This information included details of accommodation, floor areas, outbuildings, improvements etc as well as actual selling prices recorded in the Register of Sasines (Land Register). Although not every property was inspected prior to the introduction of Council Tax the Assessor’s records were comprehensive and were updated to reflect changes which had occurred during the four year “Poll Tax” era.
The Assessor does not rely on house price indices to adjust sale prices over time. Unless the index takes account of the specific features of local market conditions prevailing at the relevant dates, price adjustment in this way will be inaccurate. The assessor applies the Comparative Principle of Valuation. This relies on comparing the physical and geographic etc features of the property to be valued with those of houses which actually sold around the valuation date (1 April
1991).
The Assessor is not required to place an actual value on each property but has to demonstrate that its likely sale price would have been within the range of values in the relevant band. Due to the range of values in each band properties which are not identical in terms of accommodation or size can still be in the same band. Therefore a two or three bedroomed flat can easily be in the same Band as a similar semi detached or terraced house.
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Range of Values
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Band
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| Up to £27,000 |
A |
| Over £27,000 and up to £35,000 |
B |
| Over £35,000 and up to £45,000 |
C |
| Over £45,000 and up to £58,000 |
D |
| Over £58,000 and up to £80,000 |
E |
| Over £80,000 and up to £106,000 |
F |
| Over £106,000 and up to £212,000 |
G |
| Over £212,000 |
H |
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Checking the Council Tax Valuation List
The Council Tax Valuation List is a public document
and contains the addresses and Council Tax bands of all domestic
properties in the valuation area. It can be inspected at any of the
Assessor’s offices. You can also check the Council Tax band for any
property in the Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray by clicking
here
Definition of "Dwelling" for Council Tax
Purposes
In general terms any kind of house or flat will count
as a dwelling if it used as such, including second homes that are not
let out commercially. Caravans count as dwellings if they are someone’s
main home. Certain properties in multiple occupation where facilities
are shared may also count as one dwelling.
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The Assessor must make a number of statutory
assumptions in determining the Council Tax band. These are:
- the sale was with vacant possession
- the dwelling was in a state of reasonable repair (regardless of
its actual condition)
- the size and layout of the dwelling and the physical state of the
locality were the same as at the time when the valuation of the
dwelling was made
- the dwelling was sold free from any heritable security (i.e. any
mortgage is assumed to be paid off)
- common parts were in a state of reasonable repair (regardless of
their actual condition) and the purchaser would be liable to
contribute towards the cost of keeping them in such a state
- use of the dwelling would be permanently restricted to use as a
private dwelling; and
- the dwelling had no development value other than that attributable
to "permitted development".
There are also special provisions applicable to the
Council Tax banding of properties used in connection with agriculture,
crofting or fish farming, and properties adapted for people with
physical disabilities. You can contact the
Assessor’s staff for more information about these.
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Appeals
If you are the owner of the property or the person
liable to pay Council Tax for it, you can lodge an appeal (known as a
"proposal") to alter the Council Tax band
- within six months of becoming the owner or the liable person
- within six months of the Assessor altering the band
- within six months of an appeal decision in respect of a dwelling
comparable to yours which gives you reasonable grounds to contend
that the band applicable to your dwelling should be changed
- at any time if there has been a material
reduction in the value of the dwelling
- at any time if there has been a material
increase in the value of the dwelling and it, or any part of it,
has subsequently been sold
- at any time if the balance between domestic and business use
changes (for example, in hotels or boarding houses).
Contact the Assessor’s staff
for a Proposal form, click
here to make the request by e-mail, or click
here to access the Proposal form online. The
form must be printed out and returned to the Assessor.
Alternatively you can lodge a Proposal on-line by using the Scottish
Assessors Portal interactive
services page.
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A material reduction in value may result from
the demolition of any part of the dwelling, any change in the physical
state of its locality or any adaptation of the dwelling to suit a person
who is physically disabled. A reduction in value caused, for a example,
by a downturn in the housing market, does not count for Council Tax
purposes.
A material increase in value may result from
building, engineering or other works carried out on the dwelling. Any
change in the Council Tax band following on a material increase in value
will only take effect after the property is next sold.
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The Valuation Appeal Committee
Most appeals are settled amicably between the
Assessor and the Council Tax payer. However, if a settlement cannot be
achieved the appeal is heard by an independent Valuation Appeal
Committee.
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Council Tax Billing and Collection
The levying and collection of the Council Tax are
carried out by local councils. Queries relating to Council Tax levels,
discounts, exemptions, benefits, change of address, billing and arrears
should be addressed to them. In the Grampian valuation area the relevant
councils are
Moray
Council
Aberdeenshire
Council
Aberdeen
City Council |
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For
information on how to use these documents click here