Discover how 140 households in Cambridgeshire managed to lower their council tax bills and what steps they took to achieve this.
Cambridge: So, here’s the scoop! A total of 140 households in Cambridgeshire managed to get their council tax bills slashed. But, it’s a bit of a gamble. If you think your home is in the wrong council tax band, you can appeal to have it changed.
To do this, you reach out to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). They’ll look into it and let you know what’s what. Just keep in mind, your band could go up or down, so it’s not a decision to take lightly.
Between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024, there were 610 appeals made in Cambridgeshire. Out of those, about 67% didn’t change their council tax band at all. But hey, almost a quarter did see a reduction!
Huntingdonshire led the way with 40 successful reductions, followed by South Cambridgeshire with 30. It’s pretty interesting to see how different areas stack up.
Last year, nearly 44,000 households across England and Wales made appeals to the VOA, and about 10,530 of them were successful in getting their council tax bands lowered. But not everyone had good news; around 30 households actually saw their bands go up.
While we don’t know exactly where those homes were, we do know that about ten were in the South East and another ten in the South West. Some places had better luck than others, with Rossendale and Rushmoor seeing the highest success rates for reductions.
In contrast, Hounslow had a tough time, with only 5% of appeals resulting in a decrease. Leicester wasn’t much better at 6%, and Barnet, Hillingdon, and Windsor and Maidenhead only managed 7%.
It’s a mixed bag out there, but if you think you might be paying too much, it could be worth checking your council tax band!
