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Fersiwn cyfrwng cymraeg
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is a central government agency responsible for valuing homes for council tax purposes in Wales and England. It does not set the level of council tax nor collect the money, which is the task of local government.
It is the duty of the VOA to act fairly and impartially, and to make sure that each home is correctly assessed and placed in the right band. This is so that there is the fairest possible basis on which local councils can send bills to taxpayers for the right amount of council tax – no more, no less. In carrying out this duty, the VOA operates to professional standards.
The VOA has had responsibility for valuing properties for council tax since it was first introduced by the previous government in 1993, and before then for the earlier system of domestic rates.
The VOA publishes targets for the speed and quality of its service and reports against them annually. All its network offices have achieved the Charter Mark standard as a recognition of excellence in customer service.
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Council tax is a local tax, set by local councils to help pay for local services. It uses the relative value of homes to determine each household’s contribution for these local services.
The VOA’s job is to place each home in one of nine valuation bands, which then determines the amount to be paid. But it is individual Local Authorities, not the VOA, who set the local council tax for each year. Within a local area, bills for homes in each of the bands will differ according to proportions laid down in the legislation.
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In Wales, council tax and council tax revaluation are matters for the devolved Welsh Assembly. The Welsh Assembly Government undertook to revalue property, and a council tax revaluation came into effect on 1 April 2005. The council tax bands were adjusted to reflect 2003 values and an extra band was added at the top. Even new homes are valued on the basis of what they would have been worth in 2003. The purpose of the revaluation was to keep the assessments on homes in line with fluctuations in the property market. There was no change to the way that homes were valued for council tax.
In undertaking valuations the VOA needs to take account of the characteristics of a home and everything that goes to make up its value - positive or negative. This is just what any other valuer would do.
The principles of valuation for council tax are exactly the same as they were when council tax was first introduced in 1993. Contrary to press reports, there is absolutely no change being made to the existing basis of valuation to increase the amount of council tax paid, for example by taking account of additional property features that have previously not affected a property's banding.
More Information on the valuation of dwellings can be found on the council tax section of the Valuation Office Agency website
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No. The powers and duties of the VOA's Listing Officers regarding council tax valuations have not changed since CT was introduced in 1993. They are exactly the same.
The basis of valuation is set down in regulations made under the Local Government Finance Act 1992. Minor updates were made to the initial regulations in 1994, and they have not changed since.
Details of the new banding structure in Wales was announced in The Council Tax ( Valuation Bands) ( Wales ) Order ( S I 2003/3046(w289)) which came into force on 30 November 2003
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It is a basic issue of fairness for everyone that the VOA holds enough information on properties to enable valuations to be done accurately. This is to ensure that people pay the right amount of council tax. The VOA has always held property information - that is its job. Back to top
In order to maintain accurate and fair lists of council tax bandings the VOA has always needed to keep the information it holds about property up to date. This is a key part of the VOA’s responsibilities.
It does this in a number of ways, for example:
- When a home is extended or altered such that planning permission is required, the local authority must pass on details to the VOA. But this doesn't mean that the banding will increase. Any effect on market value (always by reference to values at 2003) may not be sufficient to move the property into the next band. And even if it is, then the change to a new band only takes place when the property is sold. If there is no sale, the band remains unchanged.
- The VOA sometimes uses questionnaires so that the occupier can confirm information about a property. It does this to save the need for a visit and to ensure as little disruption as possible to taxpayers. There is, however, no legal requirement for taxpayers to respond to such questionnaires - the VOA will always be prepared to arrange a visit if this is more convenient for the occupier.
- Again, to help it fulfil its duty to keep its records up-to-date the VOA also uses other sources of information. For example in England it has a contract with Rightmove to access their historic archive of sales particulars for homes that have previously been for sale on the property market. These particulars have all previously been freely available to the public on their website.
- The VOA will sometimes ask to visit a property when the information it needs cannot be ascertained from other sources. This can often be at the occupier's request, for example when they have challenged the council tax banding of their property and wish the VOA to carry out a review. The VOA has no new powers which allow its staff to force their way into people’s homes.
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It is absolutely untrue that personal information about people's holidays, number of pets etc. is held, as reported in some sections of the media. The only information about individuals held by the VOA is contact information eg a telephone number – this is usually given by individuals in cases where they have queried their council tax band.
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The VOA in Wales is currently digitising its already existing paper based records of property characteristics to make use of modern technology so that the organisation can continue to carry out its functions efficiently and effectively. The characteristics comprise such information as the age and type of property (detached, semi-detached, terraced, flat etc), number of bedrooms, location, and size - the sort of information that goes to make up the value of a property. This investment in modern technology, will assist the VOA's day to day business and its service to local authorities and the public., It is absolutely untrue that the VOA holds a new “big brother” database, as also reported by some sections of the media.
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As the VOA’s responsibility is to value property it needs to take account, first and foremost, of all the characteristics of a property which will affect value. This is the same for council tax banding as it is for any property valuation, for example the valuation that an estate agent will undertake when a property is going to be sold. Such characteristics would include:
- age
- type (e.g. detached, semi-detached, terraced, house, bungalow, flat)
- overall size, number of rooms and so on
- the situation of the property
- features of the locality
None of this is new – it is exactly the sort of information that anyone would consider when buying a property. It is what makes up the market value of a property.
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No. There have been a number of completely untrue reports about new, extra charges for characteristics such as living in a quiet area or a conservation area, or having a nice view. Such characteristics, and many others, have always been likely to contribute to the overall value of any property and have therefore always needed to be considered - together with others such as age, location and type - to assess value. So too have characteristics that might decrease the value of a property. Any valuer, and anyone buying a home, would do the same. Other characteristics mentioned in reports, for example garden sheds, rabbit hutches or even garden gnomes, clearly do not affect property values at all, and would never be taken into account by the VOA. Back to top
No. There have been a number of completely untrue reports about the use of personal information in judgements about council tax bandings. Reports that the VOA values your home according to how many pets you own, your love life, or where you go holiday are nonsense – because such things have nothing whatever to do with the value of property. The VOA neither needs, wants, nor collects such information.
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No. The VOA has no new powers which allow its staff to force their way into people’s homes. It does not need or want these powers. Press reports of a “snoopers’ charter” are completely without foundation, and have caused unnecessary anxiety to many householders, particularly the old and vulnerable. Back to top
The VOA has always been required to keep its information up to date and accurate, in accordance with the legislation. This is its job. In doing so it always tries to ensure as little disruption to taxpayers as possible.
- The VOA rarely needs to visit people’s homes and only does so when information to carry out a valuation and band a property cannot be ascertained from other sources.
- Fewer than 1% of homeowners in England and Wales receive a visit from VOA staff in any year.
- On those rare occasions when the VOA does need to look at your home, generally it can get all the information it needs from the outside, usually from the road.
- Sometimes a visit to a home can be helpful but VOA staff will only ask to go inside a property where the information cannot be gathered by any other means. In this instance they make every effort to arrange an appointment in advance and they always carry and present identity cards that incorporate a photograph. VOA staff would only enter a person's home with the householder’s permission
- The VOA powers on visits and inspections have not changed since council tax was introduced in 1993. The listing officers have had powers of entry for many years, as do many other statutory bodies, but they do not have, and never have had powers to enter homes forcibly.
- No-one has ever been fined or prosecuted for refusing to allow a member of the VOA onto their property.
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It is nonsense to suggest that Home Inspectors, who will prepare reports on homes for Home Improvement Packs (HIPs), are collecting information for council tax purposes. The private sector employees who will carry out this task will be strictly regulated by independent certification schemes, and access to their reports will be restricted by law to those involved in buying and selling homes, their advisers and mortgage lenders and those monitoring the performance and quality of the reports. There is no connection between this scheme and the VOA’s work on valuing properties for council tax purposes.
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The VOA occasionally needs to take photographs of domestic properties - usually, external only - to help them in undertaking their responsibilities for compiling and maintaining council valuation lists. However, reports of VOA staff assembling huge numbers of inappropriate or intrusive photographs are, again, highly misleading.
- Photographs are normally of the exterior only, and are wherever possible only taken from the public highway.
- Internal photographs are not taken except in the very rare instances when an internal physical feature of a property has a bearing on value – but this would not be done without the permission of the occupier. VOA policy is that such photographs are deleted as soon as they have served their purpose.
The purpose behind this is simply to assist the valuer in coming to an accurate assessment of the value of the property.
Photographs are held for only approximately 5% of dwellings in Wales. The overwhelming majority of these are of the exterior elevations. The VOA policy is that photographs should exclude individuals and any feature that could link the property to an individual, for example a car registration plate.
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Home improvements which lead to an increase in the value of a property would not lead to an increase in a council tax banding until the property is sold. The purpose of this is, and has always been, to ensure that householders are not penalised for making improvements to their homes. The vast majority of sales result in a change of occupier and it is the new occupier who is liable for any increase in council tax resulting from any change to the banding.
In addition, council tax bands cover a range of values, so an increase in the value of a home does not automatically mean a higher band, as long as the value stays within the range of the existing band. Back to top
Adding energy efficient measures such as double glazing or cavity wall insulation will have no effect on the current council tax banding of a property. The same is true of equipment such as micro wind turbines and solar panels. If a property is sold, improvements may have an effect but only if they are such that they push the value of the property into the next band range. These sorts of energy efficiency measures are, in isolation, unlikely to do so. Back to top
No. Reports of the VOA using satellite or “spy in the sky” technology are again untrue.
Many other countries find this a useful tool but the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has no contractual arrangements to use aerial or satellite photography for valuation purposes. VOA staff can view aerial or satellite images that are freely available to the public on the internet. This can help determine whether a visit is needed, for example where part of a property appears to have been demolished and the VOA records potentially need to be updated. But the VOA does not rely solely on such images for deciding on changes to council tax bandings.
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The Valuation Office Agency is satisfied that the bandings undertaken when council tax revaluation in Wales was introduced in 2005., were made competently. During the period 1April 2005 to 31 January 2007( the first 22 months of the 2005 council tax lists coming into force) just 2.95% of household have questioned the CT Band to date either through an informal enquiry or appeal. A third fewer appeals/enquiries have been received on the 2005 Council Tax Valuation Lists compared with the first 2 years of the 1993 List.
The ‘Tonight with Trevor McDonald’ programme broadcast on 26 January 2007 raised the issue of homes which may have been incorrectly banded. This drew on a few case studies. Whilst there are now limited circumstances in which a formal challenge can be made, where people have genuine concerns that their home might be in the wrong band they should contact their local VOA Listing Officer and ask that the banding be reviewed. If the Listing Officer is satisfied that the banding should be altered he or she will make that change. In some cases a review leads the Listing Officer to increase the banding rather than reduce it. Back to top
There is nothing secretive about the way the VOA undertakes its task. In recent months it has updated its website to provide more and better information for the public. For example on the website people can find information on:
- Key Facts – to clarify the truth behind scaremongering stories in the press
- The valuation lists setting out bands for every property in England in Wales
- The manual that is used by staff to carry out their functions, covering a raft of detail from the basis of valuation to the alteration of council tax valuation lists
- How to contact the VOA and the local office
- What to do if you want to query the band on your home and the circumstances when an appeal can be made
- Advice on such issues as “granny annexes” and working from home
- Visits to properties and when these might be helpful
The site also contains information about how the VOA undertakes its task, inspections of property, the circumstances when this may be helpful (in most cases it will not), and the collection of property information - what sort of information is taken into account when valuing a property which can be found in the dwelling house coding guide, also on the website. A more detailed summary of what can be found on the site is attached at Appendix A.
The fact that the VOA has been more open about the way it conducts the task of valuing property for council task has been used as evidence that they are doing something new, secret or unfair. In fact it is simply providing more and better information to the public.
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Is there a revaluation currently taking place or planned in England? No. No revaluation is currently taking place in England. Reports of a “revaluation by stealth” are pure invention.
A revaluation in England, which was scheduled to come into effect on 1 April 2007, was postponed in September 2005. In preparation for the revaluation, and before it was postponed, the VOA had digitised its existing paper based records and developed an automated valuation model, which is a tool used by many administrations across the world to support large scale valuation work. The VOA is naturally continuing to maintain its database of property details in its new electronic form, as this is its job. This is cheaper and more reliable than paper-based records. However, this does not mean that there is any form of ongoing revaluation by stealth. This is untrue.
Nor, as has already been explained above, does the database of property details contain any personal information – it is about property alone, and contains only those details needed to provide an accurate valuation of a dwelling. Back to top
The VOA has no involvement in valuing homes for council tax in Northern Ireland or Scotland. Northern Ireland and Scotland have a different local government finance system. Northern Ireland recently valued homes for tax purposes but the VOA has no involvement there.
Valuation Office Agency
March 2007
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Key Facts
Giving straightforward details on the recent areas of greatest interest. Particularly – how your home is valued, inspection of homes, improving your home, revaluation and your council tax band.
On the council tax page you can check your council tax band and note whether homes have a band review pending.
More detailed information with links provided from the ‘Key facts’ section of the website (for England and Wales)
- The definition of a dwelling - the starting point, multiple property treated as one dwelling
- How your property is valued - what assumptions are required to be made, size layout, character, locality, state of reasonable repair, dwellings which are also used for business purposes, what is and is not taken into account
- Can I appeal – I think my council tax band is too high? - Information on circumstances when you can make a formal appeal and complete a proposal form online
- The role of the listing officer
- Improving your home and council tax banding - explanations around when a band might change
- Provisions for people with disabilities - what is disregarded for valuation purposes.
- How much will I pay? - explanation of how the bill is worked out
- Inspections and photography - when we need to inspect, in most cases this is not necessary, why, when and how photographs are taken
- Working from home - a simple explanation
- The Council tax Charter - sets out the standards by which staff in the Valuation Office Agency operate, what you can expect from the valuation office and our commitment to taxpayers
- The Council Tax Bands for England and Wales - what they are and, in Wales, the old bands compared to the new bands
- Where to find us - details of how to contact your local valuation office
- Postponement of the Council Tax Revaluation in England - setting out the facts with links to Communities and Lyons websites
- Banding of properties with more than one self-contained unit - explanations eg for annexes
- Council Tax revaluation Wales 2005 – an overview
- Council Tax – a guide
- What to do if you disagree with your council tax band.
- Our Charter for Council tax 2005
- Progress on dealing with appeals and enquiries
- Wales Council Tax Revaluation Circulars
Various Internal Instructions and advice originally prepared for the now postponed English Council Tax Revaluation and in addition:
- Dwellinghouse Coding Guide - dealing with how VOA staff record the different property characteristics
- Council Tax Manual - the manual used by staff themselves in the Valuation Office Agency, covering the legislation, the banding exercise, maintenance of the council tax valuation lists, appeals procedures and practice notes dealing with a range of technical and valuation issues
- Working from home
- Valuation of holiday cottages
- Properties with more than one self contained unit.
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